Putting nature in Ecuador's constitution

In an experiment worth watching, Ecuador will ask voters to decide whether nature has rights.

http://www.latimes. com/news/ printedition/ opinion/la- ed-nature2- 2008sep02, 0,7811640. story


This month, Ecuador will hold the world's first constitutional referendum in which voters will decide, among many other reforms, whether to endow nature with certain unalienable rights. Not only would the new constitution give nature the right to "exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution," but if it is approved, communities, elected officials and even individuals would have legal standing to defend the rights of nature.