Brief considerations on human dignity and the rights of nature. Readings from a constitutional approach to ecological justice

Abstract

Using a documentary methodology, we analyze certain legal and philosophical elements that integrate human dignity with the rights of ecosystems, to promote an ideal of justice that includes all forms of life. In this regard, ecological justice places us in nature as subjects of law, its main legal requirement being that it can be duly valued by human beings, that is, respected from a harmonious interrelationship, where there is no room for its instrumentalization or exploitation by a humanity that has gone to the extreme of prioritizing the reproduction of capital at the expense of the destruction of ecological balance. The interpretations allow us to conclude that, at present, the simple recognition of human dignity is not sufficient to sustain the defense of the fundamental human right: life. At the same time, nature's right to exist in optimal circumstances must be promoted, as this will allow the lives of humans and non-humans to endure over time. In this scenario, ecological justice positions nature as a subject of law, demanding that humans value it appropriately, which implies respect based on a harmonious interrelationship.