Pella Thiel: "Criminalizing Ecocide: The Rights of Nature”
May 1, 2024
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Ecologist Pella Thiel discusses legal frameworks for Ecocide and Rights of Nature Movements, advocating for nature's inclusion in decision-making. Topics include redefining destruction as a crime, country legislations, and individual actions shaping cultural values. Thiel shares experiences in environmental activism and the importance of recognizing non-human beings in decision-making processes. She delves into international efforts, societal shifts, and the healing relationship between humans and nature.
Recognizing ecocide as a crime can reshape legal systems and prioritize planetary stability.
Criminalizing severe environmental damage with eco-side law challenges existing legal approaches.
Advocating for eco-side law can drive a shift in societal values, norms, and behaviors towards nature protection.
Deep dives
Pella Teal's journey into eco-side as a global legal framework
Pella Teal, a Maverick ecologist, embarked on a mission inspired by her experiences in Ecuador's biodiverse rainforest. Witnessing environmental devastation firsthand, she felt compelled to protect nature. Collaborating with an international network, Pella advocates for recognizing eco-side, the destruction of the home, as a fifth crime against peace at the International Criminal Court. Her goal is to hold individuals accountable for decisions impacting ecosystems, aiming to shift cultural paradigms and protect vital environments.
Eco-side law as a paradigm shift in international criminal frameworks
The concept of eco-side, defined as severe and widespread or long-term damage to the environment, aims to revolutionize international criminal law. Pella Teal advocates for acknowledging eco-side as a grave crime alongside genocide and crimes against humanity. This proposed shift challenges the existing legal approaches that have failed to address global environmental degradation effectively. By focusing on criminalizing actions with severe environmental consequences, eco-side law poses a fundamental shift towards protecting nature within legal frameworks.
The impact of eco-side law on systemic transformation and value shifts
Advocating for eco-side law not only influences decision-making but also stimulates a change in values, norms, and behaviors. Pella Teal envisions eco-side law as a tool to reshape societal perspectives on nature. By transitioning from viewing the environment as property to recognizing its intrinsic rights, eco-side law drives systemic change. Emphasizing accountability for environmental actions leads to a reevaluation of societal values and norms, fostering a profound shift towards respecting and preserving the natural world.
Building a collective response through local and global initiatives
Pella Teal emphasizes the importance of collective actions in fostering change. She advocates for creating embassies for the Baltic Sea to give a voice to nature in decision-making forums. Encouraging individuals to connect with nature and form communities that prioritize ecosystems, Pella underscores the significance of collaborative efforts in environmental protection. Bridging the gap between local practices like school gardens and global initiatives like eco-side law illuminates the power of unified actions in safeguarding the planet.
Empowering youth and individuals through nature connectivity and activism
Pella Teal encourages young people and individuals to connect with nature, exploring the wisdom and interconnectedness of natural systems. By nurturing a sacred bond with the Earth and finding like-minded communities, individuals can amplify their impact in environmental activism. Pella highlights the transformative potential of nature-based practices, such as daily sit spots and garden initiatives, to foster ecological awareness and inspire positive change. Engaging with the profound teachings of the natural world can empower individuals to act as stewards of the planet's well-being.
On this episode, Nate is joined by maverick ecologist Pella Thiel to discuss the legal frameworks behind the Ecocide and Rights of Nature Movements. Our current economic and legal systems have no mechanisms to consider nature in our decision making - much less to make systemic planetary stability a priority. Could redefining the destruction of our biosphere to be considered a crime parallel with that of genocide alter the way we structure laws governing our societies and economies? How are countries legislating and enforcing these ideas - even going so far as to act against the flow of the superorganism? Most importantly, how could top-down legal ideas such as these interact with bottom-up individual action to create powerful shifts in cultural values and motivations?
About Pella Thiel:
Pella Thiel is a maverick ecologist, part-time farmer, full-time activist and teacher in ecopsychology. She is the co-founder of Swedish hubs of international networks like Swedish Transition Network and End Ecocide Sweden and a knowledge expert in the UN Harmony with Nature programme. Pella was awarded the Swedish Martin Luther King Award in 2023 and the Environmental Hero of the year 2019.
