This book argues that, beyond the apparent fracture between humans and Nature that defines the Anthropocene crisis, there exists a shared cultural foundation in legal traditions, converging on the recognition of the intrinsic value of Nature and of the ecosystem interconnections between human and non-human life. The legal innovations explored hereparticularly from Latin America embody a holistic, integrated view coherent with the ecosystem approach. It is proposed that these ideas offer potential not only within their own legal systems but also as models for Western legal frameworks. Divided into five parts, the book maintains a balance between theoretical and empirical, combining foundational legal and philosophical discussions with practical case studies and applications. Part I establishes the theoretical foundation, setting the conceptual framework of the volume. Part II builds on this by addressing the methodological implications and laying the groundwork for a transition from anthropocentric to ecocentric governance. The third and fourth parts bridge theory with practice, exploring participatory tools, bottom-up initiatives, and challenges to traditional environmental law, illustrating how theoretical advancements are applied in specific legal and policy contexts. The fifth part focuses on jurisprudence and the role of the judiciary, providing an empirical analysis of how legal principles are interpreted and enforced in judicial settings. This progression ensures that the book effectively integrates theory with empirical research, underscoring its interdisciplinary and practical significance. The volume will be of interest to those working in the areas of Legal Philosophy, Environmental Law, Constitutional Law, Comparative Law, Human Rights, Anthropology and Environmental Studies.
Rationale for the Volume (Silvia Bagni, Serena Baldin and Veronica
Federico) Part 1: The Foundation
1. Rights of Nature and Ecosystem Approach:
An Introduction (Silvia Bagni)
2. The Principles of the Rights of Nature. An
Approach from the Systemic Theory of Law and Natural Sciences (Ramiro Avila
Santamaría) Part 2: The Ecosystem Approach as Paradigm Shift
3. From
Prevention to Restoration: Towards a Paradigm Shift in EU and Italian
Environmental Law (Ilaria Costanzo)
4. Investigating the Potential of
Ecological Restoration as a Fundamental Right of Nature, with a Focus on its
Relevance to Lake Vättern (Mariam Carlsson Kanyama)
5. Overcoming Capitalist
Economics and the Appropriation of Common Resources through Rights of Nature
in Ecuador (Amilcare DAndrea)
6. Ecosystem Rights: Integrating Human Rights
and Ecosystem Services for a Holistic Environmental Constitutionalism
(Francesco Gallarati) Part 3: The Ecosystem Approach in Bottom-up Experiences
and Rights of non-Human Animals
7. Florestania and Hutukara: Cosmopoetics to
Plurinational States in America Latina (Elias Canal and Victor Hugo Agapito)
8. Decolonising Property Law to Implement the Ecosystem Approach: Evidence
from Italy (Rachele Cecchi)
9. Destabilizing the Fossil Bloc through the
Production of Knowledge from Below (Anna Berti Suman)
10. The Polyvalence of
the Animal in Anthropocentric and Biocentric Approaches: Is there Room for
Intrinsic Value? (Silvia Zanini)
11. Openings for Seeds Diversity Protection
Beyond Patents: Seeds as Intangible Cultural Heritage (Giulia Fontanella)
Part 4: National Case Studies, at the Intersection Between Natures Rights
and the Ecosystem Approach
12. The Ecologization of Environmental Protection
in the Brazilian System: An Analysis of Local Legislative and Jurisprudential
Protagonism (Leura Dalla Riva)
13. From Extraction to Exclusion: Colonial
Obstacles to an Ecosystem Approach in Puerto Ricos Environmental Law (José
Arturo Maldonado Andreu)
14. The Katsa-su Territory of the Awá Indigenous
People as a Victim of the Armed Conflict in Colombia: A Transcultural and
Interjurisdictional Contribution to the Rights of Nature (Carlos Alberto
Benavides Mora and Daniel Laureano Noguera Santander)
15. Ancestral and Earth
Law Knowledge: Intercultural Legal Practice as Foundation for Mother Earth
Rights (Johana Fernanda Sánchez Jaramillo) Part 5: The Ecosystem Approach and
the Courts
16. How Genetic Information of a Spices Could Help to Protect
Nature in Courts: The Case of the Endangered Brown Sea Cucumber (Isostichopus
fuscus) in the Galapagos Islands (David Cordero-Heredia and Jaime Ortiz
Pachar)
17. After Los Cedros Ruling. The Ecocentric Epistemology of the
Rights of Nature and its Impact on the Social Context (Anna Pedrolli)
18. A
Standing for Nature in Civil Justice: Insights from Comparative Law (Mauro G.
Smiroldo)
Silvia Bagni is Associate Professor of Comparative Public Law in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna, Italy. Her research interests include constitutional justice, Latin American constitutionalism, interculturalism, and ecological law. She is a member of the UN Harmony with Nature Programme.
Serena Baldin is Full Professor of Comparative Public Law at the University of Trieste, Italy, where she is affiliated to the Department of Political and Social Sciences and also to the Interdepartmental Centre for Energy, Environment and Transport G. Ciamician. Her research interests include environmental constitutionalism, climate law, constitutional justice, and minority protection.
Veronica Federico is Associate Professor of Comparative Public Law at the University of Florence, Italy, where she is affiliated to the Department of Legal Sciences. Her research interests include environmental constitutionalism, comparative migration law, African constitutional law, and constitutional and democratic transitions.
