Rights of Nature

Mildred Warner specializes in local government service delivery, economic development, and intergenerational planning. Professor Warner’s research critically examines privatization, devolution, and market-based approaches, highlighting both their potential and their uneven impacts on vulnerable communities. She has published over 200 scholarly works in leading journals and received major research funding from U.S. federal agencies and foundations. Professor Warner’s work bridges policy, practice, and social infrastructure, particularly in human services and sustainability. Internationally recognized, she actively collaborates with governments and institutions worldwide on public sector reform and inclusive development strategies.

Andrés Martínez Moscoso is an environmental law scholar whose work focuses on water governance, environmental regulation, and the evolving recognition of nature in legal systems. His research examines institutional design, multilevel governance, and the influence of European environmental law in Latin America.

Dr. Martínez Moscoso explores how regulatory frameworks address sustainability challenges, including pollution, natural resource management, and climate-related risks. His work also engages with policy implementation and the interaction between legal norms and social movements.

Dr. Martínez Moscoso has published widely and collaborates with international academic and policy networks on advancing environmental governance and sustainable development. He holds the Jean Monnet Chair (European Commission, Erasmus+) and is a Member of IUCN WCEL.

Lisa María Madera is an Ecuadorian-American writer, educator, and environmental advocate whose work bridges storytelling, community action, and ecological restoration. As a founding member of the Colectivo Rescate del Río San Pedro, Ms. Madera has led intergenerational initiatives to restore urban rivers through Andean mingas, combining art, science, and ancestral practices. Her efforts contributed to landmark legal recognition of river rights in Ecuador.

Ms. Madera’s writing explores the relationship between culture, spirituality, and nature, with publications in leading academic and literary venues. A Climate Parent Fellow, she is committed to fostering community-based environmental stewardship and reimagining human relationships with the natural world.

Ramiro Ávila Santamaría is an Ecuadorian legal scholar, former judge of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, and a leading voice in critical criminology and constitutional law. Dr. Ávila Santamaría’s academic work focuses on human rights, criminal justice, and socio-legal theory, with a strong emphasis on structural inequalities and state power.

As a constitutional judge, Dr. Ávila Santamaría contributed to landmark jurisprudence advancing the recognition and enforceability of the rights of nature, reinforcing their status as directly applicable constitutional rights. Alongside his judicial and academic work, he is an active advocate for transformative constitutionalism and environmental justice, linking legal theory with social and ecological movements.

Carlos Quizhpe Parra is an Environmental Engineer and M.A. in Socio-Environmental Studies (FLACSO) as well as a Ph.D. candidate in Territorial Sustainability with a focus on Post-Development Studies at the University of Cuenca.

A specialist in political ecology and socio-environmental conflicts, Mr. Quizhpe Parra’s recent publications analyze extractivism, natural resource governance, energy, and the rights of nature, as well as social movements in defense of water in the Andean region.

Marta Echavarría is an environmental leader with over three decades of experience advancing conservation finance and nature-based solutions in Latin America. As President of EcoDecision LLC, Ms. Echavarría has pioneered innovative mechanisms to protect ecosystems and support local livelihoods, including water funds, environmental easements, and carbon initiatives.

Ms. Echavarría’s work bridges science, policy, and market-based tools to address water security and biodiversity conservation. She has played a key role in landmark Rights of Nature litigation in Ecuador, contributing to legal recognition of urban rivers. Through her leadership, Ms. Echavarría promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and sustainable development strategies across the region.