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Panama Gives Rights to Nature

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By Katie Surma

Panama is the latest country to recognize the legal rights of nature, giving environmentalists a new tool to fight ecological harm.

After just over a year of debate in Panama’s National Assembly, President ​​Laurentino Cortizo signed legislation on Thursday that defines nature as “a unique, indivisible and self-regulating community of living beings, elements and ecosystems interrelated to each other that sustains, contains and reproduces all beings.” 

The legislation includes six paragraphs of rights extended to nature, including the “right to exist, persist and regenerate its life cycles,” the “right to conserve its biodiversity,” and the “right to be restored after being affected directly or indirectly by any human activity.” 

Panama now joins Bolivia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, among other countries, which have either issued court decisions, enacted laws or amended constitutions recognizing the legal rights of nature. Panama’s law will go into effect one year after it is published in the country’s Official Gazette.

The legislation also imposes new obligations on Panama’s government, including a requirement that its plans, policies and programs respect the rights of nature. It instructs the government to develop manufacturing processes and energy policies that safeguard ecosystems, and it requires the government to promote the rights of nature as part of its foreign policy. 

April 22, 2022

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  1. A splendid article, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a little analysis on this. And he in fact purchased me lunch because I found it for him :). So let me rephrase that: Thanks for the treat! But yeah Thankx for taking the time to talk about this, I feel strongly about it and enjoy learning more on this topic. If possible, as you become expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more info? It is extremely helpful for me. Two thumb up for this article!

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