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Ecuador Constitution

Ecuador
National
Approved in 2008
Constitution
Indigenous Model, Rights Of Nature
Pachamama
All Nature
Constituent Assembly of Ecuador, with submissions from civil society
Government, Indigenous, NGO

Summary

In 2008, Ecuador adopted a new constitution, whose Preamble “celebrates” Nature, defined in terms of the Andean Indigenous concept Pachamama, and declares the goal of building “a new form of public coexistence, in diversity and in harmony with nature, to achieve the good way of living, the sumak kawsay.” In this way, the constitution is meant to create a foundation for a post-neoliberal approach to development rooted in the Indigenous concept of sumak kawsay, or “buen vivir” in Spanish. The constitution recognizes the rights of nature as part of a collection of rights that are presented as tools for achieving this goal of sumak kawsay.

To see the original legal document(s) for this initiative, click the links below:

Ecuador Constitution of 2008 [PDF]

To see other supplementary information related to this initiative, click the links below:

Inside Climate News - Ecuador’s High Court Affirms Constitutional Protections for the Rights of Nature in a Landmark Decision
Taylor and Francis Online - Ecuador First to Grant Nature Constitutional Rights
Environment and Society Portal - The Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador: Pachamama Has Rights

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