Sustentabilidade

The nation which sparked the Arab Spring is engaged in a national conversation as to what should be the basic legal rules and structure for the nation.  As part of this, the draft Tunisian constitution (pdf)is being discussed in a series of meetings across the country and, in that draft form, has many articles and elements presented with alternative versions that make clear this draft is not the finished product.  Noting that I am far from an expert in international constitutional law, glancing through this draft uncovers many intriguing elements.

Two clauses are of particular interest/relevance for the subject matter of this blog.

• Article 33 asserts “sustainable development” and makes “protection of [the] environment” a “responsbility of the state, institutions, and people.”
• Article 34 focuses on water, asserting that everyone has “the right to water” and making this a state responsibility to “protect water resources” and assure competent management of water resources and the fair distribution of water.

In part to put substance behind these, article 130 creates the “Authority of Sustainable Development and Rights of Future Generations”.  This authority “shall have cognisance over the general policies of the state,  at the  economic, social  and environmental levels, with a view to attaining sustainable development that can guarantee the rights of future generations.”  The Authority will have the responsibility to review all draft laws and government development plans.  As part of this, all of “the Authority’s opinions … shall be published” along with, if the Authority’s recommendations weren’t implemented, explanations as to why the Authority’s recommendations were not followed.

If these articles make it through to the actual constitution, Tunisia will join several other nations with such core constitutional protections for the envrionment.

In ecologically diverse Ecuador, which encompasses the Galapagos Islands as well as parts of the Amazon rainforest, rights for nature were added to its constitution in 2008. Just [in 20111], in Bolivia, eleven new rights for nature were added to the constitution, protecting it from pollution, massive development, and genetic alteration.