Putting nature at the centre
Environmental Justice as Multispecies Justice
Human beings are not the only living things deserving of ethical consideration; humans are not separate from, nor more important than, nonhuman nature. The view that puts human beings at the pinnacle of valuable things – known as ‘anthropocentrism’ – is a product of the historical exercise of human power over nature, and fails to acknowledge humanity’s kinship with all living things. On this approach environmental justice requires multispecies justice.
‘We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.’
— Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There (1949)
Examples in action
Rights of Nature Movement
Nature, in all its life forms – trees, oceans, animals, moutains – have rights to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles. The Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) is a network of organisations and individuals committed to the universal adoption and implementation of legal systems that recognise, respect, and enforce Rights of Nature.
Multispecies Constitution
Launched in 2023 at the Berggruen Institute, the Multispecies Constitution Project considers the question of multispecies representation through innovative political mechanisms and multispecies governance built upon planetary principles and collective intelligences.
The Land Ethic
Aldo Leopold’s concept of a Land Ethic expands the definition of ‘community’ to include non-human parts of the Earth, seeing land as a community we belong to, and are intertwined in caring relationships. This ethical principle is put into action globally through leadership, stewardship, and collaborative conservation efforts.
‘Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species — man — acquired significant power to alter the nature of the world.’
‘Nature has introduced great variety into the landscape, but man has displayed a passion for simplifying it. Thus he undoes the built-in checks and balances by which nature holds the species within bounds.’
‘In nature nothing exists alone.’
― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (1962)
Further Reading
‘The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchild may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?’
― Sir David Attenborough