Via OpenDemocracy:

What has generated the most debate in the referendum in Ecuador which was approved by 65% of the electorate in September, is a short section in the referendum entitled The Rights of Nature (RoN), a bill aimed to grant nature the kind of inalienable rights ordinarily reserved for citizens.

Jessica Loudis explains:

“Here’s the bill’s first article: “Nature or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution.” By granting nature the right to its own “processes,” CELDF hopes to create safeguards against corrupt governments and foreign businesses, which currently operate unchecked and with impunity.

Obviously, as the first constitutional document to recognize nature as having rights, the RoN raises many difficult and nuanced legal questions. At what point exactly does human development infringe on nature’s right to exist? Who is capable of invoking RoN, and where does their authority come from? Finally, can a piece of legislature this ambiguous deliver on its promise to stand up against the behemoth of neoliberalism? ”

For a fuller analysis of these questions, see here.