8 research outputs found
Yoongoorrookoo
Since the momentous release of the Montecristi Constitution of
Ecuador in 2008, which recognised Nature, or Pacha Mama, as a
subject of rights, the rights of Nature movement across the world
has gained exponential momentum, with numerous jurisdictions
worldwide now recognising some form of legal subjectivity vested
upon Nature. In particular, since 2017, river personhood has
dominated news headlines around the world as one of the most
recognisable forms of Natureâs novel subjectivity. The emergence
of legal personhood for nature, however, has been far from
uncontroversial, and numerous critiques have been advanced
against the use of such a legal category â traditionally applied to
humans and their abstract creations (such as States and
corporations) â to the natural world, resulting in numerous calls for
an alternative category of legal personhood (one that some rights
of Nature advocates have termed an âenvironmental personâ).
Against the backdrop of this emerging debate, this paper
acknowledges the work undertaken by the Martuwarra Fitzroy
River Council (Martuwarra Council), which was established in 2018
in the Kimberley region of Western Australia by six independent
Indigenous nations to preserve, promote and protect their
ancestral River from ongoing destructive âdevelopmentâ. The
Council believes it is time to recognise the pre-existing and
continuing legal authority of Indigenous law, or âFirst Lawâ, in
relation to the River, in order to preserve its integrity through a
process of legal decolonisation. First Law differs markedly from its
colonial counterpart, as its principles are not articulated in terms of
rules, policies and procedures, but rather through stories. This
paper, therefore, begins with a dialogical translation of one First
Law story relating to Yoongoorrookoo,1 the ancestral serpent being,2 to create a semantic bridge between two apparently distant
legal worldviews. A dialogical comparative analysis is then followed
to posit and explore the concept of an âancestral personâ as a novel
comparative tool that may be able not only to capture the idea of
Nature as a legal subject, but also complex Indigenous worldviews
that see Nature â in this case instantiated in the Martuwarra â as
an ancestral being enmeshed in a relationship of interdependence
and guardianship between the human and the nonhuman world.
To instantiate and embody such relationships, the paper directly,
and somewhat provocatively, acknowledges the River itself, the
Martuwarra RiverOfLife, as the primary participant in such dialogue,
an embodied non-human co-author who began a conversation
then left to human writers to continue
Ecological restoration and the Samuel review of the EPBC Act
No abstract available
Conservation covenants for ecosystem restoration: Adapting an old instrument to a new global conservation challenge?
Conservation covenants are an important legal tool for enabling private land conservation, whose significance to policymakers has recently grown in light of new global commitments to expand areas of land and water protected and restored. Covenantsâ traditional focus on conservation of existing natural values rather than restoration of degraded land or active management of environments impacted by climate change pose significant challenges to the flexibility and efficacy of this legal instrument. In Australia, recent national legal reforms to incentivise private land conservation, notably the new Nature Repair Act 2023, will need to consider how it can align with conservation covenanted lands that are regulated by different laws with different criteria and goals. Here we identify some pathways for enabling conservation covenants to play an expanded role in the context of ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation.</p
Why do Australiaâs Environmental Laws Fail to Save our Species from Extinction?
Transformative change is needed in Australia to deal with its extinction record, which is being further exacerbated by large resource extraction approvals and increased urbanization. Legal opportunities are procedurally and jurisdictionally complex and imaginative changes that can drive recovery efforts for ecosystems are urgently needed
Yoongoorrookoo:The emergence of ancestral personhood
Since the momentous release of the Montecristi Constitution of Ecuador in 2008, which recognised Nature, or Pacha Mama, as a subject of rights, the rights of Nature movement across the world has gained exponential momentum, with numerous jurisdictions worldwide now recognising some form of legal subjectivity vested upon Nature. In particular, since 2017, river personhood has dominated news headlines around the world as one of the most recognisable forms of Natureâs novel subjectivity. The emergence of legal personhood for nature, however, has been far from uncontroversial, and numerous critiques have been advanced against the use of such a legal category â traditionally applied to humans and their abstract creations (such as States and corporations) â to the natural world, resulting in numerous calls for an alternative category of legal personhood (one that some rights of Nature advocates have termed an âenvironmental personâ). Against the backdrop of this emerging debate, this paper acknowledges the work undertaken by the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council (Martuwarra Council), which was established in 2018 in the Kimberley region of Western Australia by six independent Indigenous nations to preserve, promote and protect their ancestral River from ongoing destructive âdevelopmentâ. The Council believes it is time to recognise the pre-existing and continuing legal authority of Indigenous law, or âFirst Lawâ, in relation to the River, in order to preserve its integrity through a process of legal decolonisation. First Law differs markedly from its colonial counterpart, as its principles are not articulated in terms of rules, policies and procedures, but rather through stories. This paper, therefore, begins with a dialogical translation of one First Law story relating to Yoongoorrookoo, 1 1 Nyikina elders Rosie Mulligan, Madeline Yanamarra, and Jeannie Warbie, as well as emerging Nyikina leaders, over the past three years have used multiple mediums to translate the stories of Senior Nyikina elder, Joe Nangan: Edwards & Nangan (1976). Furthermore, Anne Poelina, Nyikina leader and Chair of the Martuwarra Council, is working directly with Traditional Owners to privilege the voice and standing of Martuwarra. the ancestral serpent being, 2 2 Yoongoorrookoo is the Nyikina name of the Serpent, which is known by other names by other language groups of the Martuwarra/Fitzroy River catchment as described in the National Heritage listing assessment of the Martuwarra: âMartuwarra encompasses four contiguous and distinctive freshwater-based Aboriginal cultural domains, focused upon the tradition of the Rainbow Serpent, as exemplified by the religious traditions of Galaroo, Woonyoomboo-Yoongoorroonkoo, Wanjina- Wunggurr, and the jila-kalpurtu cultural systems. A song line known as Warloongarriy (Walungarri) serves to unite Aboriginal people and their Rainbow Serpent traditions along the Fitzroy River as part of one regional ritual complex, called Warloongarriy Law or âRiver Lawââ (Australian Government (date unknown), p 168). to create a semantic bridge between two apparently distant legal worldviews. A dialogical comparative analysis is then followed to posit and explore the concept of an âancestral personâ as a novel comparative tool that may be able not only to capture the idea of Nature as a legal subject, but also complex Indigenous worldviews that see Natureâin this case instantiated in the Martuwarraâas an ancestral being enmeshed in a relationship of interdependence and guardianship between the human and the nonhuman world. To instantiate and embody such relationships, the paper directly, and somewhat provocatively, acknowledges the River itself, the Martuwarra RiverOfLife, as the primary participant in such dialogue, an embodied non-human co-author who began a conversation then left to human writers to continue