In April 2022, the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, comprising 99 randomly selected citizens and an independent chairperson, began its work to examine how Ireland can address the ongoing biodiversity crisis. Lawyers for Nature, in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast School of Law and the Environmental Justice Network Ireland, provided expert advice on the potential for incorporating the Rights of Nature into Ireland's legal framework.
Lawyers for Nature proposed a 15-point recommendation, summarized as follows:
The Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss published a report with 150 recommendations, one of the most significant being the constitutional recognition of the Rights of Nature. This aligns with the advice provided, marking a pivotal moment in Ireland’s approach to biodiversity conservation. The report emphasizes the urgent need for the State to act swiftly to combat biodiversity loss and stresses that some necessary legal measures have yet to be implemented.
A key highlight from the Assembly’s findings is Recommendation 31, which calls for a referendum on a Constitutional amendment to recognize Nature as a holder of legal rights. This proposal received overwhelming support, with 75% of the Assembly members backing it. The report was hailed as “a call to action” by the Assembly’s chair, Dr. Ní Shúilleabháin, and stresses the need for urgent, transformative legal and societal changes to protect the environment for the benefit of both nature and humanity.
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We’ve been reflecting on our time at the Garden of Tomorrow from House of Hackney. As a neurodiverse bunch, we at Lawyers for Nature need to take time to rest and digest after we participate in incredible events like this one. We leave this glorious 3-day festival with the following.
So far, the Green Party is the only party with Rights of Nature laws mentioned in their party manifesto. Our hope is that political candidates from other parties might also begin to support the idea that there is a need to change our whole legal system to restore and benefit Nature. Stopping the destruction of the natural world is vitally important, yet current proposals do not go far enough. Last weekend, on Saturday 22nd June, over 60,000 people marched in London to demand: Restore Nature Now.
This is a story about Lawyers for Nature’s work on what was variously known as the Dulwich Oaks or Save the Footbridge Oaks Campaign. I was contacted out of the blue by a member of the campaign who had heard about Lawyers for Nature and our work saving trees.