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| Rights of Nature movement | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rights of Nature movement |
| Founded | Late 20th century |
| Region | Global |
Rights of Nature movement is a transnational campaign to recognize legal personhood and entitlements for ecosystems, rivers, forests, and species. Advocates draw on Earth jurisprudence, environmental ethics, and indigenous legal traditions to challenge prevailing frameworks such as United States Constitution, Indian Constitution, and European Convention on Human Rights. The movement intersects with litigation in forums like the International Court of Justice, domestic tribunals including the Supreme Court of India, and local ordinances modeled after initiatives in Ecuador and Bolivia.
Roots trace to philosophical sources including Aristotle's teleology, Thomas Berry's The Great Work, Aldo Leopold's Land ethic, and Henry David Thoreau's naturalist writings. Intellectual antecedents appear in legal theory debates involving Christopher Stone's essay "Should Trees Have Standing?" and the development of ecocentrism within Deep Ecology and eco-theology movements linked to figures like Vandana Shiva and Arne Naess. Indigenous legal frameworks—exemplified by the customary law of the Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the jurisprudence of the Cree, and Indigenous rights affirmed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—provided normative models for recognizing natural entities as rights-holders. Early policy milestones include constitutional provisions in Ecuador (2008) and statutory reforms in Bolivia (2010), cultivated alongside grassroots campaigns in municipalities such as Toledo, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Key litigation has unfolded across multiple jurisdictions. In New Zealand, judicial recognition of the Whanganui River's legal status involved the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 process and engagement with tribal claimants like Ngāti Tūwharetoa. In India, the Supreme Court of India issued directions concerning the Ganga and Yamuna after petitions by organizations including the Centre for Environmental Law and activists such as M. C. Mehta. Continental examples include rulings by courts in Colombia—notably cases involving the Atrato River and plaintiffs represented by groups like Corporación Jurídica Libertad—and decisions in Argentina recognizing rights for the Paraná River in provincial contexts. In the United States, municipal ordinances in cities including Santa Monica and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania prompted litigation in state courts and engagements with federal statutes like the Clean Water Act and bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency. International claims have appeared in forums invoking instruments such as the Escazú Agreement and submissions to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Implementation models vary from constitutional entrenchment to trustee frameworks and co-governance arrangements. Constitutional models trace to the Constitution of Ecuador (2008) and the Plurinational State of Bolivia statutes, which establish rights at the national level and create mechanisms for enforcement via institutions like national ombudspersons. Statutory and ordinance models rely on trust structures modeled after entities such as the Whanganui River Trust and co-management boards reflecting settlements with iwi including Ngāti Whātua and Tūhoe. Enforcement strategies invoke remedies under codes like the Indian Penal Code when courts order restitution, and rely on administrative agencies such as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in India or the Ministry of Environment of Ecuador for regulatory action. Hybrid approaches incorporate mechanisms from international law instruments like the Paris Agreement and regional agreements such as the Andean Community protocols.
Prominent advocates include scholars and activists such as Christopher D. Stone, Cecilia Martínez, Vandana Shiva, Thomas Berry, and legal practitioners associated with groups like Earth Law Center, Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, Center for Biological Diversity, and Legal Atlas. Indigenous organizations active in the movement include Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua, Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS-IPSP) affiliates in Bolivia, and community groups represented by Amazon Watch. Philanthropic and research bodies engaging with the movement include the Ford Foundation, Skoll Foundation, and academic centers such as Harvard Law School's environmental programs and the University of Auckland's legal clinics.
Notable campaigns range from national constitutional campaigns in Ecuador and Bolivia to municipal ordinances in U.S. cities like Toledo, Ohio and Santa Monica. Landmark settlements include the Te Awa Tupua settlement recognizing the Whanganui River and the Colombian Constitutional Court's orders concerning the Atrato River. Environmental NGOs achieved precedent-setting injunctions against extractive projects in regions such as the Amazon Rainforest and the Andes with plaintiffs supported by organizations like Amazon Watch and Global Witness. Campaigns targeting corporations have engaged multinationals like Chevron Corporation and Barrick Gold Corporation through litigation and shareholder advocacy coordinated by groups such as the Center for International Environmental Law.
Critics include legal scholars from institutions such as Yale Law School and Oxford University who argue about conflicts with existing property regimes codified in instruments like the Uniform Commercial Code and the Indian Evidence Act. Skeptics raise concerns about unintended consequences affecting resource-dependent communities including constituencies represented by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador and industry coalitions like the Chamber of Mines. Debates have emerged within indigenous movements—between groups like Ngāi Tahu and other iwi—over consent, representation, and compensation. Tensions with development policy have involved multilateral lenders including the World Bank and regional banks such as the Inter-American Development Bank when financing projects in ecologically sensitive areas.
The movement has influenced regulatory frameworks and corporate environmental governance, prompting revisions to impact assessment protocols used by agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Environment and Water (Ecuador). Conservation strategies by organizations such as WWF and Conservation International increasingly incorporate rights-based language, and private sector actors including Unilever and Patagonia have engaged with ecosystem stewardship concepts in supply chain policies. At the international level, discourse at forums like the United Nations Environment Programme and the Convention on Biological Diversity has increasingly referenced legal personhood for nature, affecting treaty negotiations and capacity-building initiatives led by entities such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Category:Environmental movements