The rapidly growing ‘Rights of Nature’ movement seeks to weigh and balance the rights of humans against those of the whole Earth community. Ecuador have recognised Mother Nature in their constitution, Bolivia and more than two dozen municipal governments in the USA have Rights of Nature legislation and in New Zealand, the Whanganui River ecosystem has been granted ‘personhood’ rights. So where does Australia figure in this movement?
This seminar features an introduction to Wild Law (or ‘Earth Jurisprudence’) and Rights of Nature by Michelle Maloney, National Convenor of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance. The talk included an overview of the global movement advocating for Earth centred law and governance, and reflected on the relevance of this trend to the engineering profession.
Jo-Anne Bragg, Principal Solicitor of the Environmental Defender’s Office Queensland then discussed current trends in Queensland and Australian environmental law. Both speakers discussed the potential and barriers for having Earth centred law and governance (including Rights of Nature legislation) in Australia.
For more information download the flyer.
EA members can logon to watch a webcast of the event.
Members can also access presentations kindly provided by the speakers here:
- Michelle (*1,673 kB attachment)
- Jo (*741 kB attachment)
