This is a rarely discussed area so thanks, Rachel, for this podcast. If nothing else this focus on RoN begins a process of valuing our living systems for the critical role they play in enabling any life to exist on this planet. I came across MOTH (More Than Human) rights through an artist and her writer colleague who contributed to a conference on this subject. The website is https://mothrights.org/ and has PDF of some of the talks and discussions.
The Law is obviously a flawed tool but is nonetheless a recognition of rights and to some extent duties. Interpretation is also a tool which can be used for good or ill and in practice wealth (and power) tends to bring an advantage in wielding it in court. The constitutional granting of rights to nature is a very important part of this process as it effectively states what the values of those living under the constitution are and therefore how laws should be interpreted. Imagine if we had a constitution that enshrined the values of allowing all things to flourish. Not to tolerate a certain level of poverty or polluted air, land and water, for example.
There is no magic bullet and of course there will be circumstances where the natural world and human health are in conflict. In the natural world there are such conflicts all the time where one life is benefitted at the expense of another. These conflicts accept mortality as a natural part of life and achieve a dynamic equilibrium that allows life as a whole to flourish. This our task as humans - to accept that we are not the most important lifeform and that individually we rise and fall but as a species we will survive much longer if we find our place in that equilibrium.
This is a rarely discussed area so thanks, Rachel, for this podcast. If nothing else this focus on RoN begins a process of valuing our living systems for the critical role they play in enabling any life to exist on this planet. I came across MOTH (More Than Human) rights through an artist and her writer colleague who contributed to a conference on this subject. The website is https://mothrights.org/ and has PDF of some of the talks and discussions.
The Law is obviously a flawed tool but is nonetheless a recognition of rights and to some extent duties. Interpretation is also a tool which can be used for good or ill and in practice wealth (and power) tends to bring an advantage in wielding it in court. The constitutional granting of rights to nature is a very important part of this process as it effectively states what the values of those living under the constitution are and therefore how laws should be interpreted. Imagine if we had a constitution that enshrined the values of allowing all things to flourish. Not to tolerate a certain level of poverty or polluted air, land and water, for example.
There is no magic bullet and of course there will be circumstances where the natural world and human health are in conflict. In the natural world there are such conflicts all the time where one life is benefitted at the expense of another. These conflicts accept mortality as a natural part of life and achieve a dynamic equilibrium that allows life as a whole to flourish. This our task as humans - to accept that we are not the most important lifeform and that individually we rise and fall but as a species we will survive much longer if we find our place in that equilibrium.