Starting in October, Ecuador will regard the environment as "a someone to respect and not a something to exploit." That, at least, is the approach of the country's new draft constitution, environmentalists who support approval of the document say. The constitution, completed by a constituent assembly on July 24 and slated for a Sept. 28 public referendum, includes rights related to the environment and specific green measures likely to require implementing legislation. The draft-constitution sets a goal of "buen vivir," or living well, for all Ecuadorians in a context of harmonious coexistence with nature. "There's a shift from an anthropocentric vision to a vision of coexistence with nature," says Alberto Acosta, former president of the constituent assembly. (See Q&A-this issue.) "To achieve... [Log in to read more]