A COSMOVISÃO DOS POVOS ORIGINÁRIOS E A EMERGÊNCIA DO DIREITO ECOLÓGICO

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze how the cosmovision of Indigenous peoples contributes to overcoming the structural limitations of traditional Environmental Law and to the consolidation of Ecological Law, grounded in a new ecocentric legal paradigm. It sought to demonstrate that the contemporary environmental crisis is not solely the result of normative or institutional deficiencies, but also stems from anthropocentric epistemological and axiological foundations that have subordinated the protection of nature to instrumental human interests. The study also intended to examine the theoretical foundations of Ecological Law and to identify its convergences with Indigenous knowledge systems, particularly with regard to interdependence, reciprocity, and the recognition of the intrinsic value of nature. The methodology adopted was the deductive method, starting from general premises concerning the global ecological crisis and the shortcomings of classical Environmental Law, and subsequently analyzing the emergence of the theoretical proposal of Ecological Law and its articulation with Indigenous cosmovisions. This is a bibliographic and documentary study, with a qualitative approach, based on the analysis of doctrinal works, academic productions, normative documents, and Latin American constitutional experiences. In conclusion, it was found that the cosmovisions of Indigenous peoples offer ontological and epistemological foundations capable of influencing and enriching the proposal of Ecological Law, by conceiving nature as a living and relational entity. It was concluded that the incorporation of such knowledge promotes the reorientation of legal rationality toward ecological integrity, intergenerational justice, and the protection of life in all its forms.