permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

BOLIVIA PASSES THE LAW WHICH DECLARES MOTHER EARTH HAS RIGHTS

Law of the Rights of Mother Earth, was passed by Bolivia's Plurinational 
Legislative Assembly.
...
Read The Full English Translation: http://bit.ly/TT4adw 
<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FTT4adw&h=2AQHyKOPj&s=1>

Full Original Spanish Translation: http://bit.ly/hnjihc 
<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fhnjihc&h=xAQHVsYuX&s=1>

Precedent: The law is considered to be the first instance of 
environmental law that gives legal personhood to the natural system, and 
may also allow for citizens to sue individuals and groups as part of 
"Mother Earth" in response to real and alleged infringements of its 
integrity.

The law defines Mother Earth as "...the dynamic living system formed by 
the indivisible community of all life systems and living beings whom are 
interrelated, interdependent, and complementary, which share a common 
destiny; adding that "Mother Earth is considered sacred in the worldview 
of Indigenous peoples and nations. In this approach human beings and 
their communities are considered a part of mother earth, by being 
integrated in "Life systems" defined as complex and dynamic communities 
of plants, animals, micro-organisms and other beings in their 
environment, in which human communities and the rest of nature interact 
as a functional unit, under the influence of climatic, physiographic and 
geologic factors, as well as the productive practices and cultural 
diversity of Bolivians of both genders, and the cosmovisions of 
Indigenous nations and peoples, intercultural communities and the 
Afro-Bolivians.

This definition can be seen as a more inclusive definition of ecosystems 
because it explicitly includes the social, cultural and economic 
dimensions of human communities.The law also establishes the juridical 
character of Mother Earth as "collective subject of public interest", to 
ensure the exercise and protection of her rights. By giving Mother Earth 
a legal personality, it can, through its representatives (humans), bring 
an action to defend its rights.

Additionally, to say that Mother Earth is of public interest represents 
a major shift from a anthropocentric perspective to a more Earth 
community based perspective. >http://bit.ly/TTiTVE 
<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FTTiTVE&h=OAQEjAyM1&s=1>

CHAPTER III
RIGHTS OF MOTHER EARTH
Article 7. (RIGHTS OF MOTHER EARTH)

I. Mother Earth has the following rights:

1. To life: The right to maintain the integrity of living systems and 
natural processes that sustain them, and capacities and conditions for 
regeneration.

2. To the diversity of life: It is the right to preservation of 
differentiation and variety of beings that make up Mother Earth, without 
being genetically altered or structurally modified in an artificial way, 
so that their existence, functioning or future potential would be 
threatened.

3. To water: The right to preserve the functionality of the water cycle, 
its existence in the quantity and quality needed to sustain living 
systems, and its protection from pollution for the reproduction of the 
life of Mother Earth and all its components.

4. To clean air: The right to preserve the quality and composition of 
air for sustaining living systems and its protection from pollution, for 
the reproduction of the life of Mother Earth and all its components.

5. To equilibrium: The right to maintenance or restoration of the 
interrelationship, interdependence, complementarity and functionality of 
the components of Mother Earth in a balanced way for the continuation of 
their cycles and reproduction of their vital processes.

6. To restoration: The right to timely and effective restoration of 
living systems affected by human activities directly or indirectly.

7. To pollution-free living: The right to the preservation of any of 
Mother Earth's components from contamination, as well as toxic and 
radioactive waste generated by human activities.

Full English Translation: http://bit.ly/TT4adw 
<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FTT4adw&h=XAQFqJcdJ&s=1>

Full Original Spanish Translation: http://bit.ly/hnjihc 
<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fhnjihc&h=WAQGLT3Tw&s=1>

Bolivia enshrines natural world's rights with equal status for Mother 
Earth http://bit.ly/eHbcq4 
<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FeHbcq4&h=wAQGt2vUw&s=1>