User:LindaSheehan/sandbox
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Rights of nature is a legal and jurisprudential theory that describes inherent rights as associated with ecosystems and species, similar to the concept of fundamental human rights. The rights of nature concept challenges 20th century laws as generally grounded in a flawed frame of nature as “resource,” to be owned, used, and degraded. Proponents argue that laws grounded in nature’s rights better direct humanity to act in a way consistent with modern, system-based science, which demonstrates that humans and the natural world are fundamentally interconnected.
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This school of thought is underpinned by two basic lines of reasoning. First, since the recognition of human rights is in part based on the philosophical belief that those rights emanate from humanity's own existence, so too logically do inherent rights of the natural world arise from the natural world’s own existence. A second and more pragmatic argument asserts that humans' own survival depends on healthy ecosystems, and so protection of nature’s rights in turn advances human rights and well-being.
From a rights of nature perspective, most environmental laws of the 20th century are based on an outmoded framework that considers nature as comprised of separate and independent parts, rather than components of a larger whole. A more significant criticism is that those laws tend to be subordinate to economic interests, and aim at reacting to and just partially mitigating economics-driven degradation, rather than placing nature's right to thrive as their primary goal.
The rights of nature legal theory and the ethics buttressing it share common grounding with a wide range of philosophical and spiritual traditions that recognize a deep connection and belonging between humans and nature, and a responsibility of humans to preserve, and be a respectful part of, the natural order. These include indigenous worldviews; Asian traditions such as Daoism, Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, and Hinduism; and principles derived from Christian and Islamic traditions.
Proponents of the rights of nature also contend that societies have continued to expand rights as acceptance of the inherent moral worth of the potential new rights holders grows, and that this expansion of the circle of community should grow to encompass the natural world.
As of 2019 nature’s rights laws exist at the local to national levels in 12 countries, including dozens of cities and counties across the United States, in the form of constitutional provisions, treaty agreements, statutes, local ordinances, and court decisions.