(Other continental or worldwide networks, please contact us)

Le compte rendu de la conférence de 2016 :

Conférence Annuelle Internationale sur les Droits de la Nature
12-16 Décembre, 2016
Organisation des Nations Unies, Genève, Suisse Colonie de vacances
Valais
Suisse Objectif Sciences International organise plusieurs colonies de vacances scientifiques dans le Valais Suisse, ainsi que d’autres vacances à la montagne en suisse, ce sur de nombreuses thématiques (nature, faune & flore, drones, géologie, architecture, paléontologie...). Pour plus d’informations, suivez ce lien sur les séjours nature.

Jeudi 15 Décembre 2016
de 14:30 à 18:00

Les Présentations on été données en anglais et français. Les débats et les questions ont été organisées en anglais et français.

Dialogues Interactifs de l’ONU et Droits de la Nature

Les experts qui sont sollicités tous les ans par le Bureau de l’ONU en charge de l’initiative Harmony with Nature, échangent déjà aux niveaux national et continental (Europe, Amérique du Nord...) selon divers groupes de thématiques. Cette Conférence organisée en Décembre permet de travailler sur les résultats des Dialogues Interactifs de Haut Niveaux ayant eu lieu, et de préparer la matière à penser en vue des prochains Dialogues Interactifs. Celles et ceux qui désirent échanger et partager leurs idées, pratiques et solutions, au niveau mondial, se réunissent en fin d’année à la Conférence Annuelle Internationale organisée à l’ONU.

Protection de la Nature / Personnalité Juridique de la Nature / Êtres Vivants / Développement Durable

Les nombreux organismes publics ou associatifs, et citoyen-ne-s, qui sont actifs dans le domaine des Droits de la Nature, se sont fédérés et organisés, au niveau mondial. Les grands acteurs mondiaux, les fédérations, et les acteurs spécifiques, s’organisent actuellement au niveau international et sont appelés à se rencontrer tous les ans en fin d’année, à la Conférence Internationale sur les Droits de la Nature, à l’ONU, à Genève.

Cet espace annuel de mise en commun permet aux acteurs du domaine de mettre en commun pratiques, enjeux, solutions, idées, besoins.

Votre Ressource Annuelle d’Echanges

Suite aux réunions nationales qui ont lieu localement dans chaque pays, cette Conférence Internationale à l’ONU permet aux acteurs de se mettre en concertation, ou de s’informer mutuellement, des progrès et des actions qu’ils mènent durant l’année, ou qu’ils ont en projet.

Les acteurs présents à cette Conférence étaient :

• Acteurs locaux et régionaux des différents pays
• Acteurs thématiques, par disciplines
• Fédérations régionales ou nationales
• Fédérations thématiques, par disciplines
• Grandes Institutions des Droits de la Nature
• Associations de défenses et de protection de la Nature
• Ministères gouvernementaux (Environnement, Education, Recherche, Développement Durable…) et associations internationales de Ministères
• Journalistes spécialisés (juridique, sciences, environnement, éducation, développement durable…)
• Organismes de l’ONU (UNDP, UNEP…)

Les sujets qui étaient discutés du jour de Décembre 2016 sont :

• Pour une Justice non anthropologique, et centrée sur la Terre
• Pour une Economie écologique
• Education pour un comportement naturellement respectueux de la Nature
• Sciences et Recherche intégrées et transversales (Holistic Science)
• Sciences Humaines pour les Droits de la Nature
• Philosophie et Ethique
• Arts, Media, Design et Architecture
• La Théologie et la Spiritualité face aux Droits de la Nature

Programme Détaillé

Les échanges entre les parties prenantes de cette réunion ont eu lieu à la fois sous la forme d’une Table-Ronde entre les intervenants, et de débats avec l’audience de l’Assemblée.

Organisateur : ONG Objectif Sciences International, Genève
Président de Séance : Thomas EGLI, Président d’Objectif Sciences International
Modérateurs :

• Christa MUTH, Professeure Ecole d’Ingénieur Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale
• Lisa MEAD, Juriste, Earth Law Alliance
• Doris RAGETLI, Rights of Mother Earth

14:00 – Ouverture de la Conférence

14:00
Accueil

14:30 - Introduction

14:30 - 15’
Mot d’Ouverture
Rappel des Concepts qui sous-tendent cette Conférence Annuelle Internationale
Thomas EGLI, Président de l’ONG Objectif Sciences International

Présentations

Sous-groupe 1

The UN to adopt the Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth

The Formation of an internal coordinating group amongst UN representatives/member States to admit a proposal to the UN General Assembly in 2018 (the 70th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration) for the adoption of The Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth by the UN and all member states.
http://petition.rightsofmotherearth.com
Mrs Doris RAGETLI, Rights of Mother Earth, Switzerland

Presentation - Doris Ragetli ppt

Emerging jurisprudences : from natural community charters to an international law against ecocide.

I propose to provide an outline of legal developments and innovations that are occurring around the world in relation to building a strong jurisprudence of the Natural Contract. Current and ongoing cases as well as rising legal commentary and creation all contribute to a new, or perhaps ancient, role of law as the cultural adjudicator of humanity’s connection with its habitat. I will discuss how rising litigation against Carbon Majors and those who commit ecocide are pushing judges and courts into evolving and stretching the law into territory that maintains and nourishes the essential bond between humanity and nature. I will also discuss the limitations to the development of international jurisprudence in this area, as well as strategies for its accelerated development.
Mrs Bronwyn Lay, Dirt Foundation, http://www.dirtfoundation.org/about.html

Sous-groupe 2

Earth Jurisprudence : A brief synopsis of the 2016 Virtual Dialogue “Harmony with Nature” followed by a short presentation of Microcosm to Macrocosm – the slow ecocide of the Natural and Human communities in the desert climate of South Eastern Spain – the Oasis of El Rio De Aguas, and, in South Eastern Ecuador, of the Natural and Human communities of the tropical cloud forests of the Cordillera Del Condor.

I will talk briefly on the concepts of Earth Jurisprudence and the vision of a new civilization incorporating an holistic system of governance.
I will follow these words by outlining the struggles occurring in Spain and Ecuador in the context of the recommendations of the Harmony with Nature 2016 dialogues relating to Earth Centered Law.
“Develop a new, integrated legal perspective and policy framework around rights of Nature and tie it to other struggles for justice, including describing how the recognition of Nature’s rights (and rejection of governance systems that harm those rights) positively impacts the struggle, inter alia, for racial justice, climate justice and environmental justice, as well as to rectify growing wealth inequality.” Harmony with Nature 2016 Recommendations Earth Centered Law.
Mr David Dene, El Rio De Aguas, Spain. Participant on the United Nations 2016 dialogue Harmony with Nature - discipline - Earth jurisprudence.
www.protectecuador.org https://www.facebook.com/Ecocide-El-Rio-De-Aguas-Spain-279736038884914/

Presentation - David Dene

Nature Man Declaration Project
A project for a universal emergency declaration on rights and duties of human beings.
Our duty to care for Nature (that includes our duty to care for human beings who are part of Nature) is the core of the Declaration Project I am proposing to present. Human Rights have been enunciated in various declarations, yet it seems to be a much more difficult exercise to enunciate Nature Rights, because Nature is so complex and so much bigger than us human beings. In order to respect Nature and all its beings and ecosystems, defining our duties towards Nature seems to be a much more realistic exercise within the scope of the human mind. Hence the Project for a Universal Emergency Declaration on Rights and Duties of Human Beings.
Mrs Michèle PERRIN-TAILLAT, Luxembourg

Presentation - Michèle Perrin-Taillat

Earthlaw, Wildlaw, Rights of Nature : exploring concepts
Recognising Rights in Nature is moving centre-stage, as a result of climate, environment and ecology concerns. At heart is the relationship between Man and Nature expressed in law and legal language. The concepts of ‘Earthlaw’, Wildlaw and ‘Rights of Nature’ imply a balance in favour of Nature. But what do these concepts actually signify and how do we make the link between theory and practice ?
It is suggested that a linguistic approach offers scope for insights in the field. First one would explore the individual concepts and their construction ; second, one would identify criteria underpinning them ; third, one would compare those criteria with existing criteria of law ; fourth, one would explore how far the concepts are already implemented in law, or not. The aim would be to conceptualise legal systems that fully embrace Earthlaw, Wildlaw and Rights of Nature concepts.
Mr Colin ROBERTSON, Luxembourg

Presentation - Colin Robertson

Sous-groupe 3

Recognizing Cetacean’s Entitlement to Resources and their Roles as Stakeholders

The needs, perspectives and desires of other-than-human animals are rarely, if ever, considered within western political and developmental frameworks. Yet, taking these into account could significantly improve, at least, the “sustainability” of ecosystems, and at best, instances of community thriving across species lines. In order to gain other animal representation within the political sphere, there should be formal recognition and due respect for (a) their existing entitlement to resources and (b) their roles as stakeholders within participatory development projects. I argue that dolphins and whales (cetaceans) are excellent candidates for these considerations, as they benefit from an extensive body of science that presents strong evidence for their moral standing. I present a case study in Ireland where a coastal human community has initiated the participatory process for establishing a Marine Protected Area. I outline the reasons why the resident dolphin communit y ought to be considered as stakeholders within this process ; how to best determine their needs and interests ; and why doing so has become an ethical obligation. In Ireland, members of the dolphin community communicate their interests passively but also actively : certain individuals, known as solitary sociable cetaceans, engage with the human community directly, communicating in ways that are both compelling and challenging to our contemporary conceptions of who these animals are and what they require in order to thrive. Cetaceans are positioned to help us better understand how to represent and protect their interests as well as those of the wider ocean community, and they pose a serious challenge to the unequivocal placement of human interests before those of other animals.
Mrs Laura Bridgeman, USA, www.wearesonar.org

Presentation - Laura Bridgeman

Un Monde Réenchanté
Un Monde Réenchanté is an association that want to put in relation philanthropists with alternative, united and ecological projects all around the world, while suggesting to volunteers committing on the ground to the meeting of these projects.
Mrs Ariane Vitalis, association Un Monde Réenchanté, France)

Presentation - Ariane Vitalis

The Safe Operating Space as Our Common Home
Over the long course of the history of our planet, the geosphere and biosphere have co-evolved as a single, complex system to generate many different conditions on the surface of the Earth. This co-evolution of the Earth System, with significant variations in the chemical composition and circulation patterns of the atmosphere and oceans as well as the temperature at the Earth’s surface, has given rise to different states of the Earth System. Reading this long history has allowed us to understand the truly unique situation that has characterized the current state : a period of climatic stability in the last 11,700 years, a time interval we call the HOLOCENE. Only during the Holocene has humankind developed agriculture, villages and cities, and the complex civilisation that we enjoy today. But human activities have now become so pervasive and profound that they are destabilising the Holocene state of the Earth System. It has been long said that one cannot manage what cannot be measured. But the situation is perhaps even more complicated : all the benefits from, or damage to, the Earth System are currently non-existent from a legal viewpoint. So, how can we manage and protect something - the favourable state of the Earth System - that is intangible and not legally defined ? We must recognize that the current International legal system is not properly equipped to address the threats that human activities are posing to this favourable state of the Earth System. And we need to act upon that. Science has called this favourable biogeophysical state of the Earth System the "Safe Operating Space" for humankind. This "safe space" is defined as a characteristic of the Earth System as a whole and has no specific territorial character : specifically, it refers to a Holocene-like state of the System. In this sense Our Common Home is a specific favourable state of the Earth System. It’s an intangible "home", delimited by the so-called "Planetary Boundaries". With this recent possibility of measuring the state of the Earth System it became possible to define the "Safe Operating Space of Humankind". To maintain such biogeophysical intangible space in a favorable state and regulate its equitable use, a new universal legal system is needed that recognize the Earth System as a Common Intangible Natural Heritage of Humanity. Such legal system must be part of a wider Earth System Accounting Framework that allows the inclusion of all the positive and negative "externalities".
MMr Magalhães Paulo and Galli Alessandro, Common Home of Humanity, UK, www.commonhomeofhumanity.org

Presentation - Paulo Magalhaes

Sous-groupe 4

The Revolution Necessary for Justice to Prevail. A Futuristic Perspective.
I, like many individuals, environmental lawyers and NGO’s around the world, have worked for years to end environmental devastation - amidst reality where most chances to enforce existing law to protect, are obstructed, suspended or against all odds.
What will it take for the Judicial System to elevate its superiority over the political and corporate class who commit the conduct of the large-scale environmental crimes ? - within a culture that renders almost no threat of accountability.
What will it take to realize an efficiency which eliminates the judicial lethargy that is so disconnected from the speed of the devastation which advances ? - on the rare occasions that the ‘art of law’ actually works to protect.
What will it take to clearly conceive of the misleading agenda’s and PR narratives which distract those who work to protect, from existing mechanisms that give a genuine chance to defend the environment within our lifetime ? - given the fact that most of the destruction will be committed within our lifetime.
In my 10 years of dedicating to this issue, i have come to the conclusion that currently the law alone, has almost no power to protect.
There is little courage, focus or finance to engage or enforce existing law that should protect.
So what is the necessary fight for justice that must evolve in order for the judicial system to come to force for the environment ? - to ultimately protect humanity which relies upon nature for its well-being.
Since 2013, I have individually submitted case profiles to the International Criminal Court - with six accepted for review - where I have argued the logic of applying the existing statute to conclusively end the environmental destruction of our major ecosystems ; including current cases to defend the Great Barrier Reef and Australian life-systems ; the Amazon Rain-forest, The Arctic and their respective populations.
Years ago, to the surprise or resistance of many, I proposed a legal context constructed from the Rome Statute, which was capable to end the escalation of Climate Change - or more importantly, prevent environmental destruction at the source ; thus forcing an investment transition toward a sustainable developments, essential for economies to evolve in balance with nature.
I argued the I.C.C’s power to render dirty industrial developments, effectively non-profit and continue to argue that a genuine climate change agreement, would assert the same simple principle.
On September 15th 2016, the International Criminal Court published a paper confirming that they will now prosecute cases pertaining to Environment Destruction. After experiencing years of opposition to my multiple legal arguments that promoted this potential, I was confirmed correct. This is a small but important victory that opens up an entirely new landscape of hope to defend life. One which i have already experienced in the context of reality, culture and time, for 10 years. It has been a journey which has brought and taught many lessons.
Currently, three of my environmentally focused SQP-ICC case arguments accepted by the International Criminal Court for registration, have new evidence submissions which require the court’s renewed review. I work with volunteers to continue to build upon and develop the evidence profiles which support SQP-ICC case argument and have a range of other case profiles in development which welcome a broader group of contributors.
Within each argument registered with the court, I proposed a single word amendment to the ‘Elements of the Crime’ text that would extend protection to our major ecosystems (without the need for the causality of human destruction). This would the Rain-forest, Coral Reefs and the Arctic, to be directly protected as ‘National Groups’. I have proposed that this ‘interpretation text’ amendment would allow the Rome Statute to protect nature as it does humans and continue to insist that no new law is needed, if this simple amendment is fought for by all, which i have run a long term ‘Victory’ campaign profile.
Furthermore, I have consistently proposed within each argument registered with the I.C.C, the value of extending the International Criminal Court for Sustainability cases, whereby the UN or private donors contribute a dedicated budget to enforce the court’s ability to efficiently end the escalation of climate change, by investigating the SQP-ICC context that enforces the accountability of decision-makers inflicting harm.
In addition to the five arguments focused on the Rome Statute ending environmental destruction, my sixth argument extends beyond one of the world’s greatest environmental crimes to propose the International Criminal Court’s judicial power to end the Syrian War by the collective judicial force of 122 signatory nations ; - should the world’s judiciary have the courage to apply the law and act upon their responsibility to protect.
Similarly, I continue to argue the Rome Statute’s power to render war ‘not for profit’, just as it could render dirty industry ‘not for profit’, by immediately freezing and seizing all revenues related to the arms industry, in order to protect the victims. They are capable of enforcing such seizures tomorrow, with my Syrian argument being formally under review since August 16th 2016. This is a paradigm shift that would give the world a chance at a future of peace. But what will it take for this responsibility to take effect ? - should the judiciary wish to evidence that it is not the meek subservient to the political-military-industrial complex which advances a highly profitable and repetitious model of war and environmental destruction.
Imagine how quickly businesses would transition to wholly sustainable methods, should they be unable to retain profits from any conduct which inflicts destruction upon a population or ecosystem. Imagine how the motivation to instigate conflict would reduce, should the defense industry be unable to profit.
To remove the financial benefit from destruction, is the world’s most efficient force to protect. But who has the courage or intention to bring this about ?
This journey of profiling the judicial change necessary for people and planet to gain protection has led me to one conclusion. The law alone, existing or new, will never end the devastation, until another complex revolution evolves first. Let’s talk about it.
MrsMiriam CLEMENTS, Sustainable Quality Purpose, www.sustainablequalitypurpose.com, France/USA,

Presentation - Miriam Clements

Sous-groupe 5

The role of ecodemocracy in enabling the rights of nature

This presentation will allow to explain how "ecodemocracy" (ecocentric democracy) can enable the rights of nature and how it can be implemented in practice at different scales. Following this presentations, we will explore the difference between :

• "Deliberative ecodemocracy"
• "Ecodemocracy by human proxies with voting rights"
• "Ecodemocracy by juries of citizens"
• "Ecodemocracy by statute"
• "Subversive ecodemocracy"
  As a conclusion of this simple moment together, we will exchange about what could be the better solution, or the better solutionS, to help appear... an non anthropocentric democracy.
  Mr Joe Gray, The Ecological Citizen journal, United Kingdom, http://www.ecologicalcitizen.net/

Presentation - Joe Gray

>CONSCIOUSNESS PACHAMAMA : FOR THE HARMONY WITH NATURE AND FOR THE RIGHTS OF MOTHER EARTH. FROM THE NEED TO RE-SIGNIFY THE RELATION OF HUMANITY WITH PLANET EARTH. FOR AN EARTH-CENTERED WORLDVIEW : A NON-ANTROPOCENTRIC, COMMUNITARIAN AND SOLIDARY SOCIAL-ENVIRONMENTAL CIVILIZATION. THE RIGTHS OF NATURE IN EQUADOR, BOLÍVIA AND BRAZIL. THE POSTULATES OF HARMONY WITH THE NATURE AND RIGHTS OF MOTHER EARTH AS A VECTORIAL AXIS, A FOUNDER ETHOS AND A THEORETICAL BASIS OF THE SYSTEM OF RULES OF INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS.}