In Brazil a municipality recognizes the waves as a legal entity to protect them

The municipality of Linhares, which was hit by disaster following the collapse of the Fundão dam, has decided to legally protect the waves of its coast.

The municipal council of city ​​of Linhares, in the state of Holy Spirit, in Brazil, is the first in the world to have recognized waves as an entity to which rights are guaranteed.This is an above all symbolic decision, which aims to raise awareness of the need for protect the local ecosystem, in an area that suffered a catastrophe of gigantic proportions.

On November 5, 2015, a dam collapsed:it was Brazil's worst ecological disaster

In fact, precisely in that area, the impacts of the collapse of the Fundão dam, which occurred 600 kilometers from the ocean, in the state of Minas Gerais.It was the November 5, 2015, as the dam itself gave way, generating a tsunami of mud and debris which caused the worst ecological disaster of the history of Brazil.In fact, the structure held back 56.6 million cubic meters of waste coming from one mine iron mining operation operated by the Samarco company, a joint venture between the giants Vale and BHP Billiton.

Thus, a toxic wave poured into the Carmo river, a tributary of the Rio Doce.The equivalent of what was contained in 140 oil tankers invaded three villages, destroyed entire ecosystems, asphyxiated fish, devastated the Flora.And, obviously, dragged with it everything it encountered along its path:houses, animals, trees, people.The dismembered bodies of the victims were found for kilometers and kilometres.Overall, the tsunami led to the contamination of 101 tributaries of the Rio Doce.

The decision to protect the waves and everything that contributes to maintaining them

An apocalypse that it cost the lives of 19 people and which has affected 250 thousand inhabitants of the area in various ways, even just due to the lack of drinking water or water that can be used to irrigate cultivated fields.The wave then reached the ocean on November 21st, invading the coast and, with it, a paradise for surfing enthusiasts.

The area is in fact particularly favorable for the creation of waves which now do not only represent a useful element for the sportsmen but also a cultural symbol.For this reason, the Linhares city council has decided to try to protect it - as explained from the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor portal – the chemical-physical conditions that guarantee it ecological balance, i life cycles, harmonious interactions with others human beings.

This, in particular, through a special representation to the decision-making bodies, which will take the form of a committee made up of surfers, long-term residents and a member of the city council's environmental chamber.All inspired by Constitution of Ecuador, the first to have recognized the rights of nature.