Proposal for a Law of Mother Earth (Bolivian civil society)

Proposal of Bolivian social movements and civil society / 2010

This document was drafted by Bolivia´s main social movements in November 2010. In October 2012 the Bolivian government approved the Framework Law for Mother Earth and Integrated Development to Live Well which included some of the proposals from Bolivian social movements and civil society.

The stated aim of the proposal for a framework Law of Mother Earth is to “begin a transition to a new model based on the principle of living well in harmony with nature” (“Vivir Bien” in Spanish).

The objective of the law is to “guarantee the co-existence and preservation of life” by recognising that Mother Earth is a subject with rights. As the proposal says, “this is an attempt to create a new legal framework that goes beyond human rights”. It sets out the duty of the state and citizens to defend the rights of Mother Earth. These are:

1. The right to life and to exist.

2. The right to respect.

3. The right to continue her cycles and vital processes, free from human disturbance.

4. The right to maintain her identity and integrity as a differentiated, self-regulated and inter-related being.

5. The right to pure water as the source of life.

6. The right to clean air.

7. The right to comprehensive health.

8. The right to be free of contamination and pollution, toxic and radioactive waste.

9. The right not to be genetically altered and modified in her cellular structure, threatening her integrity or vital health functions.

10. The right to full and timely restoration and decontamination due to the infringement of the rights recognised in this Law caused by human activities.

11. The right to reforestation.

12. The right to the balanced and harmonious management of the blessings of nature.

13. The right not to be affected by mega hydroelectric, infrastructure and development projects which affect the balance of the eco-systems and populations inhabiting the territories concerned.

14. The right not to be subjected to high-risk energy technologies with profound ecological and social impact, such as nuclear energy and processes for extraction, enrichment and dumping of waste.

The proposal sets out sentences for crimes against Mother Earth such as the manufacture of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

A key component is the implementation of indigenous people’s right to free, prior and informed consent. The proposal also calls for the creation of a Ministry of Mother Earth and a Plurinational Council of Mother Earth (this would be made up of representatives of civil society and government to oversee the implementation of the law).

Selected quotes from the proposal

“The link between humans and nature has been broken by the capitalist neo-liberal model. We urgently need alternatives to the capitalist development model that destroys the environment and has caused the financial, energy and food crises, as well as climate change and deep inequalities within and between societies.”

“The Law of Mother Earth also proposes an alternative philosophy to the green economy that seeks to put a price on nature and speculate with new financial products based on nature´s functions and cycles, as well as continue with the same neo-liberal extractive model. Nature´s complex inter-connected ecosystems cannot be separated into products to be bought and sold. We do not own nature; we are part of Mother Earth.”