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Welcome to the African Earth Jurisprudence Newsletter - May 2016

Earth Jurisprudence is the philosophy and practice that recognises that the Earth is lawful and ordered, and as part of our unique planet, we humans are embedded in her living processes. This means that human laws should be derived from the primary laws of the Earth, which in turn requires that we have the capacity to read and understand the lawfulness of our planet. 

Discover more  


EJ Stories: the life and practice of Fassil Gebeyehu, Ethiopia

Born and raised in northern Ethiopia, Fassil Gebeyehu Yelemtu is one of the leaders of the African Biodiversity Network. In this article, Fassil reflects on his his upbringing in rural Ethiopia, the western education which he feels divorces us from nature, and his journey now with Gaia to become a practitioner of Earth Jurisprudence.

Read Fassil's story  


Custodians of Seed & Life: A great ancestor of seed, in Tharaka, Kenya

Mukwarimburi wa M’Kaiguari, lived a quiet life and people rarely noticed her. But when she died, at the age of 120 years’ old, she left behind a great legacy for future generations – that of the ancestral seeds and related knowledge  which she had been nurturing all her long life. Simon Mitambo from Kenya tell us more.

Read this remarkable story  


Thomas Berry: the 'father' of Earth Jurisprudence

Cultural historian Thomas Berry saw himself as a “geologian,” a student of Earth’s Story embedded within the Universe Story. He recognised that the Universe is composed of a community of subjects to be communed with, not a collection of objects to be used by humans.

Learn about the life and writings of Thomas Berry
Join our partners in strengthening an African Earth Jurisprudence Network.
Welcome! to this new series of newsletters to support a growing Earth Jurisprudence movement in Africa.

We are delighted to be picking up from an informal newsletter that we shared a few years back, updating each other of the work we were doing to explore Earth Jurisprudence and the revival of traditional knowledge and practices rooted in a mutually enhancing relationship with the Earth. In this new series we will be highlighting Earth Jurisprudence related work in Africa and around the planet, hoping to inspire more people.

Since 2000, an African network has been exploring the meaning and expression of Earth Jurisprudence in traditional African customary laws, indigenous practices and governance systems; how these can be strengthened and recognised; and ways to forment a paradigm shift away from the anthropocentric ideology of the modern industrial growth economy. 

In 2013, Gaia initiated a three-year participatory training course in Earth Jurisprudence for African practitioners and trainers - a response to requests for more in depth study of the philosophy and practice, and an innovative way to nurture a 'community of practice' across many African countries. We also provide regular analysis of African and international precedents in the transition to Earth-centred governance and recognition of the Rights of Nature; greater access for the general public to information on Earth Jurisprudence; and a range of civil society and community trainings in practical methodologies to strengthen community resilience and ecological governance through the revival of indigenous knowledge, seed and farming systems and the customary laws that sustain them.

This newsletter is part of an ongoing journey to grow the African Earth Jurisprudence movement - drawing together civil society and community leaders committed to ecological, social and economic justice - together with partners including the African Biodiversity Network (ABN), EarthLore Foundation in South Africa, National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) in Uganda, MELCA-Ethiopia, GRABE-Benin, Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD) in Ghana, enabling us to deepen the work.

We are grateful to funders, especially Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), Putnam Foundation and Swift Foundation, for their support on this exciting journey.
Over the next few months we will be sharing more stories and voices from Africa and elsewhere, on this journey towards a paradigm shift, a re-alignment from a human-centred to an Earth-centred worldview, governance system and practice.
 



UN Harmony with Nature – EJ Dialogues

We are delighted to announce that the African Earth Jurisprudence network is taking part in an online dialogue about Earth Jurisprudence hosted by the United Nations Harmony with Nature programme.

This online EJ dialogue is the latest in a series of initiatives since 2009 when intergovernmental negotiations were initiated at the UN General Assembly on the non-anthropocentric or Earth-centred principle of Harmony with Nature - under the leadership of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. Starting with the declaration of International Mother Earth Day, on 22 April 2009 by the General Assembly (A/RES/63/278), there have been seven consecutive UN resolutions on Harmony with Nature (A/RES/64/196, A/RES/65/164, A/RES/66/204, A/RES/67/214, A/RES/68/216, A/RES/69/224 and A/70/472/ADD.7).

"This initiative of the UN General Assembly is an important recognition that the paradigm underpinning the dominant extractive economy is the source of the multiple ecological and social crises we now face. When the Earth is treated as a ' resource' to be exploited for endless profit and economic growth human law is used to justify destruction of  nature and human communities, crises are the inevitable consequence.  Social movements and communities on the frontline of this increasingly destructive force are saying enough is enough, this system has to change. Resistance is growing and people are proactively developing ecologically, socially and economically just pathways, rooted in a mutually enhancing relationship between humanity and Nature. It is very enlightened of the UN General Assembly to stimulate this dialogue. This requires us to comply with the laws that govern life – Earth Jurisprudence" (Liz Hosken, The Gaia Foundation).

Over the next two months, over 150 community leaders and practitioners will discuss how EJ and the Rights of Nature need to underpin the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support the paradigm shift away from the dominant anthropocentric worldview driving destruction and inequity. The results will be compiled into a report for the UN General Assembly for the September meeting.
“We recognize that planet Earth and its ecosystems are our home and that Mother Earth is a common expression in a number of countries and regions, and we note that some countries recognize the rights of nature in the context of the promotion of sustainable development.” - Outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want” (A/RES/66/288)


Recommended Reading

In each newsletter we recommend a small selection of written or film materials that delve into why or how to envisage a new Earth Jurisprudence:
  • Berry, T. The Great Work: Our Way into the Future (Three Rivers Press, 2000)
  • Berry, T., Evening Thoughts Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community (Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 2006)
  • Bourdon, P. (ed), Exploring Wild Law: The Philosophy of Earth Jurisprudence (Wakefield Press, 2011)
  • Cullinan, C., Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice (Green Books: Totnes 2002; 2nd ed. 2011)
  • Barlow M., Bassey N., Biggs S., Cullinan C., Galleano E, Goldtooth T., Shiva V., Tutu D., The Rights of Nature: The case for a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth (2011).
  • Harding, Stephan. Animate Earth: Science, Intuition and Gaia, Green Books, 2009.


News & Links
The Gaia Foundation / African Earth Jurisprudence Network