EnAct International - Governance for a Sustainable Future

About our logo
Our logo is based on an ancient symbol called “the seed of life” or “the seed of the universe”. It shows a spiral of potential energy within a sphere symbolising the Universe. Our logo reminds us that creativity and life flows from the dynamic balance created by the constant ebb and flow of opposing energies and that our lives and work should reflect this fundamental principle. It also represents the creative energy of our organisation and our commitment to designing strategies and governance systems that are holistic, balanced, and consistent with the greater natural systems within which we exist.

Wild Law

Download The People’s Charter for Africa with Commentary here
Download The People’s Charter for Africa here

EnAct has played a key role in the development of a new legal philosophy and approach to governance called "Earth Jurisprudence" which is explained in Cormac Cullinan's groundbreaking book "Wild Law: A manifesto for Earth Justice". The need for a new jurisprudence was first identified by Thomas Berry (see www.thomasberry.org). His work has inspired thousands of people around the planet who believe in a worldview that takes account of the interests of the whole Earth instead of only those of human.

Earth jurisprudence refers to the philosophy of law and human governance that is based on the belief that human societies should regulate themselves as members of a wider Earth community. This would require the development of laws and policies that ensure that people act in a way that is consistent with the fundamental "laws" or principles of Nature that govern how the universe functions ("the Great Jurisprudence"). Earth Jurisprudence requires the expansion of our understanding of governance and democracy to embrace the whole Earth Community and not just humans. It is concerned with maintaining and strengthening relations between all members of the Earth Community and not just between human beings.

		Cormac Cullinan shows that the survival of the community of life on Earth (including humans) requires us to alter fundamentally our understanding of the nature and purpose of law and governance, rather than merely changing laws. Wild Law fuses politics, legal theory, quantum physics and ancient wisdom into a fascinating and eminently readable story. It is an inspiring and stimulating book for anyone who cares about Earth and is concerned about the direction in which the human species is moving.
WILD LAW: A Manifesto for Earth Justice By Cormac Cullinan, with a Foreword by Thomas Berry

Wild law in action
These ideas are rapidly gaining acceptance throughout the world. The UK Environmental Law Association has held annual conferences on Wild Law since 2005 and the first Wild Law conference in Australia was held in 2009. In September 2006 the Catholic Universities of Barry and St Thomas established the first Earth Jurisprudence Centre in Florida (see www.earthjuris.org) and this approach is now taught in several African countries.

Our pioneering role in this field led us to being instructed by Nobel peace prize winner Professor Wangari Mathai's Green Belt movement to advise on how this approach could be incorporated into the draft Kenyan constitution. In October 2008, Ecuador became the first country to adopt a constitution that recognises rights for Nature as proposed in Wild Law. Cormac Cullinan has played a leading role in the development of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth which was proclaimed on 22 April 2010 by a People's World Conference in Bolivia attended by more than 32 000 people.

Download The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth here

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