Ecuador’s Rights of Nature and the Spirit that Lives in Los Cedros. Remembering José DeCoux
Did you know that Ecuador was the first country in the world to grant constitutional rights to Nature?
Not just protections. Rights—real legal standing. In 2008, the country rewrote its Constitution to recognize that forests, rivers, mountains, and entire ecosystems have the right to exist, regenerate, and flourish. It’s more than policy. It’s a deep cultural and spiritual shift. And for those of us who’ve spent time in Ecuador’s forests, it’s also deeply personal.
This change didn’t start in a government building or with a foreign NGO—it began in community assemblies, Indigenous territories, and resistance movements led by organizations like CONAIE and ECUARUNARI. These leaders pushed not only for Indigenous rights but for a new way of relating to the Earth—based on Sumak Kawsay, or “Good Living.” Not prosperity at Nature’s expense, but well-being in balance with it.
Then, in a powerful act of collective will, Ecuadorians voted to adopt the new Constitution. They weren’t just affirming new laws—they were honoring a worldview. An ancient truth: Nature is not a resource. She is a relative.
Looking back to the early 2000s, I remember how Cloud Forest Institute found itself braided into this growing movement. We were connected through kindred organizations like Trees Foundation and CIBT, and before long, we were sharing an office in Quito with the team from Los Cedros Biological Reserve. Together, we brought students deep into the forests of Pañacocha and Los Cedros—into mist-draped canopies, along the trails of monkeys and orchids, under waterfalls echoing with life.
These trips weren’t just about learning. They were about connection. The kind of awe that rearranges you. The kind of education that roots you in a new reality.
José DeCoux, the inspired soul behind Los Cedros, was unlike anyone else I’ve ever met. Tenacious in his defense of the forest, he lived as a guardian—guided by humility, patience, and an unwavering belief that this forest mattered.
When mining threats loomed over Los Cedros, José didn’t flinch. He stood firm, even while quietly battling cancer. And in 2021, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court ruled in favor of protecting the reserve—citing the Rights of Nature. It was a massive victory. Not just for Los Cedros, but for every river, frog, orchid, and child who deserves to grow up in a world still alive and thriving.
I’m so grateful José lived to see that moment of justice. He passed away on May 20, 2024, and is held in loving memory by all who walked that forest trail beside him, literally or in spirit.
Since that constitutional change in 2008, the Rights of Nature have been used in court to defend rivers, forests, and sacred lands across Ecuador. But like any promise, they depend on the will to uphold them. Extractive industries still operate. Communities still have to fight.
But now, they have legal standing. They can speak for the land—not just with their hearts, but with the law.
And this model is spreading: in New Zealand, in parts of the United States, in Colombia, and beyond. It’s not just a policy trend. It’s a memory rising—of how we used to live, and how we still can.
At Cloud Forest Institute, we’re still walking that path. We continue to partner with communities, educate students, and advocate for what we call biocultural conservation—the idea that human cultures and ecological systems are inseparable. That protecting one means protecting the other.
I want you to know: change is possible. Legal, cultural—even spiritual change. We’ve seen it, lived it, and walked through the cloud forest with people like José, who remind us that protecting what we love is the greatest calling there is.
May we all carry that love forward.
🌺 In Gratitude,
Freeda Alida Burnstad