A group of 40 Turkish politicians, academics and lawyers is calling for rights for nature to be incorporated into the country’s constitution
A group of 40 Turkish politicians, academics and lawyers is calling for rights for nature to be incorporated into the country’s constitution.
According to The Turkish Green party, Yeşiller, the Initiative for an Ecological Constitution (IEC) will take the opportunity to present its case following the 12 June general election in Turkey. The new Parliament is expected to renew the country’s constitution.
The group said it wants Turkey to following the examples of Bolivia and Ecuador, which have both granted legal rights to the Earth.
Yeşiller stated that the IEC reached consensus on principles for a suggested constitution, following a conference on 22 May 2011. These include: defining humans as a part of their natural environment and acknowledging that other species have rights in accordance with their role in the system; that citizenship should be defined with ecological responsibility; protection of biodiversity and genetic diversity; promotion of environmental education; civil society participation in decision making processes related to the environment; and that the economic system should be socially fair and ecologically sustainable.
