Does Nature Have Rights?
Region
South AmericaRelease Date
Duration
00:27:51Description
Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet—a country about the size of Nevada that’s home to more than twice the number of plant and animal species as the United States and Canada combined. Yet its wild spaces—rich in gold, timber, and fertile soil for large-scale agriculture—are also among the world’s most threatened. In 2008, when Ecuador became the first country in the world to enshrine a revolutionary concept called the “rights of nature” in its constitution, conservationists gained perhaps their most powerful tool for protecting wild spaces. Today, that tool is being put to the test as advocates race to preserve habitats and the remarkable species they support.
Key Terms
agriculture, biodiversity, bioindicator, constitution, mining, oil, orchid, rainforest, sustainable
Terms of Use
Version History
NGSS 2013
LS2.A, LS2.C, LS4.D
AP Biology 2019
ENE-4, SYI-3
IB Biology 2016
4.1, C.3, C.4
AP Environmental Science 2020
2.1, 5.4, 5.9, 9.10
IB Environmental Systems and Societies 2017
1.1, 1.5, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4
Vision and Change 2009
CC5, DP5, DP6