Rights of Nature

Rights of Nature

The Rights of Nature movement (RoN) gives legal recognition to natural entities and their rights. In the face of a mass extinction event driven by climate change, the movement is garnering successes worldwide and represents a significant shift in mindsets: shifting from a view of nature as a resource that exists for human exploitation, to defining nature as a living being with integral rights of its own.

Ecocide

Ecocide defines reckless destruction of habitats and biodiversity as a criminal act. Earth lawyer Polly Higgins† formally defined ecocide as “the extensive loss or damage or destruction of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished.”

There is an active campaign to include Ecocide Law in the Rome Statute. If adopted, the International Criminal Court (ICC) would gain the ability to prosecute ecocide under universal jurisdiction. This would elevate ecocide to the same level as the four crimes against peace: Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes, and Crimes of Aggression.