This audio interview with Mari Margil was posted on the Oxford Human Rights Hub April 10, 2018. The 30 minute can be downloaded HERE.
A brief commentary by Community Rights US media team member Curt Hubatch: Mari Margil made a few points in this interview that really stuck out for me. The first being that climate change, along with the destruction of the Community of Life, is legal. All we can do living under our current system of law is regulate the harm and destruction, no legal remedy exists to stop it. And the destruction will continue until communities have the Right to Local, Community Self-Government recognized under the eyes of the law. Lastly granting Nature rights in our governing documents is codifying into law First Nation people’s values and principles. It empowers them as the original inhabitants of this continent to protect their landbase and the sacred sites they’ve lived with for thousands of years, and some say since the beginning of time. This interview is a great resource for those who have their sights set on a sustainable future for future generations.
Interview description: There is an unmistakable growing awareness of the ways in which our human lives and the environment are intertwined and interdependent. Unprecedented environmental degradation, resource depletion, and the looming reality of climate change have all drawn anxious attention to the human impact on the environment. Law is critically important here. Countries like Spain, France, Portugal, and Finland have already recognized a human right to a healthy environment. But some environmental advocates are arguing that this isn’t enough. We need to recognize the inherent rights of nature itself. In this episode, we discuss the limitations of human rights in confronting environmental harms and how we could realise the rights of nature.
Produced by: Dr Kira Allmann (University of Oxford)
Interview(s) with: Mari Margil (Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund)
Music by: Rosemary Allmann