Press Release on Ecuador: National Assembly – Biodiversity Commission Includes CDER Legislative Proposals on Rights of Nature-12/1/2020
November 30, 2020
Contact:
Hugo Echeverria, Attorney
echejur@yahoo.ca
Mari Margil, Executive Director
mmargil@centerforenvironmentalrights.org
Ecuador: National Assembly – Biodiversity Commission Includes CDER Legislative Proposals on Rights of Nature
CDER proposes legislative changes to implement the Rights of Nature
Quito, Ecuador: The Biodiversity Commission of Ecuador’s National Assembly – the national legislature of Ecuador – has issued its report to the National Assembly on suggested changes to the main environmental law in Ecuador. The report includes a number of proposals submitted by the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights to the Commission.
CDER submitted input to the Biodiversity Commission regarding legislative reform of the Organic Code of the Environment (CODA), Ecuador’s primary environmental regulatory law. The Biodiversity Commission has been reviewing the major environmental laws of Ecuador, and seeking public input. The Biodiversity Commission report is the draft of the legislation that is to be considered by the National Assembly next year.
Over the past year, CDER worked with biologists and academics to develop proposals to strengthen and improve the implementation of the rights of nature protections enshrined in the Ecuador Constitution. CDER’s founders were involved in the development of the constitutional provisions in 2008.
Summary of CDER’s Proposed Legislative Reforms included in the Commission Report
Inputs from CDER to the Biodiversity Commission focused on ensuring that the actions and decisions of the government are consistent and upholding of the rights of nature. The inputs may be found on Page 11 of the Commission report, which may be found here. A summary of the inputs includes:
- Recognizing that it is the duty of the State to guarantee the rights of nature, independently from the human right to a healthy environment.
- That industrial, corporate, and other projects proposed in protected areas must meet additional requirements, in order to be approved, such that the projects do not violate the rights of nature.
- That in order to uphold the rights of nature, industrial, corporate, and other activities in mangrove areas are restricted.
- In order to uphold the rights of nature, specific measures to protect endangered species and fragile ecosystems must be identified and addressed in environmental studies and management plans.
“The rights of nature constitutional provisions strengthen environmental protections. We identified places within the existing law that we believe need to be strengthened in order to meet this constitutional standard. We are very pleased to have our inputs included in the draft legislation being presented to the full National Assembly,” said CDER’s Mari Margil.
Hugo Echeverria added that CDER’s inputs focused, in part, on the role of environmental impact assessments in meeting constitutional standards on rights of nature. Echeverria explained, “Our inputs included the addition of clauses for environmental impact studies and management plans, for example, to better address endangered species to uphold the rights of nature constitutional protections.”
CDER commends the Biodiversity Commission and its staff for their thorough work over the past months, and its engagement with the public and consideration of inputs into the legislative process.
The Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights partners with communities, tribal nations, governments, and people around the world to secure democratic rights and the rights of nature in law, including in the Philippines, Australia, Ecuador, Sweden, and the United States.
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