In most countries, nature has the legal status of property. This means that their current laws protect nature only for the benefit of people and corporations, since the environment has no rights itself.
Earth Law is the idea that ecosystems have the right to exist, thrive, and evolve—and that nature should be able to defend its rights in court, just like people can.
Mission
They do this by building a force of advocates for nature's rights at local and international levels. They partner with local organizations create new laws
that recognize rights of rivers, oceans, coastal and land ecosystems.
Key initiatives include:
-Securing legal rights for Marine Protected Areas, such as the Patagonian Sea, to protect thousands of species of a-nimals and help preserve its ecosystem
-Protecting the Magdalena River, Mexico City’s last remaining free-flowing river, to enable its restoration and ease pressure on the surrounding environmental resources
-Fighting for legal protection of the Great Lakes, to ensure they can sustain both human needs and the ecosystem as a whole.
Vision
In most countries, nature has the legal status of property. Under this system, the environment has no voice in decision-making and cannot bring issues to court.
Earth Law Center works to shift this paradigm, fighting for formal recognition of nature's inherent right to thrive. Earth Law gives ecosystems the same rights as people and corporations. This enables the defense of nature in the courts—not only for the benefit of people, but also for the sake of nature itself. Earth Law argues that humans and nature are not at odds, but are deeply connected and dependent on one another.
