The rights of nature and the human right to nature: an overview of the European legal system and challenges for the ecological transition
Introduction: The recognition of the Rights of Nature has been established though several constitutional, legislative, and judicial enactments, which aim to provide legal protection for non-humans’ entities and natural systems. Although some countries have made progress in recognizing the rights of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1175143/full |
| _version_ | 1827906524799827968 |
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| author | Fátima Alves Fátima Alves Paulo Manuel Costa Paulo Manuel Costa Luca Novelli Diogo Guedes Vidal |
| author_facet | Fátima Alves Fátima Alves Paulo Manuel Costa Paulo Manuel Costa Luca Novelli Diogo Guedes Vidal |
| author_sort | Fátima Alves |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: The recognition of the Rights of Nature has been established though several constitutional, legislative, and judicial enactments, which aim to provide legal protection for non-humans’ entities and natural systems. Although some countries have made progress in recognizing the rights of nature, the prevailing assumption remains that nature is a resource to be exploited for human benefit. In the context of ecological transition debates, it is important to understand how the European legal system perceives Nature and its rights. Achieving a significant shift in legal and cultural norms that prioritize nature’s protection may be challenging.Methods: This paper reports on research conducted in a sample of 6 countries within the PHOENIX consortium, a European H2020 project that aims to develop participatory methodologies and democratic innovations to facilitate the ecological transition as envisioned by the European Green Deal, whose objective was to find out how these countries embodied the Rights of nature into their legal systems, both at constitutional level and at the level of environmental and related laws and policies.Results: The results indicate that in legislative terms, concepts of nature are absent, and instead, the term environment or natural resources are used. Furthermore, rights of nature are rarely recognized in all countries, with anthropocentric and in instrumental views prevailing. In contrast, the human right to Nature is widely recognized in all countries, referring to the right of all individuals to access to and live in a healthy environment.Discussion: Despite the importance of the human right to Nature as a matter of equity and justice, failure to recognise the rights of nature and protect/respect its limits may constitute a potential barrier to ecological transition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:58:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6271d9fce40d439c8cb47d8fb66e7b4f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-665X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T00:58:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-6271d9fce40d439c8cb47d8fb66e7b4f2023-07-06T14:33:13ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2023-07-011110.3389/fenvs.2023.11751431175143The rights of nature and the human right to nature: an overview of the European legal system and challenges for the ecological transitionFátima Alves0Fátima Alves1Paulo Manuel Costa2Paulo Manuel Costa3Luca Novelli4Diogo Guedes Vidal5Department of Social Sciences and Management, Universidade Aberta, Lisbon, PortugalTERRA Associate Laboratory, Centre for Functional Ecology—Science for People and the Planet (CFE), Department of Life Sciences (DCV), University of Coimbra (UC), Coimbra, PortugalDepartment of Social Sciences and Management, Universidade Aberta, Lisbon, PortugalTERRA Associate Laboratory, Centre for Functional Ecology—Science for People and the Planet (CFE), Department of Life Sciences (DCV), University of Coimbra (UC), Coimbra, PortugalFondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, Milan, ItalyTERRA Associate Laboratory, Centre for Functional Ecology—Science for People and the Planet (CFE), Department of Life Sciences (DCV), University of Coimbra (UC), Coimbra, PortugalIntroduction: The recognition of the Rights of Nature has been established though several constitutional, legislative, and judicial enactments, which aim to provide legal protection for non-humans’ entities and natural systems. Although some countries have made progress in recognizing the rights of nature, the prevailing assumption remains that nature is a resource to be exploited for human benefit. In the context of ecological transition debates, it is important to understand how the European legal system perceives Nature and its rights. Achieving a significant shift in legal and cultural norms that prioritize nature’s protection may be challenging.Methods: This paper reports on research conducted in a sample of 6 countries within the PHOENIX consortium, a European H2020 project that aims to develop participatory methodologies and democratic innovations to facilitate the ecological transition as envisioned by the European Green Deal, whose objective was to find out how these countries embodied the Rights of nature into their legal systems, both at constitutional level and at the level of environmental and related laws and policies.Results: The results indicate that in legislative terms, concepts of nature are absent, and instead, the term environment or natural resources are used. Furthermore, rights of nature are rarely recognized in all countries, with anthropocentric and in instrumental views prevailing. In contrast, the human right to Nature is widely recognized in all countries, referring to the right of all individuals to access to and live in a healthy environment.Discussion: Despite the importance of the human right to Nature as a matter of equity and justice, failure to recognise the rights of nature and protect/respect its limits may constitute a potential barrier to ecological transition.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1175143/fullrights of natureEuropelegal systemecological transitionEuropean green deal |
| spellingShingle | Fátima Alves Fátima Alves Paulo Manuel Costa Paulo Manuel Costa Luca Novelli Diogo Guedes Vidal The rights of nature and the human right to nature: an overview of the European legal system and challenges for the ecological transition Frontiers in Environmental Science rights of nature Europe legal system ecological transition European green deal |
| title | The rights of nature and the human right to nature: an overview of the European legal system and challenges for the ecological transition |
| title_full | The rights of nature and the human right to nature: an overview of the European legal system and challenges for the ecological transition |
| title_fullStr | The rights of nature and the human right to nature: an overview of the European legal system and challenges for the ecological transition |
| title_full_unstemmed | The rights of nature and the human right to nature: an overview of the European legal system and challenges for the ecological transition |
| title_short | The rights of nature and the human right to nature: an overview of the European legal system and challenges for the ecological transition |
| title_sort | rights of nature and the human right to nature an overview of the european legal system and challenges for the ecological transition |
| topic | rights of nature Europe legal system ecological transition European green deal |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1175143/full |
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