Summary
In August 2014, the National Assembly of Ecuador passed the Organic Law of Water Resources, Uses, and Exploitation of Water – which articulates the rights of nature in the context of water. The stated purpose of the Law “is to guarantee the human right to water in order to guarantee the sumak kawsay or good living and the rights of nature established in the Constitution.” (3). Chapter III, Articles 64. states that in water conservation, Nature or Pachamama has the right to: a) protection of its sources; b) maintenance of ecological flow as a guarantee of preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity; c) preservation of the natural water cycle; d) protection of watersheds and ecosystems from pollution; and e) restoration of ecosystems (19).
The law was first debated on November 10, 2009; again in May 2010 and June 2014; and finally on July 31, 2014 where it was subsequently approved.