12. The Land that owns itself with Mari Margil

This episode I am joined by Mari Margil, the Executive Director of the US Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, to talk about their pioneering initiative to develop new frameworks where land can own itself. Mari is one of those pioneers in the rights of nature movement. She has served as the Associate Director of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). In 2008, she acted as a consultant to Ecuador's national Constituent Assembly, helping to draft the world's first rights of nature constitutional provisions. Mari works with national and local governments, tribal nations, indigenous communities and NGOs in Australia, the Philippines, Nepal, Sweden and elsewhere, to advance legal and policy frameworks regarding rights of nature.    Mari Margil supported us to write a proposal for including the rights of nature in the constitution of Sweden. This was then developed into a parliamentary motion by the green party, which has been presented several times. It was denied again just a few weeks ago. It is difficult to introduce RoN into law, which is why innovative measures like the land that owns itself is so interesting.    LINKS: Mari Margil Center for Environmental Rights https://www.centerforenvironmentalrights.org/team/mari-margil The Land that owns itself Center for Environmental Rights https://www.centerforenvironmentalrights.org/the-land-that-owns-itself First mountain to own itself Center for Environmental Rights https://www.centerforenvironmentalrights.org/news/crestone-eagle-pyramid-mtn-becomes-the-first-mountain-to-own-itself-indigenous-led-council-to-serve-as-guardian Mari Margils text on The Guardian: Our laws make slaves of nature. It's not just humans who need rights https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/23/laws-slaves-nature-humans-rights-environment-amazon The proposal to amend the swedish constitution with Rights of Nature:  https://naturensrattigheter.se/2019/05/15/amendment-for-the-rights-of-nature-in-the-constitution-of-sweden/ Earth rights conferences in Sweden  2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H82s6kmjr9w 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHV2dhTk4FE