Countries that granted same legal rights as a person to its natural resources

Team Udayavani, Oct 19, 2021, 12:33 PM IST

We all have been told in our childhood that the environment is like a blessing for humans. It is considered as the hub of elements.

All living things that live on this earth come under the environment. Whether they live on land or water they are part of the environment. The environment also includes air, water, sunlight, plants, animals, etc.

Moreover, the earth is considered the only planet in the universe that supports life. The environment can be understood as a blanket that keeps life on the planet safe and sound.

We truly cannot understand the real worth of the environment. But we can estimate some of its importance that can help us understand its importance. It plays a vital role in keeping living things healthy in the environment.

Likewise, it maintains the ecological balance that will keep check of life on earth. It provides food, shelter, air, and fulfills all human needs whether big or small.

Most importantly, our environment is the source of natural beauty and is necessary for maintaining physical and mental health.

Human and environment are interconnected to each other, each affects the others. It makes a huge impact on our health and wellbeing.

Obviously, it is mandatory to have safe, healthy and supportive environment for attaining good health. Environment is a vital subject that makes you breathe open under it, but experiencing conditions these days it seems like soon environment is going to burst out on human, as effects are already being seen in several parts of the world.

It happens when our environment is not able to destroy the polluted elements without affecting itself. The polluted elements surrounded all over in the air are not given birth by nature and the process of this destruction can vary from few days to thousand years.

The main reason behind pollution is the selfish nature of human beings who only think of themselves, but then he is unaware of the upcoming doomsday. Actually, pollution comes when nature itself is unaware of how to decompose those polluted elements that enter in an unnatural way.

So, don’t you think, environment deserves respect from our humans? Well, the answer should be ‘YES’

All across the world, people are facing challenging environmental problems every day. While many people are working together to keen our less affected few countries have recognized the Rights of Nature in their Constitution.

Take a look at the countries that have granted the same legal rights as a person to its natural resources:

Ecuador: Rights of Nature

Ecuador is the first country to recognize Rights of Nature in its Constitution. A great first step for humanity towards a change of paradigm!

The country rewrote its Constitution in 2007-2008 and it was ratified by referendum by the people of Ecuador in September 2008.

The new Ecuadorian Constitution includes a Chapter: Rights for Nature. Rather than treating nature as property under the law, Rights for Nature articles acknowledge that nature in all its life forms has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles. And we – the people – have the legal authority to enforce these rights on behalf of ecosystems. The ecosystem itself can be named as the defendant.

New Zealand grants same legal rights to river as a person

A river in New Zealand has become the first in the world to be granted the same legal rights as a person.

The New Zealand parliament passed the bill in 2017 recognizing the Whanganui River, in North Island, as a living entity. Long revered by New Zealand’s Maori people, the river’s interests have been represented by two people.

The Whanganui River, New Zealand’s third-longest, is being represented by one member from the Maori tribes, known as iwi, and one from the Crown.

The recognition allows it to be represented in court proceedings.

Bangladesh gave all its rivers their own legal rights

Bangladesh is sometimes known as the “land of the rivers.” It’s got hundreds of them — and over the years, they’ve been getting more and more polluted. But in 2019 every single one of them got a remarkable new level of protection as the Bangladeshi Supreme Court gave all rivers in the country legal rights.

Now, people who damage a river are taken to court by the government-appointed National River Conservation Commission.

The importance of environmental health is something that every individual should think off. Environmental health is been harmed just because of the pollution surrounded all over in the atmosphere. Everyone must take pollution seriously. As pollution is not only hampering the environment, but it is even harming the nature gifts on earth like water and air. There is no survival without these two key things. It will lead to ending up all the animals, humans and as well as plants.