Sumac kawsay, in Spanish, meaning "good living", rooted in the cosmovisión (or worldview) of the Quechua peoples of the Andes, describes a way of life that is community-centric, ecologically-balanced and culturally-sensitive.
President Rafael Correa entered into office in January 2007 with the help of La Revolución Ciudadana (The Citizens' Revolution) promising a new anti-neoliberalist Ecuador.
Ecuador is also home to at least eight tribes of indigenous peoples, most of which reside in the Amazon, that have suffered from the negative environmental consequences of the extraction of oil.
After several years of worsening economic and environmental conditions, uprisings from various indigenous communities, who found themselves receiving less support from the state, while simultaneously their land was being increasingly encroached upon by oil companies, brought attention to their concerns.
[6] After historically being excluded from the political process, indigenous groups, especially concerned about the worsening environmental devastation of the extraction business and global climate change, started social movements aimed at creating a new approach to development that would protect the environment and harmonize its relationship with people.
[7] The economy, based on the exportation of the country's raw materials, mainly oil, was also wreaking havoc on the nation's environment, an area with valuable biological and cultural diversity.
[6] The global economic crisis of 2008 revealed the vulnerabilities of an extractive economy, and led to a period of political turmoil in the country that made obvious the need for a new more inclusive government that embodied a post-oil, post-neoliberal development paradigm.
[7][8] In late 2006, the election of leftist Rafael Correa, who ran on an anti-neoliberal platform, showed the emergence of a new political era for Ecuador.
[6] Buen vivir ("good living") emerged as a response to the traditional strategies for development and their negative environmental, social, or economic effects.
[11] Rooted in the indigenous belief system of the Quechua, the concept incorporates western critiques of dominant development models to offer an alternative paradigm based on harmony between human beings including the natural environment.
As Stone explained, the natural object would “have a legally recognized worth and dignity in its own right, and not merely to serve as a means to benefit ‘us’”.
"[2][12] Environmental activist and President of the Constitutional Assembly, Alberto Acosta published Nature as a Subject of Rights[13] that first brought attention to the idea to the public and the government.
Fundación Pachamama, in conjunction with leaders in CONAIE, met with members of the assembly to present their ideas for the constitution and gain support.
A national media campaign detailing the tenets of the new constitution and the Rights of Nature was also launched to inform and gain support from the public.
The state can decide to exploit any natural resources that it recognizes to be of national importance, solely as long as it consults the affected communities, without having any obligation to an agreement.
As previously mentioned, indigenous groups, specifically the four members of the Pachakutik within the Constitutional Assembly, advocated for judiciary rights of their communities' way of living.
He said that it was greatly known that they would be the first to give nature its legal rights within their constitution, the mere fact of this is what drove some members into agreement with its passing.
On June 7, the language of Articles 71 through 74, compiling the Rights of Nature, were presented and debated on, before receiving approval for inclusion in the constitution.
The State shall apply preventive and restrictive measures on activities that might lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of ecosystems and the permanent alteration of natural cycles.
Persons, communities, peoples, and nations shall have the right to benefit from the environment and the natural wealth enabling them to enjoy the good way of living.
This differs from traditional systems that see nature as property, giving landowners the right to damage or destroy ecosystems that depend on their land.
The lawsuit was filed against the local government near Rio Vilcabamba in March 2011, who were responsible for a road expansion project that dumped debris into the river, narrowing its width and thereby doubling its speed.
Though the plaintiffs were granted a victory in court, the enforcement of the ruling has been lacking, as the local government has been slow to comply with the mandated reparations.
[8] Though there originally was some difficulty evoking a sense of international responsibility to fund the initiative, especially with the national constitution requiring this law already, eventually in August 2010 Ecuador came to an arrangement with the UNDP for funding of the initiative through the issue of Yasuní Guarantee Certificates, denoting the amount of CO2 emissions avoided and their monetary value, which can potentially be used in the European Union Emission Trading Scheme.
[21] Initiatives to adopt the concept of ecosystem rights have been taken or are being taken in various parts of the world, including Bolivia, Turkey, Nepal, and various municipalities in the United States.
[7] Indigenous groups have also expressed dissatisfaction that the constitution does not give local communities veto power over projects affecting their land.
[15] The amendments only call for consultation of the projects, rather than consent by the surrounding communities, which can undermine their ability to uphold the rights of nature.
[18] There are also concerns that the Rights of Nature could negatively affect foreign direct investment since companies will not want to comply with the more stringent regulations.
[21] On the other hand, people are skeptical of the Correa administration for still approving projects by foreign extraction companies violating the Rights of Nature.