In October 2008, Ecuador became the first and so far only country in the world that provides Nature with explicit constitutional rights. This new legal instrument aims to ensure that nature is protected and respected by humans. This Analysis recaptures the experience of implementing these rights, and of the process of accessing the Judiciary in the first case which resulted in a positive ruling towards nature as a subject of rights. In this sense, the Analysis exposes the problems experienced by the plaintiffs, in their court case against the Provincial Government of Loja. The case deals with the environmental damages caused to the Vilcabamba River bed in the south of Ecuador during the widening of a local road.  In addition, the Analysis details the challenges of implementing these constitutional provisions. For example, it is necessary that public and private institution educate themselves about the rights of nature, so that they can be effectively implemented