We are inextricably interconnected with each other, with our communities, and with the natural world, as part of a complex, dynamic, whole Earth entity. This truth has been held by many indigenous communities around the world, is being affirmed increasingly by mainstream science and is already felt in the hearts of many of us.

However, for many generations, our dominant global narrative has been based on a perception of separation, between each other and between humans and the rest of the natural world. Founding our legal, economic, political and other systems on this misconception has given rise to many of our current converging global crises – from the devastating impacts of extraction and degradation of the natural world, the privileging of corporate profit over human rights, an untenable economic system focused on linear financial growth in a finite world, harmful ‘othering’ and exploitation of numerous groups within societies and associated human rights violations.

The Anima Mundi Law Initiative is a space to advance legal thinking and practice focused on human rights and social justice, embedded in ecological realities. It connects cutting-edge legal analysis with expansive ways of knowing. These include fostering the emerging Earth Law movement, value-led approaches, the grounding of our legal work in place and community, exploration of the narratives and myths underlying our current systems, and transcendental practices to create the conditions for an embodied understanding of the inherent interconnection between the human and more-than-human worlds.