Panama joins a handful of other countries who have enacted similar legislation, such as Bolivia, Ecuador, Uganda, and Chile. Shouldn't every country enact similar legislation?
Panama is one of the most mega-diverse countries in the world, which is home to big cats like jaguars and ocelots, 6 distinct monkey species like capuchins (pictured), myriad marine and bird life, and many kinds of sloth like the pygmy sloth, who is endangered. Its mystifying array of creatures shoulders Panama with a lot of responsibility for maintaining our planet’s biodiversity.
Since 2020, biologist Callie Veelenturf and Congressman Juan Diego Vásquez Gutiérrez have developed and proposed that the rights of nature to “exist, persist and regenerate” be legally recognized. Happily, their work has now been rewarded after Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo signed the Rights of Nature into the country’s laws. So, what does this encompass? Here's a quick bullet point summary:
Acknowledges Nature’s rights to exist, persist, and regenerate life cycles.
Requires the state and all individuals, citizens and non-citizens alike, to respect nature.
Guarantees Nature representation to have its interests fought for in a court of law.
Creates a framework that improves the legal and judicial means, resources, and arguments available to environmental lawyers and activists.
Changes the official Panamanian relationship with Nature from one of superiority and otherness to one of interconnection and interdependence.
Removes anthrocentric assumption, creating legal principles such as in dubio pro natura, meaning “when in doubt, side with Nature.”
Establishes that the world view and ancestral knowledge of Indigenous peoples must be an integral part of interpreting and applying the Rights of Nature.
Furthers Panama’s defenses against the climate crisis.
Any decisions or actions by the state, individuals, or companies will now have to contend with the Panamanian legal system before taking any action that affects Nature. This new legal framework will necessitate changes to Panama’s land management and energy policies, as Nature is now a party that requires representation in many matters. The next step will be legal action and changes made to ensure that current companies or state entities are in line with the law.
The public will also be educated on their new power and duty to defend Nature. This will make it easier for people to bring cases against corporations and countries to defend rivers, forests, animals, wetlands, and oceans.
Legal Rights for Florida's Water? Threatened by development, five bodies of water are suing the State of Florida, making the argument that nature has legal rights.
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