Ecuador’s Coastal Ecosystems Have Rights, Constitutional Court Rules

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador has determined that coastal marine ecosystems have rights of nature, including the right to “integral respect for its existence and for the maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes,” per Chapter 7, Articles 71 to 74 in the country’s constitution.

This is not the first time that Ecuador has established legal rights for nature. In fact, Ecuador was the first country in the world to establish that nature held legal rights, Earth.org reported. In 2008, Ecuador added rights for Pacha Mama, an ancient goddess similar to the Mother Earth entity, in its constitution. 

The law included a series of articles establishing that nature has the right to restoration and that the government will take precautions and restrictions against people harming or destroying ecosystems, according to the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature.

As Inside Climate News reported, the country has previously protected land and wild animals. The latest ruling is the first time that Ecuador’s rights of nature have been applied to marine environments.

The case started in 2020, when industrial fishers filed that article 104 of the Organic Law for the Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries was unconstitutional, arguing that it violated rights of nature because it could lead to overfishing by small-scale fishers within a defined 8-nautical mile zone established by the law. The fishers also argued that the Zone for Artisanal Fishing violated their rights to benefiting from nature.

The court disagreed with the arguments and determined the Zone for Artisanal Fishing was necessary to protect local fish species and their ecosystems. It determined that nature, including marine ecosystems, involves a network of interrelated elements, and as one element is impacted, the whole ecosystem can be impacted. Expanding industrial fishing into the zone could threaten marine life, according to the decision.

“Most of the surface of the planet Earth — currently approximately 70.8% — is covered by oceans and seas. Marine-coastal ecosystems are highly dynamic and are interconnected by a network of surface currents and deep. Their health helps ‘in efforts to adapt to climate change and mitigation of its effects’, which contributes to making them essential for ‘the healthy functioning of the planet,’” the court shared in its ruling.

According to United Nations, developing a rights of nature framework in legislation can lead to ecosystem preservation and restoration as well as supporting human rights.

“For example, Ecuador’s framework provides interesting legal tools to orient the choices of decision-makers; all people have universal rights to represent Nature and can bring suit in her name,” the UN reported. “Also, Ecuador has introduced a series of ecocentric principles: principle of precaution, prevention, in dubio pro natura, non regression, tolerance, among others which have been key to stopping development projects threatening the integrity of Nature and preserving biodiversity under an ecosystemic oriented governance.”

Moving forward, the latest ruling from the Constitutional Court of Ecuador is expected to establish a precedent that allows more people to sue on behalf of nature to protect marine environments from exploitation, including fossil fuel development.