Minas Gerais State (Brazil) Law: rights of the Rio Doce

Summary

In February 2024, a bill was submitted to the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais in Brazil that aims to recognize the Rio Doce as a subject of rights and guarantee its right to exist, to live free from contamination, to preserve its life cycles, to regenerate, and to restore its life systems in a timely and effective manner. The Rio Doce is approximately 853 km long and flows through the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.

Jurisprudential Framing
Article 1 – The intrinsic rights of the Rio Doce as a living entity and subject of rights are hereby recognized, as well as those of all other bodies of water and living beings that naturally exist within it or with which it interacts, including human beings, insofar as they coexist in an interconnected, integrated, and interdependent system.

The law would establish a Guardian Committee that will meet at least every twelve months and prepare a written report to inform the community about the health and state of the Rio Doce and the planning of strategic actions to enforce the rights guaranteed by this law.

The bill was sent to the Committees on Constitution and Justice and on Environment and Sustainable Development, for their opinion. It is awaiting the appointment of a rapporteur in the committee and remains pending in the legislative process.