Overview of presentation: (1) General legal and philosophical problem (2) Bolivian legal and political history relevant to environment and climate change (3) Current status of « radical » movement (4) Lingering problems (5) Questions and debate

General legal and philosophical problem: The right to the environment versus the right of the environment

Relevant Bolivian Legal and Political History (1) March for Territory and Dignity—1990 (2) Water and Gas Wars—1999/2000 and 2003 (3) Election of Evo Morales—2005/2006 (4) Battle over new constitution--2007 (5) Bolivia “re-founded”—2009 ** (6) Law 071: Rights of Mother Earth—2010 ** (7) TIPNIS conflict—2011 ** (8) Law 300: Framework Law of Mother Earth and Integral Development—2012 (9) Attempts to reconcile rights of Mother Earth with economic development **

Bolivia Re-founded—2009 Right to (not of) the environment, Article 33; indigenous people have more environmental rights than non-indigenous, e.g., Article 30 (II)

Law 071: Rights of Mother Earth—2010 (1) After World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Right of Mother Earth (Cochabamba, October 2010) and before UN Climate Change Conference (Mexico City, Nov/Dec 2010) (2) Mother Earth defined as “the dynamic living system formed by the indivisible community of all life systems and living beings whom are interrelated, interdependent, and complementary, which share a common destiny” (3) Mother Earth becomes juridical subject of “collective interest” (4) Some rights of Mother Earth: --maintenance of the integrity of life systems --ecological diversity --balance (aka sustainability) --restorative acts to repair harm

Law 071: Rights of Mother Earth—2010 (5) Creates Defensoría de la Madre Tierra in the model of a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)

TIPNIS conflict—2011

Current status: Law 300--Framework Law of Mother Earth and Integral Development—2012 --weakens some of the provisions of 2010 law by balancing rights of Mother Earth with state’s need for “integral development” --as of 2017, key provisions of both 2010 and 2012 laws have not been implemented

Lingering problems: (1) basic tension between protection of rights of Mother Earth and state’s plans for industrialisation, economic growth, and energy independence (2) Bolivia’s wealth largely based on natural gas, reserves could run out in 2026; begun even more harmful practices like fracking (3) Lithium exploitation on horizon: « the food that will feed the world » (4) must understand these tensions in relation to history of colonialism, « open veins of Latin America » (5) revolutions cost money . . . role of China