BAALIJIN Earth Law Advocates (BELA) will host the Australian Premiere of documentary film Invisible Hand on the growing Rights of Nature movement worldwide.

Narrated by Actor Mark Ruffalo, Invisible Hand weaves together rights of nature actions across the US, including the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, North Dakota; and the adoption of Rights of Nature into Ecuador’s national constitution.

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The Rights of Nature movement is growing worldwide.

Recognising the Rights of Nature in law, rejects the notion that nature is human property and legally recognises the rights of the natural world to exist, thrive and evolve.

Local distributor Mark Taylor spoke with News Of The Area about the film.

“The story is paradigm shifting, about the global movement to recognise that Nature has legal rights, much like a person, or a corporation, and that it could be represented in the court of law.

“Imagine the Murray Darling River had legal recognition, and it could be represented in the high court of Australia, it may have saved its demise, along with the Murray Cod and many other species that will never again be seen in the sorts of numbers it was previously.

“The film follows the high profile cases in the US that were successful in protecting important natural areas from gas mining,” he said.

Hosts on the evening of the screening are BELA which formed in 2019 under the working title Bellingen Rights of Nature.

According to a BELA spokesperson, “Earth law is an emerging body of law that recognises the intrinsic value of all nature and the interconnectedness of all life on earth.

“Moving away from a human-centred approach to environmental management, earth laws seek place-based and whole-systems approaches to ecological justice and governance.

“BELA is currently exploring ways in which earth laws could be implemented in the Bellingen Shire.”

Mr Taylor said, “Australia in many ways is behind the eight ball in the Rights of Nature movement, however it is beginning to take hold, with organisations local and national who are taking great strides to bring the movement to the mainstream.

“The film’s narrative feeds into the Climate Change movement, and introduces very progressive ideas around the growing paradigm of realisation that unless we give Nature legal rights, we will be facing a continuation of the degradation of the natural world, loss of species, and collapse of entire ecosystems.

“The film shows us the road map to how we can truly protect nature for our children and future generations to experience as we have,” Mr Taylor said.

By Sandra MOON