On the Rights of Nature podcast

New episode: The Land that owns itself with Mari Margil from @centerforenvironmentalrights We talk about the pioneering initiative to develop new frameworks where land can own itself. Mari is one of those pioneers in the rights of nature movement. She has served as the Associate Director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). In 2008, she acted as a consultant to Ecuador’s national Constituent Assembly, helping to draft the world’s first rights of nature constitutional provisions. Mari works with national and local governments, tribal nations, indigenous communities and NGOs in Australia, the Philippines, Nepal, Sweden and elsewhere, to advance legal and policy frameworks regarding rights of nature. She supported us to write a proposal for including the rights of nature in the constitution of Sweden. This was then developed into a parliamentary motion by the green party, which has been presented several times. It was denied again just a few weeks ago. It is difficult to introduce rights of nature into law, which is why innovative measures like the land that owns itself is so interesting in the cultural shift that rights of nature entails. Link in bio! #Rightsofnature #Landthatownsitself @pellathiel @fredrik_arstv

New episode: Governance for the Living with @klaas_kuitenbrouwer @zoop_formorelife Link in bio! Klaas Kuitenbrouwer is the director of the Zoönomic Institute in the Netherlands, one of the organisations with most experience in designing structures for organisational governance from a more-than-human viewpoint. They tend to the roots of the Zoöp movement, supporting organisations to become regenerative by adding a person with a special function: a Speaker for the Living. A Zoöp is an organisation that collaborates with the other-than-humans in its operational sphere. Together they work on ecological regeneration and foster the emergence of a regenerative economy, or human-inclusive ecosystem. The Zoöp model can be adopted by all organisations. #rightsofnature #Zoöp #zoopformorelife #speakerfortheliving @pellathiel @fredrik_arstv

Dominique Hes about her role as the Voice of Nature on the Board of @regenmelbourne . Listen to the full episode, link in bio!

Our first episode for the year is with Dominique Hes @dominique_hes27 an author, educator and policy advisor with a PhD in Architecture. Dominique has been thinking about biomimicry, biophilia and regenerative development for a long time, publishing the award winning book 'Designing for Hope: Pathways to Regenerative sustainability', a decade ago. Her continued research centres on how to create a built environment that is good for people and the nature they are a part of. Dominique is the chair of @greenfleetaustralia , an NGO planting native forests in Australia and New Zealand. But our conversation is centered around her new role as the Voice of Nature on the Board of @regenmelbourne . This was a lively conversation, with a third participant, Max the parakeet who inhabits a cage behind Dominique as we speak, prompting us to briefly talk about animals as our helpers in getting a culture which has become a bit lost to find its way again. @fredrik_arstv @pellathiel

Embassy of the North Sea with Christiane Bosman In this episode, @christiane.bosman presents the @ambassadevdnoordzee . She talks about how the sea is often seen as nothing more than empty space, where human activity can take place. Through using the frame of an embassy, she often gets access to spaces to represent the interests of the North Sea that would otherwise not be available. The Embassy began as an art project, which turned out to be a constructive point of access; the creative and wild perspective brought by art paves the way for deeper conversations and ways forward, where more-than-human voices can be heard. Christiane also reports from the Confluence of European Waterbodies, recently held in Amsterdam. A large group of people representing 34 waterbodies - rivers, lakes, glaciers, lagoons, and seas - came together.  @ambassadevdnoordzee is the big sister of @balticembassy and in the photo we are out city kayaking in Helsinki, with @departmentofseaweed ! Christiane Bosman studied museology, art history and communication management. She has over 15 years of experience in developing, curating and producing cultural interventions in the public domain, with a focus on human non-human relationships since 2019. Previously she worked at SKOR | Foundation Art and Public Domain and TAAK cooperative. As a freelancer she worked for various cultural clients such as Het Nieuwe Instituut (La Biënnale di Venezia and La Triënnale di Milano) and Public Art Amsterdam. At the Embassy of the North Sea she is public programme director since 2019, and Confluence of European Water Bodies lead, a network of over 35 grass roots interdisciplinary collectives all over Europe, working on the legal, cultural and political representation of water. Since June 2023 she is also curator at the Ministry of the Future. #Northsea #doggerbank #balticsea #oceandiplomacy #regenerativediplomacy #rightsofnature #oceanrights #earthjurisprudence

Episode 7. Art and AI speaking for Nature with Nonhuman Nonsense. In this conversation with Leo Fidjeland and Linnea Våglund of Nonhuman Nonsense we discuss the role of art in speaking for nature and how the arts may provide a bridge in troubled times: widening the field and deepening conversations on ethical and burning issues beyond polarized views. We focus on the recent project Council of Forest, a forum where nonhuman entities supported by AI deliberate on the fate of their shared home in the north of Sweden, the Vindelälven-Juhttátahkka Biosphere reserve. You hear from Salmon, Reindeer, Pine and Wind turbine as they eloquently describe their perspectives on the green transition. Through the project, Nonhuman Nonsense are asking if AI can embody the wisdom of a tree, a river or a reindeer herd? What does it mean to act in the forest's best interest? And what happens if we take nonhuman voices seriously? We also touch upon Nonhuman Nonsenes interplanetary campaign, recognising the legal personhood of Mars and Martians. Nonhuman Nonsense is a research-driven art and design collective working in the realm of social dreaming and world-making. Their projects engage with the nonhuman: animals, objects, ecology, technology, and the spectres between and beyond categories. Nonhuman Nonsense sees nonsense as an antidote to “common sense” – embracing paradoxical stories to explore the ethical and metaphysical layers of our relationship with the (nonhuman) world.  @nonhuman_nonsense @pellathiel @fredrik_arstv @vindelalven_juhttatahkka #nonhuman #rightsofnature #councilofforest #biospherereserve #planetaryrights

New episode On the Rights of Nature! Rights of nature in Constitutional law with Hugo Echeverria Hugo Echeverria is an attorney who has worked in environmental law since 2001, with an emphasis on biodiversity conservation, the environmental rule of law, and the rights of nature. He is a member of the @harmonywithnatureun , as well as the @iucn_wcel . Ecuador is the first, and still the only, country on the planet to recognize rights of nature in the constitution. Hugo has worked on a variety of cases to enforce this provision, contributing to some of the world’s first jurisprudence on rights of nature. We talk about how it became possible for nature to be recognised as a rights holder in the constitution and how the Constitutional Court has weighed in lately to define what it means. Hugo describes some of the most significant cases, and discusses influence on international law systems. We also touch on the risk of the rights of nature being taken out at a potential revision of the constitution. Link in bio! #rightsofnature #Ecuador #constitutionallaw

RIGHTS OF NATURE IN THE PHILIPPINES with Yolanda Esguerra Link in bio! Yolanda Esguerra is a passionate environmental and social justice advocate from the Philippines. She is a leading voice in the movement to integrate ecological justice into Philippine legal and social systems, the National Coordinator of the Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc (PMPI) @philmisereor , a network of over 230 civil society organizations and church groups which is the leader of the RoN movement in the Philippines. She has represented the Philippines in international forums, including the International Rights of Nature Tribunal. Our conversation is held shortly after the passing of Pope Francis and we talk about the leadership of the catholic church for RoN in the Philippines, as well as the importance of Laudato Si, Pope Francis encyclical letter on the care of our common home, the Earth. Yolanda discusses the efforts of PMPI in advocating for the Rights of Nature in the Philippines. She highlights the organization's role in legal frameworks, community engagement, and the paradigm shifts necessary for recognizing nature's intrinsic value. The conversation also touches on the challenges faced by environmental activists in the Philippines and the intersection of human rights and rights of nature. Yolanda shares insights on future steps for the Rights of Nature movement, including legal actions and educational initiatives. Host: @pellathiel producer: @fredrik_arstv music: “Nightjar” by Cosmo Sheldrake, art: Scene from "Thanatopsis" by Asher Brown Durand. #rightsofnature #earthlaw #ecologicaljurisprudence #PMPI #Misereor

Special release in celebration of International Day of Biodiversity! Oliver Costello is a First Nations man from Bundjalung Country, now known as the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia. He has a diverse range of personal and professional expertise in culturally connected stewardship. Oliver has extensive experience working within Indigenous land and sea management and conservation and has been particularly interested in empowering Aboriginal perspectives on fire, water, as well as threatened and culturally significant species. He established the original Firesticks initiative which lead to the foundations of @firesticks.alliance and many other Cultural Fire programs in South Eastern Australia. He currently serves as a Executive Director of the @jagunalliance Aboriginal Corporation, Commissioner on the NSW Net Zero Commission and Board member for the Australian Governments Clean Energy Regulator and Natural Hazards Research Australia along with various other consulting and advisory roles. This conversation happened in the context of the @smallgiants Wisdom and Action Forum in Melbourne. Oliver focuses on his relationship with Cultural fire, what he has learnt about fear and how Aboriginal people collaborate with Country in a reciprocal relationship with fire. Fire is often perceived as something wild, scary and unpredictable. Oliver explains how fire is actually lawfully responding to its environment. We also talk about complex and sophisticated Indigenous protocols around balance and reciprocity.  This is only scratching the surface of Olivers rich experience and multitude of stories. It feels appropriate that we are in a lively place, surrounded by birds and flowers and people and an airplane in this conversation.  Link in bio! #rightsofnature #firelaw #Indigenouslaw #earthlaw #ecologicaljurisprudence #biodiversityday Host: @pellathiel producer: @fredrik_arstv Fredrik Arestav, music: “Nightjar” by Cosmo Sheldrake, art: Scene from "Thanatopsis" by Asher Brown Durand.

3. Ecological jurisprudence as a quantum leap of law - Alessandro Pelizzon Alessandro Pelizzon is associate professor in the School of Law and Society at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. He has been part of the movement for rights of nature since its inception, as a co-founder of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature @garnglobal and an expert member of the UN programme @harmonywithnatureun . Alessandros classical education has led him to go far back in time to find the legal and philosophical roots of the norms and perceptions we navigate today, something he eloquently develops in his new book: Ecological jurisprudence - the law of nature and the nature of law, published by Springer. The book is a keystone publication in understanding the roots of the developing field of rights of nature. We speak about the ethical grounds of ecological jurisprudence, how placing law in an ecological context is a development of law comparable with how quantum physics expanded physics, and much more. Link in bio! #AlessandroPelizzon #rightsofnature #ecologicaljurisprudence #earthlaw #harmonywithnature Host: @pellathiel , producer: @fredrik_arstv , music: “Nightjar” by Cosmo Sheldrake.

This time we speak with Eduardo Salazar Ortuño @eduardo.salazar1976 , an environmental lawyer with 20+ years of practice under his belt. Together with professor of law Teresa Vicente Giménez, he supported the salt water lagoon Mar Menor in Spain to attain legal personhood, as the first ecosystem in Europe. Eduardo is an expert on the Aarhus Convention, which empowers citizens and NGOs to defend the environment using access to information, public participation, and access to justice. Eduardo talks us through the process of getting the legal subjectivity of Mar Menor acknowledged and the importance of leadership from civil society. He explains how representation of the lagoon is developing through tutorship (representation), informed by the example of Río Atrato in Colombia. Eduardo also shares how rights of nature shifted his own perspective as a lawyer, and the importance of his personal connection to Mar Menor.  #MarMenor #rightsofnature #earthlaw #ecologicaljurisprudence Host: @pellathiel , producer: @fredrik_arstv , music: “Nightjar” by Cosmo Sheldrake, art: Scene from "Thanatopsis" by Asher Brown Durand.

Lawyer @eduardo.salazar1976 on how environmental law views nature as just "resources" and therefore has to change 🔥 With @pellathiel #marmenor #earthlaw #rightsofnature #ecologicaljurisprudence