Article 1 of the new "Rights for Nature" chapter of the Ecuador constitution gives nature the right to "exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution".

The adoption of the constitution means Ecuador's new system of environmental protection is based on rights and communities, so elected officials and even individuals have legal standing to defend the rights of nature.

Over the past year, US-based Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund assisted the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly developing and drafting provisions that put ecosystem rights directly into the Ecuadorian constitution.

Ecuador's constitutional referendum followed a July 7th vote by the 130-member Ecuador Constitutional Assembly that approved articles that recognize rights for nature and ecosystems. Nearly 70 percent of Ecuadorians voted in favour of the new charter. The new constitution also grants all citizens the right to water and universal healthcare, pensions, and free state-run education through the university level.