April 20, the week of Earth Day, the United Nations General Assembly discussed international standards that grant nature equal rights to humans. Similar protocols have been adopted by over a dozen U.S. municipalities, as well as Bolivia and Ecuador. Renowned environmentalists Maude Barlow and Vandana Shiva were interviewed on Democracy Now by Amy Goodman the day after the UN dialogue on Harmony with Nature during which Vandana Shiva and Cormac Cullinan presented the case for Rights of Nature.

Says Shiva, “Most civilizations of the world, for most of human history, have seen the world in terms of relatedness and connection,” says Shiva. “And if there’s one thing the rights of Mother Earth is waking us to, is: we are all connected.”

“We don’t give rights to Nature … Nature has rights!” Vandana Shiva