Who Owns the World ~ The Rights of Nature

The Rights of Nature

Would you “sell your own mother”? The expression means to betray or exploit someone
close to you for your own gain. When put next to the warm-hearted phrase “Mother Earth”,
our treatment of Earth as real estate valued only for what we can extract and consume
comes into focus.

The Rights of Nature, the first of three environmental films to be shown at VISUAL Carlow
this autumn, explores our relationship with the planet, and perhaps holds a key to
resolving our fight against climate change.

A Māori leader reflects a view held by many traditional cultures as the film opens: That it is
logical and our responsibility to care for the land, rivers and oceans. We need a healthy
eco-system for our own survival.

After the film, the audience gathered for a conversation. One point made was that as a
society we are not ready to put nature on equal footing to ourselves, because our definition
of success is still about consumption: The large house, the chic clothes, the new car. The
systems that structure our thinking promote competition between us, from earliest
education to the hierarchy of corporate life. And nature holds no value in that equation.

But change is happening, as the film shows. Several countries have legislated to give
nature rights, including Ecuador, Iceland, India, and parts of the USA. Ireland’s Citizen’s
Assembly Report on Biodiversity Loss (2023)
recommends giving nature rights as a legal
mechanism to protect nature. The UN General Assembly has recognized the right to a
clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right – a right that can only exist if
we take responsibility for making it happen!

The film illustrates the chasm between the colonial European mindset and indigenous
mindsets through the story of the British government’s Treaty of Waitangi (New Zealand) of
1840, in which Tūhoe land was seized. The Māori had been duped: Their version of the
treaty welcomed settlers to share the land, while the English-language version stated that
the Māori would become subjects of the British Crown. As the owner of the Bridge to
Nowhere Lodge says, “I’ve got a white man’s piece of paper to say it (this land) is mine,
but it’s not mine. It belongs to everybody. I’m only the caretaker while I’m here”.

Environmental films help us broaden our thinking and engage with the complex issues that
the upcoming generations face. Films are free thanks to the superb support of VISUAL
Carlow
and Arts Council Funding, along with discretionary funding from Carlow County Councillors Will Paton, Paul Doogue and Dan Pender. More films are coming this autumn/winter:

November 6 – “Once Upon a Forest”
December 3 – “Planet Soil”


CCEN works to connect our community around environmental issues. Run by volunteers,
we are very grateful for the gorgeous raffle prizes from Carlow Beekeepers, Sheila
Nurseries and the Organic Corner, and to all who supported the raffle. A hearty thanks to our sponsors for ensuring we can continue to provide these environmental film screenings free to the public.

We meet on the first Tuesday of every month. Please email info@ccen.ie if you’d like to be added to the mailing or WhatsApp lists.


Discover more from County Carlow Environmental Network

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply