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Earth Jurisprudence: Aligning law and society with nature
IT IS CLEAR that our legal and governance systems need to change, radically.
We are raising the temperature of the planet to dangerous levels that threaten the wellbeing and survival of the Earth and its communities. Corporate driven solutions to agriculture and the new push for agrofuels are leading to higher food prices and creating a class of “new poor”, whilst also leading to more environmental degradation. In many parts of the world, biological diversity and the basic ecological resources communities need to survive are becoming more acute. If we continue consuming and polluting as we are doing, with little regard for the long-term health of our planet, we will almost certainly trigger far greater ecological catastrophes. We may even render ourselves extinct. Humanity faces very real and serious challenges if it is to survive. The planet is crying out for a change of direction. But what should this change of direction consist of and where will it take us? How can we rebuild a healthy relationship with our planet and with each other? And what policy framework and governance structures should we turn to in order to create a more harmonious relationship between humans, non-human species and the Earth?
Thomas Berry, cultural historian and visionary, states starkly that the western industrial legal system legitimises human destruction of our life support system because it prioritises short-term human needs and interests, turning its back on the welfare of the wider community of life on Earth – The Earth Community. He calls for a radical new jurisprudence that will transform the way we think about our relationship with the planet and the way we govern our territories, our institutions and education systems. Thomas Berry calls for us to define a new Earth Jurisprudence, a notion that challenges us to shift our thinking from a humans-only orientation to a more Earth centred approach based on an understanding of ourselves as an inextricable part of the Earth’s living systems.
Earth Jurisprudence is premised on the understanding that law and governance should protect the wellbeing and integral functioning of the planet so that all components of the Earth Community live in healthy ecosystems that sustain the diversity of the natural world. The mission must be to re-envision law and governance and work to open spaces that allow us to support the wellbeing of the Earth as a whole. This involves fostering mutually enhancing relationships among humans and nature based on reciprocity, restraining potentially damaging human activities and recognising the rights of nature.
There are many sources of inspiration for Earth Jurisprudence, including nature herself. If we are to understand these greater laws of the Earth – the Great Jurisprudence – then we are required to become eco-literate again. The complex spiritual and customary values of non-industrial and indigenous societies inform Earth Jurisprudence thinking. Their social and ecological governance systems are often founded upon the basis of customary lore, which is constituted through and informed by the inter-generational transfer of culturally-specific ancestral knowledge about their Story of Origin. Such lore tends to be based on the recognition that the health of the ecosystem as a whole is integral to the maintenance of human health and wellbeing. According to this view, if we take too much from the environment without giving nature its due or the respect it deserves, if we do not offer something back to nature in return, then our societies will fall ill. Indigenous people have evolved a range of norms, practices and taboos, which ensure they govern themselves in a way that maintains reciprocity and a healthy balance between the needs of the human communities, nature and past and future generations. Earth Jurisprudence recognises the importance of these ways of thinking and assesses the extent to which western governance systems can integrate and adapt them in a practical way in order to enable us to work towards a more sustainable future.
This radical and innovative approach to law and governance is guiding and inspiring a wide range of people and organisations in many different parts of the world.
- In the USA, community associations have been drafting their own ordinances in partnership with their local government to secure their constitutional rights to a healthy environment by prohibiting corporations from polluting in their boroughs. This bottom-up approach to law making has been particularly effective in recognising the rights of natural ecosystems – for the first time in modern US history.
- In Europe, communities are using ecological mapping processes to initiate consultations and dialogues with their governments over matters of biodiversity protection and access to traditional fishing areas. The EU Water Framework Directive includes elements of Earth Jurisprudence thinking. The Directive includes provisions for more public participation in decision-making processes over water environments. Its implementation through river basin management plans offers opportunities for the introduction of ecologically based systems of governance that are rooted in the historical and cultural experiences of the communities that surround the river. Several communities along the River Thames are now eager to embrace opportunities to nurture Earth Jurisprudence and Community Ecological Governance in a western urban fluvial context.
- In Africa, rural and indigenous communities are increasingly looking to their customary lores and norms as a means to govern themselves and their relationship with the environment. In Ethiopia, organisations are working with forest dwelling communities and the regional government to strengthen community involvement in ecological governance to protect key ecosystems from the expansion of large export-oriented tea and coffee plantations. In Kenya, after years of struggle and negotiation, important water catchments are now being protected by community associations. They are being governed in a way that replenishes the natural ecosystem and benefits the local people and non-human species that depend upon them for survival.
- In Latin America, indigenous communities govern huge areas of territory according to strict culturally embedded ecological principles. In Colombia, traditional indigenous authorities are managing a territory of approximately 21 million hectares, are developing their and their own education and health systems, and are pioneering an ecologically based governance path. Ecuador is poised to become the first country to recognise the rights of nature in its national constitution, which is being decided upon in July 2008.
- In Asia, through the Navdanya Movement, farmers are organising around the principles of ‘Earth Democracy’ by strengthening community governance over their lands. They are building community seed banks so that local farmers can have access to and exchange GM-free seeds in times of drought and famine. They are defending their right to produce healthy, organic, diverse and GM-free food for local markets.
Why is Earth Jurisprudence important?
- Earth Jurisprudence encourages us to challenge our perceptions of the source, function and effectiveness of law, governance, education, economics and religion.
- Earth Jurisprudence provides a practical, theoretical and spiritual framework that allows us to develop strategies for survival in today’s climate of governmental, economic, environmental, social and spiritual crisis. We find ourselves at a critical time in humanity’s history. This crisis requires radical and innovative responses.
- Earth Jurisprudence informs governance and law making in relation to a wide range of subjects and issues, such as climate change, the conservation of sacred sites, food and agriculture, indigenous rights, land and territory, forest protection, public participation in ecological governance, and many other areas.
- Earth Jurisprudence encourages us to change our mindset and realise that governance is not made but discovered from nature. Indigenous people provide inspiration for us because their governance systems are highly dependent on maintaining a healthy relationship between nature and humanity.
- Looking at law and governance through an Earth Jurisprudence lens provides us with an opportunity to re-vision our governance systems and personal practice towards the environment so that they are more responsive to the needs of the biosphere.
- Earth Jurisprudence allows us to become eco-literate again, thereby strengthening our calling to protect nature and giving us a greater sense of our place on and responsibilities towards the planet.
- Earth Jurisprudence provides us with an ethical code of thinking and practice that can assist us in the personal transformation that is needed to enable us to become better Earth Citizens.
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