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EARTH JURISPRUDENCE
In Alphabetical Order by Section/Title


We hope that you will visit this section regularly and suggest other resources for enriching it. 
We look forward to your contributions.


Earth Jurisprudence or Earth Law recognizes the Earth as the primary source of law which sets human law in a context greater than that of humanity.  Human law-making should derive from the laws which govern Earth and its life systems.  Thus, the way we govern ourselves should be founded on an ethical code of practice which requires us to respect and uphold the inalienable rights of the entire Earth Community and future generations of all species.   
Adapted from the GAIA Foundation (see http://www.gaiafoundation.org/earth-centred-law)


This page contains resources that explain and promote the principles of Earth Jurisprudence.  Earth Jurisprudence seeks to construct a legal and philosophical framework for the integrity of earth systems, the inter-relationship of all earth's entities, and the rights of the earth's community of communities to exist and sustain themselves within their own niches and habitats.  


GENERAL RESOURCES


Earth Jurisprudence Background Resources [Readings, films & videos, blog]
Center for Earth Jurisprudence


Earth Jurisprudence Library [A compilation of Earth Jurisprudence resources] 
See additional resources here 

The GAIA Foundation


Earth Rights 
Thomas Berry -- 2001


Harmony with Nature (Report of the UN Secretary General)
UN General Assembly, 72nd Session Item 20 -- Published 16 Aug 2017  
"To achieve the greatest number of Sustainable Development Goals and comply with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is important to focus efforts to promote, respect, protect and guarantee the rights of Nature.  In doing so, a radical change is needed in how the disciplines of law, economics, politics, arts and the media, among others, comply with true ecological sustainable development in the twenty-first century.  Inspiration should be taken from the indigenous peoples in the way they relate to the Earth; that is, humans are born within the confinement of the Earth, are part of it and are never above it.​"

See also: “Oslo Manifesto” for Ecological Law and Governance: From Environmental Law to Ecological Law - A Call for Re-Framing Law and Governance
Adopted at the IUCN WCEL Ethics Specialist Group Workshop, IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium, University of Oslo -- 21 June 2016


Pope Francis' Address at the UN -- 25 Sep 2015 
"... every creature, particularly a living creature, has an intrinsic value, in its existence, its life, its beauty and its interdependence with other creatures."


Statement of Indigenous Kahu‘āina Guardians of Sacred Lands 
2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, Honolulu, Hawai‘i -- 1-10 Sep 2016


Summary of Wild Law 
Cormac Cullinan -- 2011


Twelve Principles for Understanding the Universe and the Role of the Human in the Universe Process 
Thomas Berry -- 1988


Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth 
World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, Cochabamba, Bolivia 
​
-- 22 April 2010


Sign: The Petition for the Rights of Mother Earth 


BOOKS, ARTICLES & REPORTS


A Different Dimension of Loss: Inside the Great Insect Die-Off 
Jacob Mikanowski, The Guardian -- 14 Dec 2017 
"... Even as thousands of new species are being discovered every year, thousands more seem to be disappearing, swept away in an ecological catastrophe that has come to be known as the sixth extinction"


Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love 
Elizabeth A. Johnson, Bloomsbury Continuum Publications -- 08 Oct 2015 
An examination of the relationship between faith in God and the concept of ecological care within a crisis of biodiversity 


Bhaskar Save, The Ghandi of Natural Farming 
Bharat Mansate (excerpt from his book "The Vision of Natural Farming), Institute of Science in Society -- 24 Feb 2014 
"Natural farming is holistic and bio-diverse organic farming in harmony with nature.  It is low-intervention, ecological and sustainable.  
In its purest advanced form, it is a ‘do-nothing’ way of farming where nature does everything, or almost everything, so very little needs to be done by the farmer."


Dream of the Earth
Thomas Berry, Sierra Club -- 1988


Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace
Vandana Shiva, Zed Books, Ltd -- 2005


Earth Is Our Business: Changing the Rules of the Game
Polly Higgins, Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers, LTD -- 2011


Ecocide is the Missing 5th Crime Against Peace 
The Ecocide Project, Human Rights Consortium, School of Advanced Study, University of London -- July 2012


Ecological Governance: Reappraising Law's Role in Protecting Ecosystem Functionality 
Olivia Woolley, Cambridge University Press -- Nov 2014

"Ecological Governance explores how the law should respond to ... rapid global deterioration of ecosystems by examining the foundational scientific and ethical considerations for designing laws that are effective for ecological protection."


Eradicating Ecocide: Laws and Governance to Prevent the Destruction of Our Planet
Polly Higgins, Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers, LTD -- 2010


Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community
Thomas Berry, Edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker, Sierra Club and University of California Press -- 2009


Exploring Wild Law: The Philosophy of Earth Jurisprudence  
Peter Burdon, Ed, Wakefield Press -- 2011


Fighting for Our Shared Future: Protecting Both Human Rights and Nature's Rights
Linda Sheehan & Grant Wilson, Earth Law Center -- Dec 2015
ELC's report summarizes the findings from 100 sets of rights co-violations and provides recommendations for immediate and longer-term action.  Consistent with the messages of Pope Francis and other world leaders recognizing the rights of nature, the report finds that we must evolve our laws and judicial systems to reflect the fact that our well-being is inextricably bound up with that of the Earth.


Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth 
James Lovelock, Oxford University Press -- 1979


Gaia: The Practical Science of Planetary Medicine 
James Lovelock, Gaia Books -- 1991


Harmony with Nature (Report of the UN Secretary General)
UN General Assembly, 72nd Session Item 20 -- Published 16 Aug 2017  
"To achieve the greatest number of Sustainable Development Goals and comply with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is important to focus efforts to promote, respect, protect and guarantee the rights of Nature.  In doing so, a radical change is needed in how the disciplines of law, economics, politics, arts and the media, among others, comply with true ecological sustainable development in the twenty-first century.  Inspiration should be taken from the indigenous peoples in the way they relate to the Earth; that is, humans are born within the confinement of the Earth, are part of it and are never above it.​" 


Humans Just 0.01% of All Life but Have Destroyed 83% of Wild Mammals: Groundbreaking assessment of all life on Earth reveals humanity’s surprisingly tiny part in it as well as our disproportionate impact
​Damian Carrington, The Guardian - 21 May 2018

"The world’s 7.6 billion people represent just 0.01% of all living things, according to the study.  Yet since the dawn of civilisation, humanity has caused the loss of 83% of all wild mammals and half of plants, while livestock kept by humans abounds."


Journey of the Universe 
Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University Press -- 2011


Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home 
Pope Francis, Encyclical on Ecology -- 24 May 2015

"Pope Francis’ first encyclical is focused on the idea of ‘integral ecology’, connecting care of the natural world with justice for the poorest and most vulnerable people.  Only by radically reshaping our relationships with God, with our neighbours and with the natural world ... can we hope to tackle the threats facing our planet today."  Vatican Radio, 18 June 2015  


Making Peace with the Earth 
Vandana Shiva, Pluto Press -- 2013
"Making Peace with the Earth outlines how a paradigm shift to earth-centred politics and economics is our only chance of survival; and how collective resistance to corporate exploitation can open the way to a new environmentalism of interdependence and earth democracy."


Our Laws Make Slaves of Nature.  It’s Not Just Humans Who Need Rights 
Mari Margil, The Guardian - 23 May 2018 
"For decades our laws have been a death sentence for the environment.  Now, from the Amazon to Australia, the tide is turning"


Should Trees Have Standing: Law, Morality and the Environment (Third Edition)
Christopher D. Stone, Oxford University Press -- 29 Apr 2010


Show Mercy to our Common Home 
​
Message of Pope Francis on the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation -- 01 Sep 2016

"​God gave us a bountiful garden, but we have turned it into a polluted wasteland of 'debris, desolation and filth'.  We must not be indifferent or resigned to the loss of biodiversity and the destruction of ecosystems, often caused by our irresponsible and selfish behaviour​"​


The Earth Only Endures: On Reconnecting with Nature and Our Place In It
Jules Pretty, Routledge Publications -- May 2009


The Future Climate of Amazonia: Scientific Assessment Report 
Antonio Donato Nobre, Articulación Regional Amazônica, São José dos Campos SP, Brazil -- Oct 2014 
"The forest is a spectacular technological park of nature, a living complex, a powerful, versatile factory of environmental services. Any call made for the valuation of the forest must embrace this intrinsic value."


The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future
Thomas Berry, New York, Three Rivers Press -- 2000


The Practice of Earth Democracy
Vandana Shiva, Development Dialogue, What's Next, Vol. 2 -- 2009


The Rights of Nature: The Case for a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth 
Co-Produced by Global Exchange, Council of Canadians, Pachamama Alliance, Fundacion Pachamama -- Apr 2011


The Universe Story 
Thomas Berry and Brian Thomas Swimme, Harper San Francisco -- 1994


Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice (Second Edition)
Cormac Cullinan, Chelsea Green Publishing - 2011


Wild Law - In Practice 
Edited by Michelle Maloney & Peter Burdon, Routledge -- 2014
Addressing topics that include a critique of the effectiveness of environmental law in protecting the environment, developments in domestic/constitutional law recognising the rights of nature, and the regulation of sustainability, Wild Law - In Practice is the first book to focus specifically on the practical legal implications of Earth Jurisprudence.


FILMS AND VIDEOS


Aluna 
The Kogi People of Columbia believe they live in order to care for the world and keep its natural order functioning.  They see us plundering the world, destroying both the physical structure and the thought underpinning existence.  91 minutes.
Alan Ereira -- 2012  
[This film follows on a 1990 documentary by Alan Ereira called "From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brother's Warning"]


An Evening on Earth Ethics and Governance 
Organized by the GAIA Foundation, Burgh House, London -- 02 Oct 2009


Ecocide: The Fifth Crime Against Peace
Polly Higgins, TedxExeter -- 01 May 2012


Journey of the Universe: An Epic Story of Cosmic, Earth, and Human Transformation 
Written by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker -- 2012


Symphony of the Soil 
Deborah Koons Garcia -- 2012


Thomas Berry Speaks 
Produced by Mary Ostrow -- 2006


Thomas Berry: The Great Story 
Produced by Nancy Stetson and Penny Morrell -- 2002


United Natures: A United Nations of All Species 
Peter Charles Downey, Director, A United Natures Independent Production -- Released 01 June 2013


WEBSITES


Australian Earth Laws Alliance 


Center for Earth Ethics 


Center for Earth Jurisprudence 


Earth Law Alliance 


Earth Law Center 


Ecodide Law 


EnAct International 


End Ecocide on Earth 


Eradicating Ecocide 


Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale 


GAIA Foundation 


Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature 


Harmony with Nature UN 


Indigenous Environmental Network


Journey of the Universe 


Rights of Mother Earth 


Stop Ecocide Earth 


Thomas Berry Foundation 


Wild Law UK 


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