Summary
On April 20, 2022, congressman Father Pedro Baldissera, representative of the Workers’ Party, proposed an amendment to Art.181 of the State of Santa Catarina (Brazil) constitution, recognizing the Rights of Nature. The amendment states that “nature has rights inherent to its existence, and it lies with the Government and the community the promotion of the recovery, the protection and the maintenance of fauna, flora and other ecological, biological, genetic and biogeochemical, human and non-human processes, ensuring the rights of nature to thrive and evolve, and harmoniously coexist with the culture.”. The amendment emphasizes that any citizen may demand enforcement of the Rights of Nature from the Government, citing the institutional obligation to protect public and social heritage. Prior to this official proposal, there have been many requests from councillors of PSOL and professors of UFSC calling for a municipal amendment in Florianópolis in 2019 (second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina) inspired by the municipal amendments achieved in Bonito (2017) and Paudalho (2018).