George Rebane
Yes, today there is a small but vociferous cadre of well-meaning people who believe that trees, bushes, swamps, creeks, hills, and even rocks have rights that have been overlooked and must now be recognized. They call themselves The Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) and about sixty of them gathered last month in Quito, Ecuador to hold the First International Tribunal on Rights of Nature (you read that correctly, “Tribunal”). From their press release –
Dr. Vandana Shiva, internationally renowned author, physicist and environmental activist presided over the historic Tribunal together with nine other distinguished judges from seven countries and five continents. The Tribunal heard compelling presentations on nine cases of alleged violations of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, adopted in Cochabamba on April 20, 2010 by 35,000 people during a global summit on the subject. For cases in Ecuador, presenters also noted violations of the Ecuadorian Constitution.
I first heard of GARN and its activities when it was presented at the Nevada City Rotary Club of which I am a member. Ms Robin Milam, of the club’s leadership, gave the presentation which was well received overall, but, frankly, left a few of us a bit taken aback. She is also in the leadership of GARN, and last week gave an update of the goings on at the Quito conference which she attended and helped organize. Her contact information is available on the GARN website here and here.
GARN subscribes to the Rio+20, short for the United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development (2012), that is the successor to the previous Rio conference that adopted and has promoted the Agenda21 objectives since the early 1990s (see more in RR’s Agenda21 section). They have compiled a new ‘how to’ manual – the future we want – which is a “guide (that) was written for children and youth but is a clear guide for people of all ages. It offers specific information for youth, identifies ways to make a real difference and shares a lot of best practices, tips and tricks and existing examples on youth activism.”
I bring this movement to the attention of readers as another example of not only of A21 in action (note the US communities already using it to further limit property rights), but also as an illustration of the utterly different mentalities that coexist in our nation and in our communities. (more here) To people like me, GARN is another feel-good movement from the Left that was launched on the power of emotional arguments leaving reason, let alone science, far behind. Nevertheless, we would be foolish to ignore the potential damage that its blooming can do to everything that the broad aggregate of Americans hold dear.
In attempting to fathom a reasonable basis for GARN, I have asked for any kind of an explanation of what is a ‘right of nature’, what is an operational or objective definition of such rights as they obviously are compared (elevated?) to an understanding of human rights (more here). Such questions go unanswered, and seem to be received as prima facie evidence of hostility toward GARN and its objectives. And if there is no reasonable basis for the ‘rights of nature’, then that assessment of opposition may be accurate.
The best that I can tell is that GARN wants to promote a future that responds to what it today sees as a “crisis in governance”, which crisis must be addressed through the most dire and draconian means of collectivism yet contemplated for this planet. A deeper understanding of the mindset that motivates Agenda21 and GARN is obtained from this 2011 address – ‘Governing People for Earth – the Challenge of the 21st Century’ – by Cormac Cullinan to the United Nations General Assembly Interactive Dialogue on living in harmony with Nature.
I have asked Ms Robin Milam to expand here on what does a ‘right of nature’ mean, and how should a community like Nevada County respond to the missives and motives of GARN.
[6mar14 update] Ms Milam has written a comprehensive essay in response to my request. It is posted here.]
rebanesruminations.com 
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