In light of the many profound advancements in scientific insights into the living world, how can the sciences, especially the biological sciences, be translated into and transform our understanding of the law to better protect life on Earth?

MOTH pursues actions which offer answers to this question and has been especially active in one scientific realm in particular: mycology.

Fungi make up one of life’s kingdoms—as broad a category as “animals” or “plants”—and provide a key to understanding our planet. Besides their foundational ecological importance, the chemical accomplishments of fungi have long shaped human life. When fungi suffer, so do the humans and ecosystems that depend on them.

Moreover, a type of fungi—mycorrhizal fungi—are key players in underground ecosystems: largely invisible ecosystem engineers that supply nutrients to plants in exchange for plant carbon. Through this ancient association, carbon floods into the soil, supporting intricate food webs above and below ground. These vast symbiotic networks comprise an ancient life-support system that easily qualifies as one of the wonders of the living world. When we disrupt these networks, we jeopardize the health and resilience of the organisms on which we depend as well as the underground ecosystems which serve as the foundation of much of the living world.

And, yet, law and governance have systematically overlooked these small but mighty players in the vast web of life. This matters not only because it leaves important elements of the more-than-human world unprotected but also because it leaves law and governance with a distorted picture of how the living world operates and is woven together.

The MOTH Program has taken up this state of affairs, working to translate the science of fungi into law. This not only entails legal protections for fungi and the ecosystems in which they reside but also the adoption of the “fungal point of view” into law. From the fungal perspective, the living world is highly entangled and co-created, challenging the very idea of individualism which has been at the core of modern law and governance. As a result, the fungal point of view points to a promising path forward for law and governance, one based on interconnection and relationality as opposed to strict individualism and atomization. 

The Fauna Flora Funga Initiative north_east