Natalia Greene is the President of Ecuador’s National Coordinating Entity for environmental NGOs, and has been a key figure in the recognition of Rights of Nature. She surveys the transformational global movement for Earth jurisprudence. During her presentation, she explained that currently, we live in a world where using sustainable development to justify environmental destruction is acceptable. This shows that human beings are disconnected with Nature (“Pachamama”) and treat the earth as a commodity. Ecuador, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, is a leading example is this trend, where there is an active civil society which advocates for biodiversity, food security and Indigenous rights. In 2008, the most biocentric Constitution the world has known, was passed in Ecuador. However, there is still a lot of work to be done for the implementation of these fundamental rights. This is possible through the “reading” and understanding of Nature. Photo credit: Bioneers
