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El Salvador Law: Rights of the Lempa River

El Salvador
Drafted in 2020
National
Legislation
Rights Of Nature
Lempa River
Freshwater Ecosystem
Government

Summary

In 2020, a draft bill aimed to recognize the Lempa River as a subject of law in El Salvador, enabling a caretaking system. It recognizes its organic functions as well as those of the communities that inhabit the ecosystem. It also says the significant contamination of the Lempa River and the world’s rivers is alarming. It establishes the Lempa River has the right to flow; the right to exercise its essential functions with the ecosystem; the right to be free from all contamination; the right to feed and be fed by its tributaries; the right to native biodiversity; and, the right to regeneration and restoration.

Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/draft-declaration-and-recognition-of-the-rights-of-the-lempa-river-as-a-subject-of-rights-in-el-salvador/.

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Legal Document

Draft Declaration and Recognition of the Rights of the Lempa River as a Subject of Rights in El Salvador
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