Nation-building and ecology: the war of being, identity and environmental law

My return to the world of environmental law and human rights for my master’s degree was not a bare academic stop; it was the beginning of a set of strategic and philosophical questions: questions about the equation and dimensions of environment, homeland, identity and the future of the nation.

By legal measures the homeland is not just a geographical border or a lifeless political structure; it is a living historical and philosophical entity formed from the fusion of the spirit of the nation with its soil. From this angle, the process of nation-building is not only the construction of political institutions but, at its deepest level, the strengthening of a three-legged stand: sovereignty over the land, ecological balance and national identity.

From the standpoint of national thought, the relation between land and nation is ontological. Land is not merely the place of living; it is the source of meaning, collective memory and cultural authenticity. The nation is the dialectical product of the two-way interaction between human beings and their environment. Mountains, rivers, forests and plains are not only a natural resource or an asset; they are an inseparable part of the history and spirit of the nation.

When the environment of a homeland suffers destruction, deforestation or pollution, the pain does not stop at the ecological level; it is a direct wounding of the body and spirit of the nation itself. From this standpoint, protecting the environment is an immediate and strategic act of defence of the identity and existence of the nation.

The nation turns like a chain bound between past, present and future generations. Nation-building is not a quick answer to the needs of today; it is the fulfilment of a moral and legal pledge to the generations to come.

Burning or neglecting the environment for temporary profit is a collective betrayal of the continuity of the nation. Real sovereignty is secured when the nation can hand its environment, clean and fertile, to future generations as a “trust”. A society whose environment is ruined and which loses its capacity to feed and water itself becomes dependent, weak and without decision before external threats.

Nation-building needs a citizen who feels collective responsibility. Environmental protection is the strongest philosophical and behavioural training for practising contemporary patriotism. When the members of a nation understand that protecting a tree or a river is part of protecting the sovereignty and dignity of the nation, a turn in national consciousness takes place.

The relation between nation-building and environmental protection is not that of owner and goods; it is that of body and spirit. No great nation-building is achieved without a healthy environment.