DU law department holds seminar on “Rights of Nature in the Global South”

On July 3, the first lecture of the distinguished Law lecture series titled "Rights of Nature in the Global South" was held at the Department of Law, Dhaka University (DU). The event was chaired by Prof. Dr Muhammad Ekramul Haque, Dean, Faculty of Law, DU. In his opening remarks, Prof. Haque put emphasis on the constitutional recognition and proper enforcement of the right to a safe environment, clean water, and air. He also discussed the current reforms going on in the legal arena of Bangladesh.

Prof. Dr Gitanjali Nain Gill, Professor of Environmental Law, Northumbria University, United Kingdom, was the Key Speaker of the lecture. Prof. Gill primarily focused on the differences between the Global North and the Global South in their perceptions of the environment and the different languages used to incorporate relevant environmental issues into their respective legal frameworks. She discussed the importance of taking an eco-centric approach as opposed to an anthropocentric approach while addressing environmental issues, which is already being done by the Global South countries.

Giving examples of countries like Ecuador, Bolivia, Uganda, etc., Prof. Gill highlighted how these countries have incorporated an anthropocentric approach by recognising the right of the Mother Earth, the right of the environment, the right of elephants, sea turtles, and so on. Even in South Asia, the legal personality of rivers has been recognised, for instance,in Bangladesh in the Turag River case. She, however, cautioned that just legal recognition is not enough; without a legal entity that duly ensures the conservation of the environment, it is not sufficient.

Furthermore, Prof. Gill discussed how even the idea of development is different, as for the Global North, it is about maintaining their current living standards, but for the Global South, it is sometimes about ensuring the people's basic necessities. Additionally, she addressed how the knowledge of the indigenous communities is also important in such discourse, as their nature-focused lifestyle offers a unique and important perspective.

The seminar was attended by teachers and students from at least six universities and around 70 students. Following a short question-and-answer session and formal expression of appreciation for the guest speaker and audience, the seminar came to an end.