Amazonia Exhibition and The Enviroment

Hello readers,

Recently, I visited the Amazonia: The Rights of Nature exhibition on display at the University of British Columbia’s museum of Anthropology. The Amazonia exhibit focused on the native people and their environment within the diverse area of the Amazon basin. According to the curator Nuno Puerto the exhibit “seeks to raise awareness of the knowledge, aesthetics, and sensibilities of the many peoples of the Amazon and to draw attention to the current state of imbalance.” (Amazonia brochure) For me there was one part of the exhibit that exemplified this mission statement while also making me question how we in Canada view the environment differently than other cultures around the world. This part of the exhibit was a wall showing portions of several South American constitutions, and how they each regard the environment and people’s interaction with it.

Each constitution had portions dedicated to recognizing both the rights of the environment, but also the native peoples of their country. Many of the constitutions had similar rights given to the environment so that it could be preserved for future generations to enjoy, and many stressed the duty of each citizen to work to protect and enhance the environment of their country. This is best exemplified by the constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana it states: “every citizen has a duty to participate in activities designed to improve the environment and protect the health of the nation”. This mandate contrasts to how we in Canada view the environment. In Canada, many view the environment as being non-sentient and do not see it as having rights. Many see the environment as being a supply of resources for the economy, and the idea that it has its own rights like humans is not a topic that is often on debate in mainstream media. In contrast Canada’s first nations culture the environment has always been considered sacred and there was a respect similar to that of the South American constitutions. In some areas Canada has worked to incorporate First Nations teachings into both their laws and education as they move into the future, however, our protections of the environment are still much less than those of South America. This lack of environmental protections can be seen in the recent debate around pipelines in British Columbia. Many people in British Columbia are opposed to the Kinder Morgan pipeline going through the Burnaby mountain with many citing environmental concerns to both the mountain and our waterways. Despite these concerns the Canadian Federal government continues to support it in the face of growing opposition. This is very different to the constitution of Ecuador that claims, “all persons, communities, peoples, and nations, can call upon public authorities to enforce the rights of nature”.

The constitutions of South America shown in the Amazonia exhibit show how some governments have incorporated the environment into their constitutions, and are working to listen and utilize First Nations teachings and traditions into their government. This is a dramatic difference in ideology to many western nations. In these times where climate change is becoming a more apparent threat to our future it is wise to look to other cultures to see new points of view so that we can preserve our environment for future generations.

Works Cited

Porto, Nuno. “Amazonia: The Rights of Nature.” Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, 10 Mar 2017 – 28 Jan 2018.