Description
The planetary crisis we face is particularly complex and requires a shift in academia and practices from anthropocentric, disciplinary silos to multispecies and transdisciplinary approaches. Further research is essential for effectively supporting the sustainable transition we need to pursue. In response to the planetary crisis, multispecies justice is a new academic field that has emerged in the past decade, extending the concepts of justice beyond human beings. Rights of Nature is a legal embodiment of multispecies justice. The Rights of Nature movement is gaining international recognition, granting legal rights to non-human entities. This paper aims to examine Rights of Nature cases to understand how law, politics and multispecies justice intersect in practice. The paper will examine two cases in Ecuador, including the Vilcabamba River case, where local citizens successfully held a mining company accountable for environmental damage to the river by invoking the river’s rights. The second is the ongoing Rights of Nature case against the Coca Codo Sinclair Dam project that similarly damaged the environment. Through the lens of multispecies justice, the paper will analyse the political strategies, negotiations and power dynamics involved. Further, it will examine the limitations and challenges of implementing Rights of Nature legislation in practice, recognising state interests, judicial interpretations and economic frameworks that apply pressure. Drawing on empirical evidence from Rights of Nature cases and theoretical reflection, this paper will propose how key concepts in International Relations, particularly territory, sovereignty and the state, need to be rethought to incorporate a multispecies justice framing.
