The Advocacy of the Previously Inconceivable: A Discourse Analysis of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth at Rio+20

Abstract

The proposal to adopt the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth (UDRME) sought to challenge the hegemony of green economy at Rio+20. The essence of this proposal is the recognition of nature as a subject holding rights. Adopting a discourse analytical perspective, this article analyzes the advocacy activities for the UDRME at Rio+20 and critically reconstructs the arguments in favor of the Rights of Nature, which condense deliberations about value, humans’ role on Earth, the planet’s physical characteristics, indigenous and traditional people’s wisdom, and the evolution of legal systems. The most prominent aspects of this argumentative endeavor are discussed to assess how a previously unthinkable international environmental normative framework became conceivable. The article contends that connections with long-standing environmental discourses and the enactment of the indigenous speaker position by UDRME advocates are central for understanding how this proposal has become part of contemporary environmental politics.