Legal rights to nature

[David Rees <>]

Lindsay

We have been getting better at taking water out of the river and making sure water does not get in it in the first place, with floodplain harvesting etc.etc..   It is a simple matter of maths that the river is likely to run dry more often, simply as a result of more extraction even without 'climate change'. In addition, the water table is likely to be lower now and the river gums along it get a drink less frequently than before. The river is also given less opportunity to meander and spread over the landscape to replenish aquifers, fill anabranchs, billiabongs  etc etc at times of high flow. 

The ABC may or may not have an 'agenda' , the fact is that it is reporting on a legal process that is now a reality in similar places to Australia. If i was a resident or an indigenous person along that river I'd be very interested in the implications and outcomes of such laws and how they pan out.  

See some background  https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/innovative-bill-protects-whanganui-river-with-legal-personhood/  Will such things just be a 'talking shop' or change things for the better we will see, but it goes well beyond simply arguing about the economics.  It is always wise to keep ones eyes and ears open to new ideas, and when it comes to inland river management we could do with some.

David

On Sat, Mar 9, 2019 at 3:49 PM Lindsay & Diana <> wrote:

David

despite the ABC's agenda, I suggest the lower Darling would be in
exactly the same condition today if Europeans had never settled
Australia.  It was always reduced to stagnant pools in drought years.

Lindsay Nothrop

On 08-Mar-19 3:17 PM, David Rees wrote:
> An interesting program discussing the concept of 'legal personhood' to
> nature and natural things, a concept common to many indigenous
> cultures. Its already been enacted several times now into law in New
> Zealand in recent years, borrowing heavily from Maori concepts, and
> done by the previous right of centre Government there.
>
> https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/giving-legal-rights-to-nature/10812836
>
> One standout for me was the concept to codify into law the 'rights of
> a river simply to be a river'. One can only think of the poor
> Darling.........
>
> David

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