Dr. María Valeria Berros on “Rights of Nature in Latin America”

Legal scholar María Valeria Berros explores the evolving concept of the rights of nature in Latin America. Focusing on Ecuador and Bolivia, she highlights how constitutions in these countries recognize nature, especially Pachamama, as a legal subject. Key cases, like Ecuador’s Vilcabamba River ruling, demonstrate how courts can uphold nature’s rights against environmental harm. Her research at the Rachel Carson Center emphasizes how non-anthropocentric ethics reshape legal frameworks, draw from Indigenous worldviews, and require institutions to enforce ecological justice.