Since time immemorial, we have prospered as one species amongst many, thanks to favorable climate conditions and fertile habitats bursting with biodiversity. But since the industrial revolutions of the nineteeth and twentieth centuries, we have been constantly distancing ourselves from natural environments. At this point, we have broken off from our roots, and our world has entered a devastating spiral of destruction.

Yet we can not survive in isolation from the rest of the living world, because we depend on the Earth’s vital functions. So we must learn to see ourselves once again as part of the ecosystem of the Earth, of which we are no more than guardians. We have to call into question our methods of exploiting natural resources, our modes of consuming and our concept of property, and look instead for inspiration from primitive peoples to get back into harmony with nature.

Above all, it is essential to reconsider our current styles of governance, which are dominated by sovereign states, and to change international law in order to favor communitarian governance and universal justice, which alone can protect nature (the rivers, oceans, plant life, air and more) by considering it as a living person.

In order to face the dangers that threaten us, we need to accept the principle of inter-dependence that connects us all, humans and other living beings, as well as the Earth itself. And that won’t happen until nature’s legal rights are acknowledged in every nation’s legislation as well as in international public law.