[P2P-F] Fwd: Against Ecocide (GTN Discussion)

Fri Jul 29 05:38:07 CEST 2016

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Great Transition Network <gtnetwork at greattransition.org>
Date: Fri, Jul 29, 2016 at 2:23 AM
Subject: Against Ecocide (GTN Discussion)
To: michelsub2004 at gmail.com

>From Bill Eichbaum <bill.EICHBAUM at WWFUS.ORG>

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[Moderator's Note: Thank you for the stimulating discussion so far. The
discussion will be ending on Sunday. If you'd like to comment, make sure to
do so soon!]

I wanted to follow up with my post from yesterday. Wijdekop in her paper
“Against Ecocide: Legal Protection for Earth” observes that “…it is not
enough to integrate the interests of future generations in lawmaking; the
interests of nature must also be integrated to do justice to our
interconnection with and dependence on the natural world.” As I argued in a
recent paper (
etransition.org/Entri%20Web%20Site/images/2016.Eichbaum.New%20Ethics%20for%20the%20Anthropocene.pdf),
the fundamental feature of The Anthropocene Age is that humans must now
assume full responsibility for managing earth’s systems, and to do this
will require radical transformation of our governance, economic and
scientific structures. Such a change can only happen if we evolve the
ethical precepts of our civilization to include responsibility to future
generations. This extends Leopold’s ethical discussion in The Land Ethic
into the future. So, while not disagreeing with Wijdekop’s argument, I think
that achieving her objective will require integrating both the interests of
nature as well as future generations first into ethical evolution and
thence into lawmaking.

Bill Eichbaum

*******************************************************
Wednesday, July 27, 2016

>From Bill Eichbaum <bill.EICHBAUM at WWFUS.ORG>

[Moderator's Note: Thank you for the stimulating discussion so far. The
discussion will be ending on Sunday. If you'd like to comment, make sure to
do so soon!]

Paul,

I read Femke Wijdekop's article with interest. I am not an expert regarding
the Rome Statute but do wonder if the jurisprudence which has developed
over the past 45 years pursuant to the several US state constitutional
provisions establishing environmental rights might not be worth a close
look. While not directly relevant in an international criminal context,
this body of law might point to important general theories, principles, and
rights which could be informative. One of the earliest of these
constitutional amendments was adopted in Pennsylvania and was recently
relied upon by that state's Supreme Court in a decision regarding fracking.

Thank you for sharing this interesting article.

Bill

__________________________
William M. Eichbaum
Senior Fellow, Arctic Policy
World Wildlife Fund US
www.worldwildlife.org
Tel: 1.202.495.4645
bill.eichbaum at wwfus.org
www.worldwildlife.org

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Original Message
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 Transition Network [mailto:gtnetwork at greattransition.org]
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2016 11:18 AM
 Bill
 Ecocide (GTN Discussion)

>From Paul Raskin

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Dear GTN:

Our JULY discussion will approach GTI’s overarching theme – shaping a
civilized planetary future – from a fresh angle: the legal effort now
gaining traction to criminalize the wanton destruction of nature.

Femke Wijdekop takes this on in a new Viewpoint, “Against Ecocide: Legal
Protection for Earth.” Femke introduces the idea of the “rights of nature”
and the history of the concept of “ecocide.” However, her primary focus is
on action, specifically, the movement to add ecocide as a crime against
peace under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Expanding the juridical architecture for protecting rights will surely be a
vital prong in the systemic movement we so urgently need. But to what
degree can it succeed in isolation? And what is the larger role of law and
legal activism in a Great Transition?

Please read Femke’s short piece at
www.greattransition.org/publication/against-ecocide and weigh in with your
thoughts. It will be published in August, along with selected comments
drawn from the forthcoming discussion

Comments are welcome through JULY 31.

Looking forward,
Paul Raskin
GTI Director

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