ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors identify some of the subjects that will be considered and hammered into shape to change the American legal system to one in which the Rights of Nature have priority. They propose that Nature must be the primary rights-holder in the legal system, and this must be clearly stated in both Constitutions and laws. The legal system in the United States, as it deals with environmental and natural resources, is primarily regulatory with some market-based aspects. The Precautionary Principle's first debut in international law was as Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration of 1992. Principle 15 states: In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Risk assessment aids in crafting remedies for ecosystem damage and designing restoration or the cultivation of a critical species on a landscape scale.
