California—Today, the people of Ecuador voted to recognize the inalienable rights belonging to ecosystems in their new constitution. A set of groundbreaking articles that transform the status of nature from mere property to a rights-bearing entity are now incorporated into the national charter. Ecuador, one of the world's most biodiverse places, has set a precedent for other nations who have struggled against multinational corporations' exploitation, which has turned ecosystems and whole communities into sacrifice zones. The world watches as Ecuador takes its first step into what many people believe is the legal unknown.

The inspiration for today's remarkable achievement comes from municipalities across the United States where rural communities have already developed and adopted Rights of Nature ordinances, first developed by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). Ecuador's Constitutional Assembly asked CELDF to suggest Rights of Nature language for their draft constitution, based on the municipalities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New Hampshire that have taken the lead nationally and globally.

Global Exchange rights-based organizer, Shannon Biggs, who partners with CELDF to assist communities in passing these new laws, is blazing new ground in California: "Ecuador and U.S. communities—from Santa Cruz, California to rural Pennsylvania—are passing laws that assert the rights of nature to be wild, and boldly changing the way we protect the environment." Biggs is organizing with Monterey, Nevada City and Santa Cruz, which are among the first California communities working to pass local laws to change not only nature's legal status nature, but also its culture.

Local Nevada City, California concerned resident Debra Weistar: "For 150 years, the entire Sierra Nevada mountain range has been exploited for profit. There is still a "gold rush" mentality here that implies that there are riches in these hills for the taking. Ecuador is leading the way on a national level, and it has created momentum that may evolve into a movement. I can follow and emulate that model to help my own community."

Local Monterey organizer Elsa Dooling: "In our community on the Central Coast of California we have enormous, highly valuable natural resources that are supposedly being protected under current regulations. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary says our coastal waters are protected, yet not only are large commercial farms pouring hundreds of millions of pounds of toxic pesticides into our air, water and soil, but so are our cities and counties. If our community was able to stand up and say the natural habitat of the Bay has rights—true and recognized rights—we'd be able to legally go after the polluters for violations and stop the assault that is killing our fragile coastal ecosystem."

States Biggs: "Slaves were once also considered property under the law. We needed to write new law in order to change the cultural understanding, the cultural climate. This is the kind of change represented by these local efforts, and now Ecuador. We need many more communities to stand up for the environment in the places where they live." Across the U.S., communities are making demands for a new system that prioritizes environmental health over corporate profits.

For more information visit: Rights-based Organizing

Interested in traveling to Ecuador with Global Exchange to learn more? Visit Reality Tours in Ecuador

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