The global rights of nature movement is poised for an incredible win.
Ireland, which declared a national biodiversity emergency back in 2019, could soon add amendments to its constitution enshrining nature's right to exist!Sign the petition and urge the two houses of Ireland's parliament, the Dáil Éireann and the Seanad, to vote YES on these amendments!The rights of nature movement is an ethical framework with origins in the "worldviews of many Indigenous cultures" --
it basically gives animals and entire ecosystems the same rights that human beings have. Nature has the inherent right to exist, to flourish, and to be rehabilitated.
When you think of Ireland, it's likely you're imagining lush green fields, beautiful freshwater lakes and streams, and farmlands abuzz with bees, butterflies, and thriving livestock.
But all of that is at risk without proper environmental protections and oversight.Ireland's iconic peatlands, for example, are gorgeous wetland ecosystems that serve as precious habitat for protected species as well as a vital carbon sink for sequestering the globe's emissions.
But a whopping "70% of Irish peatlands are damaged," which could mean devastation for wildlife and the global environment at large!Beyond that, half of Ireland's freshwater systems are in bad shape, and "more than one-third of Ireland's protected species are in population decline."
This really is a biodiversity crisis.Obviously, Ireland's natural systems are in need of protection. Codifying nature's right to exist in the Irish constitution would lay a legal framework for all laws to come, so that nature was considered just as much as humans.
And let it be clear that without nature, us humans will not survive.2024 is poised to be huge for the global rights of nature movement. Let's ask Ireland to be the first of many countries this year to give nature the legal right to exist -- sign the petition to show your support!