Can rivers, lakes and trees be granted their own rights, just like people?

By Megan Clendenan

April 22nd is Earth Day – a great opportunity to consider how we are caring for our home planet. Are we using the golden rule? Are we treating our planet how we ourselves would like to be treated?

A different perspective shows us how everything on Earth is connected.

 

 

The right to life. Freedom from discrimination. These are fundamental human rights, recognized by many – if not all – countries worldwide. Basic human rights are certainly not universally applied, as many people still face discrimination, unequal treatment and outright persecution. However, when human rights are recognized they do provide a legal framework that helps to protect many people and enable them to live more secure, free and healthy lives.

Could this same idea be given to help conserve and protect nature itself?

And if so, how exactly can we define what ‘the rights of nature’ means? In his book, The Rights of Nature: A legal revolution that could save the world (2017), David R. Boyd argues that it refers to “the rights of non-human species, elements of the natural environment and…inanimate objects to a continued existence unthreatened by human activities.”

The idea that we have both rights and responsibilities to care for and respect the natural world has been a part of many Indigenous cultures for generations. In 2017, after years of discussions with the Maori people, New Zealand granted legal rights to the Whanganui River, the third longest in the country. The river is now a ‘legal person’ with rights and responsibilities. It is represented by the Maori people, who can protect the river in court if need be. New Zealand is not the only country offering nature its very own rights.

Whanganui River, New Zealand Photo credit: Duane Wilkins

Ecuador’s 2008 Constitution protects the natural world and anyone can go to court on behalf of nature. In 2011, an Ecuadorian court ruled that a proposed road would violate the Vilcabamba River’s right to health as construction would dump huge amounts of rock, sand and gravel into the river, causing the river to flood and affecting people who lived nearby. Road construction was halted, and this was the first ever legal ruling on the rights of nature.

In 2016, a group of Colombian youth between the ages of 7 and 26 took their government to the Supreme Court citing failure to protect the Amazon rainforest. Each youth had been impacted in their home community by the effects of climate change, air pollution, or water contamination stemming from a lack of environmental protection. In 2018, the Supreme Court declared that the Amazon river ecosystem itself has the legal right to environmental protection.

In 2021 in Quebec, the Mutuhekau Shipu River (also known as the Magpie River), threatened by environmental degradation, became the first river in Canada granted legal rights. In a process led by the Innu First Nation, the river was declared a ‘legal person’ with nine rights, including the right to flow and the right to be free of pollution.

There are many other countries granting legal protection to nature, including Bangladesh, India and Bolivia. Granting rights to nature is not without challenge. For example, who will speak on behalf of the protected nature? And after a court protects a river with rights, what happens next? How is protection implemented, and, if it’s not, then what? And what about farmers, industries and other communities who feel that by giving nature its own rights, their own rights are being infringed upon? There are many thorny issues to untangle. However, the provision of legal rights is one tool that can be used to help conserve and protect nature from contamination, destruction and the continuing effects of climate change. Given recent IPCC reports on the state of our planet, we need to use all available tools.

What do you think?

To learn more about the rights of nature, why the right to live in a healthy environment should be protected as a human right, as well as inspiring environmental court cases from around the world (many led by children and youth!), check out my book Fresh Air, Clean Water: Our Right to a Healthy Environment, illustrated by Julie McLaughlin and published by Orca Books (March 2022).