The Law of the Rights of Mother Earth (Spanish: Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra) is a law in Bolivia (Law 071 of the Plurinational State). It was passed by Bolivia's Plurinational Legislative Assembly in December 2010. This law has 10 articles and was based on the first part of a longer draft bill created by the Pact of Unity and shared in November 2010.

The law describes Mother Earth as "a collective subject of public interest." It states that Mother Earth and life-systems (which include human communities and ecosystems) have certain rights that cannot be taken away. The law also says that a new office, called the Defensoría de la Madre Tierra, will be created. This office will work alongside the human rights ombudsman, known as the Defensoría del Pueblo. However, the law does not explain how this office will be set up or organized.

A much revised version of the longer bill became the Framework Law of Mother Earth and Integral Development for Living Well (Spanish: La Ley Marco de la Madre Tierra y Desarrollo Integral para Vivir Bien; Law 300). This law was passed on October 15, 2012.

Investing nature with rights

The law describes Mother Earth as "a living system made up of all living things that are connected, rely on each other, and work together, sharing a common future." It also states that Mother Earth is sacred in the beliefs of Indigenous peoples and nations.

This view sees humans and their communities as part of Mother Earth, included in "life systems" that are "groups of plants, animals, tiny living things, and other beings in their environment. These groups include humans and nature working together as a single unit, influenced by weather, land shapes, rocks, farming methods, cultural traditions of Bolivians, and the beliefs of Indigenous nations, intercultural communities, and Afro-Bolivians." This definition includes more than just nature—it also includes the social, cultural, and economic lives of human communities.

The law also gives Mother Earth a legal status as a "collective subject of public interest," meaning her rights are protected for everyone. By giving Mother Earth a legal identity, humans can act on her behalf to defend her rights. This change moves away from focusing only on humans to instead seeing Earth and its communities as central.

Content

The law lists seven rights that Mother Earth and all living things, including humans, have:

• Right to Life: This means protecting natural systems and processes that support life, and ensuring they can continue to grow and renew themselves.
• Right to Diversity of Life: This means keeping all living things, such as plants and animals, as they naturally are, without changing them in ways that could harm their survival or future.
• Right to Water: This means keeping water clean and safe for all living things, preventing pollution, and ensuring water can be used to support life.
• Right to Clean Air: This means keeping air clean and safe for all living things, preventing pollution, and ensuring air can support life.
• Right to Balance: This means maintaining or restoring the natural connections and balance between Earth’s parts, so they can work together and support life.
• Right to Restoration: This means fixing damage caused to natural systems by human actions, such as pollution or destruction.
• Right to Be Free from Harmful Waste: This means protecting Earth and all its parts from harmful waste, like chemicals or radiation, created by humans.

Drafting and legislative process

The Pact of Unity, which includes major Bolivian indigenous and rural farmer groups, created the detailed version of the Law between April 2010 and October 2010. During this time, they worked with a group from the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the Bolivian Vice-Ministry of Environment, and legal experts from the Vice President's Office to finalize the law. Later, a shorter version with ten articles was agreed upon with then Senator Freddy Bersatti and Deputy Galo Silvestre. This shorter version was passed by the Legislative Assembly in December 2010 so that President Evo Morales could present it at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The Framework Law was expected to be reviewed by the Assembly in 2011 but was not. In February 2012, Senator Eugenio Rojas, who leads the governing party's group in the Assembly, said the law was one of six priorities for quick passage in 2012. The law was officially passed in October 2012.

Precedent

This law is the first national environmental law, except for Ecuador's 2008 constitutional provision, to give rights to a natural entity. It also lets citizens sue people or groups that are part of "Mother Earth" when their actions harm or are suspected to harm the environment. So far, the effects of this law have been small.