Summary
On July 11, 2023, the municipality of José de Freitas, Brazil approved an amendment to the municipal Organic Law “recognizing Nature has rights, and to this end, its existence and maintenance, regeneration of its vital cycles, structures, as well as its function and evolutionary process must be fully respected” (1), and that “concrete actions are needed to defend nature’s right to be a subject of rights.” (4). Soon afterwards, on August 17, 2023, Municipal Decree No. 243/2023 was sanctioned for the creation of the “Selo Ouro Barragem de Bezerro” environmental certification.
The collective-built proposal was brought about by councillor Yarema Leite Rodrigues de Sousa Alves (Solidarity Party), along with lawyers Mariana Ribeiro Santiago, Ian Cavalcante, and Igor Miranda de Carvalho. The municipality was the first in the State of Piauí to promote the proposal.