decolonizing sciences – transformations, human cluster

Rights of Nature, Corporate Social Responsibility and the Role of Higher Education Institutions

Laleta Davis-Mattis

Lecture by Laleta Davis Mattis.
16th January 2019 at University Counsel and Adjunct Lecturer, University of the West Indies.

“When Christopher Stone advanced the theory that natural objects have rights in and of themselves, arguably he was advancing a theory that would become a salient component of the global discourse seeking to reverse the Tragedy of the Commons. Now that forty five years have passed since the promulgation of his treatise, the world has come to advance Stone’s theory further and to move from mere natural objects to animals and ecosystems. With climate change being the present danger, we are now scurrying to amend our ways in various forms of mitigation and adaptation. The human being has now come to realise that being indomitable and exercising rights unfettered is detrimental to his own survival. Corporate Social Responsibility has become a new norm for corporations large and small as they come to grips with their contribution to environmental degradation and the minute green consumers who demand environmental accountability. Universities play a vital role in this process of balancing rights as an obligation and advocating for change by example and in the development of their own pedagogies. This paper will present a synopsis of what has become a global dilemma for which we are all responsible and will examine the assignment of rights to nature in national constitutions and the role of higher educational institutions.”