Now available! Webinar - Pending cases on rights of nature in Ecuador - En Espanol

On November 17th, 2022, the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights (CDER) and Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales (IAEN) organized a webinar on pending cases about the rights of nature at the Constitutional Court of Ecuador. The event aimed at continuing the legal discussion about the scope of these new rights, initiated in 2019 by the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court.

Former Constitutional Judge Agustín Grijalva spoke about the role of jurisprudence in shaping the rights of nature in Ecuador. IAEN Professor Viviana Morales summarized the main contributions of the first six judgments issued by the Constitutional Court on the rights of nature, between 2019 and 2021, including the globally known Los Cedros and Mangroves cases.

Hugo Echeverría of CDER addressed three pending cases of great importance on the rights of nature: River Dulcepamba (diversion of natural flow affecting both nature and humans); River Piatúa (reduction of natural flow affecting endangered species inhabiting the river); and, Alto Nangartiza forest (mining in a fragile ecosystem that is the habitat of endangered species). The event was moderated by Professor Andreas Gutmann of Universitat Kassel (Germany).

CDER had acted as amici curiae in cases decided by the Constitutional Court on the rights of nature, pointing out the need of higher standards to effectively enforce these new rights.

The webinar had attendants from all over Ecuador and abroad: Colombia, Perú, México, France and Romania. We invite you to watch this presentation HERE.