Constitutional right for the restoration of nature with a focus on urban trees in the canton of Loja

Abstract

Since 2008, Nature holds rights that must be guaranteed both by the Central Government and by the Decentralized Autonomous Governments. These governments, through their ordinances, must uphold the rights enshrined in the Constitution and guide the design of public policies concerning the constitutional right to environmental restoration, based on the principles of ecocentrism and biocentrism. The objective of this research is to analyze the constitutional right to restoration through the study of Protection Action No. Case 11333-2022-00484 against the Municipality of Loja for actions that contradict the constitutional norm and environmental legal frameworks, and for the lack of development of an ordinance consistent with environmental competencies regarding urban tree management in the Loja canton. The research was mixed-methods with a qualitative focus and used inductive-deductive, doctrinal, and analytical methods. The findings showed that the Loja canton lacks an ordinance on urban trees due to a lack of political and social commitment and budgetary constraints, failing to meet its exclusive competencies and the constitutional guarantee of Nature’s rights. As a contribution, the research established the urgent need to create an ordinance addressing parameters such as urban tree management in terms of cutting, pruning, and forest waste, recovery of degraded areas, environmental consultation as a mechanism for citizen participation, afforestation and reforestation projects, and sanction procedures for ordinance violations. It argues for elevating the Rights of Nature to the same status as Human Rights, committing to respect its integrity, biodiversity, and especially its capacity for regeneration in the context of urban trees in the Loja canton.