1st Edition

Law, Nature and the Ecosystem Approach Modelling a Transcultural Eco-Legal Framework across Europe and Latin America

Edited By Silvia Bagni, Serena Baldin, Veronica Federico Copyright 2026
364 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

364 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book argues that, beyond the apparent fracture between humans and nature that defines the Anthropocene crisis, there exists a shared cultural foundation in legal traditions, converging on the recognition of the intrinsic value of Nature and of the ecosystem interconnections between human and non-human life. The legal innovations explored here—particularly from Latin America—embody a... Read more

Law, Nature and the Ecosystem Approach: Rationale for the Volume
Silvia Bagni, Serena Baldin, and Veronica Federico

Part 1: The Foundation

Chapter 1: Rights of Nature and Ecosystem Approach: An Introduction
Silvia Bagni

Chapter 2: The Principles of the Rights of Nature: An Approach from the Systemic Theory of Law and Natural Sciences
Ramiro Avila Santamaría

Part 2: The Ecosystem Approach as Paradigm Shift 

Chapter 3: From Prevention to Restoration: Towards a Paradigm Shift in EU and Italian Environmental Law
Ilaria Costanzo

Chapter 4: Investigating the Potential of Ecological Restoration as a Fundamental Right of Nature, with a Focus on its Relevance to Lake Vättern
Mariam Carlsson Kanyama

Chapter 5: Overcoming Capitalist Economics and the Appropriation of Common Resources through Rights of Nature in Ecuador 
Amilcare D’Andrea

Chapter 6: Ecosystem Rights: Bridging Human Rights and Ecosystem Services in Environmental Constitutionalism
Francesco Gallarati

Part 3: The Ecosystem Approach in Bottom-Up Experiences and Rights of Non-Human Animals 

Chapter 7: Florestania and Hutukara: Cosmopoetics to Plurinational States in America Latina
Elias Canal and Victor Hugo Agapito

Chapter 8: Decolonising Property Law to Implement the Ecosystem Approach: Evidence from Italy
Rachele Cecchi

Chapter 9: Destabilizing the Fossil Bloc through the Production of Knowledge from Below
Anna Berti Suman

Chapter 10: The Polyvalence of the Animal in Anthropocentric and Biocentric Approaches: Is There Room for Intrinsic Value?
Silvia Zanini

Chapter 11: Openings for Seeds Diversity Protection beyond Patents: Seeds as Intangible Cultural Heritage
Giulia Fontanella 

Part 4: National Case Studies, at the Intersection Between Nature’s Rights and the Ecosystem Approach

Chapter 12: The Ecologization of Environmental Protection in the Brazilian System: An Analysis of Local Legislative and Jurisprudential Protagonism
Leura Dalla Riva

Chapter 13: From Extraction to Exclusion: Colonial Obstacles to an Ecosystem Approach in Puerto Rico’s Environmental Law  
José Arturo Maldonado Andreu

Chapter 14: The Katsa Su Territory of the Awá Indigenous People as a Victim of the Armed Conflict in Colombia: A Transcultural and Interjurisdictional Contribution to the Rights of Nature  
Carlos Alberto Benavides Mora and Daniel Laureano Noguera Santander

Chapter 15: Ancestral and Earth Law Knowledge: Intercultural Legal Practice as Foundation for Mother Earth Rights 
Johana Fernanda Sánchez Jaramillo

Part 5: The Ecosystem Approach and the Courts

Chapter 16: How Genetic Information about a Species Could Help to Protect Nature in Courts: The Case of the Endangered Brown Sea Cucumber (Isostichopus Fuscus) in the Galapagos Islands  
David Cordero-Heredia and Jaime Ortiz Pachar

Chapter 17: After the Los Cedros Ruling. The Ecocentric Epistemology of the Rights of Nature and Its Impact on the Social Context
Anna Pedrolli

Chapter 18: A Standing for Nature in Civil Justice: Insights from Comparative Law
Mauro G. Smiroldo

Biography

Silvia Bagni is Associate Professor of Comparative Public Law in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna, Italy. Her research interests include constitutional justice, Latin American constitutionalism, interculturalism, and ecological law. She is a member of the UN Harmony with Nature Programme.

Serena Baldin is Full Professor of Comparative Public Law at the University of Trieste, Italy, where she is affiliated to the Department of Political and Social Sciences and also to the Interdepartmental Centre for Energy, Environment and Transport “G. Ciamician”. Her research interests include environmental constitutionalism, climate law, constitutional justice, and minority protection.

Veronica Federico is Associate Professor of Comparative Public Law at the University of Florence, Italy, where she is affiliated to the Department of Legal Sciences. Her research interests include environmental constitutionalism, comparative migration law, African constitutional law, and constitutional and democratic transitions.