Mother Nature as a Legal Entity

In News

• Recently, Madras High Court stated that Mother Nature is a ‘living being’ with legal entity.

Madras High Court’s Decision

• Rights: Mother Nature will have rights, duties and liabilities enjoyed by a living person. Sustainable development is leading only to sustainable destruction of nature.
• Juristic Status: It is the right time to confer juristic status to ‘Mother Nature’, Madras High Court invoked the ‘parens patriae jurisdiction’, and declared ‘Mother Nature’ as a ‘living being’ having the status of a legal entity.
• Fundamental rights granted: The court observed that ‘Mother Nature’ was accorded the rights akin to fundamental rights, legal rights, constitutional rights for its survival, safety, sustenance and resurgence in order to maintain its status and also to promote its health and well-being. 
• Directions to central and state Governments: The State and Central governments are directed to protect ‘Mother Nature’ and take appropriate steps in this regard in all possible ways. 

Parens Patriae Jurisdiction

• In law, it refers to the power of the State to intervene against an abusive or negligent parent, legal guardian or informal caretaker, and to act as the parent of any child or individual who is in need of protection. 
• It is a legal term referring to the power of the government to act on behalf of people who are unable to care for themselves. For example, the doctrine of parens patriae empowers a judge to assign or reassign custody of a minor child, regardless of the parents’ wishes.
• The parens patriae jurisdiction is sometimes spoken of as ‘supervisory’.

Legal Entity

• A legal entity means an entity which acts like a natural person but only through a designated person, whose acts are processed within the ambit of law.
• Previous cases: 
  • In 2018, a High Court bench had accorded the status of “legal person or entity” to animals in Haryana. 
  • Uttarakhand high court, in 2017, declared the Ganga and Yamuna as living entities, a verdict that was later stayed by the Supreme Court. 
  • In June 2019, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ruled that all animals, birds and aquatic life in Haryana would be accorded the status of legal persons or entities.
  • In 2020, Sukhna Lake was declared a legal entity for its survival, preservation and conservation.

Polluter pays Principle

• The ‘polluter pays’ principle is the commonly accepted practice that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment.
• Under this,the collected fines will be deposited in the designated account of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 

Impact of changes in Ecosystem

• Destruction: Indiscriminate destruction or change is leading to several complications in the ecosystem and is ultimately endangering the very existence of flora and fauna, forests, water bodies, mountains, glaciers, air and of course humans.  
• Sustainable development also fails: If sustainable development destroys biodiversity and resources, it is not sustainable development as it is sustainable destruction. Phrases like ‘sustainable development,’ ‘the polluter pays’ and ‘the precautionary principle’ shall not be allowed anymore.
• Climate change: The rising temperatures, incidents of droughts, heat waves, el nino are all indications of how the ecosystem change is affecting us.

Conclusion

• The destruction is carried out by a few humans. Any such act ought to be checked at all levels. 
• The natural environment is part of basic human rights, of ‘right to life’ itself.

Source: TH