Rights of Nature Law, Policy and Education
The law has seen the beginning of an evolution toward recognition of the inherent rights of Nature to exist, thrive and evolve. This evolving legal approach acknowledges that the traditional environmental regulatory systems generally described herein regard nature as property to be used for human benefit, rather than a rights-bearing partner with which humanity has co-evolved. Rights of Nature is grounded in the recognition that humankind and Nature share a fundamental, non-anthropocentric relationship given our shared existence on this planet, and it creates guidance for actions that respect this relationship. Legal provisions recognizing the Rights of Nature, sometimes referred to as Earth Jurisprudence, include constitutions, national statutes, and local laws. In addition, new policies, guidelines and resolutions are increasingly pointing to the need for a legal approach that recognizes the rights of the Earth to well-being. Furthermore, educational activities on the rights of Nature are on the increase in the professional and public spheres to advance Earth Jurisprudence worldwide.
1. Argentina
2015 Proposal for a national regulation on Rights of Nature. Click here.
2019 A proposal to reform the Constitution of the Province of Santa Fe to include the rights of Nature is currently being debated by members of local governance.2018 The municipal council of the city of Santa Fé approved a local ordinance recognizing in its Art.4 the rights of Nature. The ordinance is to be enacted by the Mayor of the city of Santa Fé. The ordinance was originally submitted to the municipal council by the government and citizenship security commission of the city of Santa Fé. Click here.
2020 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ first non-anthropocentric sentence, rendered on 6 February 2020, recognizes the protection of the rights of Indigenous People on the case “Indigenous Community Members of the Lhaka Honhat (Our Land) Association Vs. Argentina. This is the first time the Inter-American Court sets a precedent on the rights to water, food, a healthy environment and cultural identity. Click article and click court decision.2016 Judge María Alejandra Mauricio, agreeing with the activists, called the chimp by the name of Cecilia, a “non-human person” and said the primate “is a subject of law.” Click article and click official document.2014 Lawyers had argued that under Argentinian law, the orangutan by the name of Sandra, should be considered closer to a “person” than a “thing.” Click article and click court decision.
2020 The First International Virtual Congress on Animal Law for the recognition of non-human animals rights took place from 25 to 29 May 2020. The Congress was recognized as an event of national interest by the Argentine Chamber of Deputies. Click article. Click official document.
2. Australia
2017 The Victorian Parliament passed on 21 September, the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017. The Act became law on 1 December 2017 and legally recognizes the Yarra as an indivisible living entity deserving protection. The Law also recognises the intrinsic connection of the traditional owners to the Yarra River and further recognises them as the custodians of the land and waterway which they call Birrarung. Click here.
On 28 November 2019, Diane Evers, a Member of the Western Australia Parliament, introduced the Rights of Nature and Future Generations Bill 2019. This is the first time that legislation aiming to recognise the rights of nature has been introduced in an Australian Parliament. Click article here. Click Bill 2019 here.
3. Bangladesh
2019 The High Court of Bangladesh recognized the river Turag as a living entity with legal rights and held that the same would apply to all rivers in Bangladesh. Click here.
4. Belize
Adoption of an indefinite moratorium signed into law on 29 December 2017 to preserve the World Heritage site reef builds on earlier recogniton of Nature as subject of rights. 2009 Text Click here. 2011 Text Click here.
5. Bolivia
2010 The first Peoples’ World Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. Click here.
6. Brazil
2015 Sao Paulo – Projeto de Emenda a Lei Organica 04-00005/2015 do Veredador Eduardo Tuma (PSDB). Click here.2015 Justificativa – PLO 0005/2015 Click here.
2019 The Municipal Chamber of Florianopolis voted to adopt Organic Law 133 of the Municipality of Florianopolis granting rights of Nature. The Organic Law entered into force on 20 November 2019. Click here.2018 Amendment to the Organic Law of the Municipality of Paudalho in the State of Pernambuco adopts Rights of Nature. Official document Click here.2018 The San Severino Ramos Natural Water Spring was granted rights of Nature as a result of the Amendment to the Organic Law of the Municipality of Paudalho which recognized the RofN. Click here.
2017 Amendment to the Organic Law of the municipality of Bonito in the State of Pernambuco adopts rights of Nature (page 6). Click article (only available in Portuguese). Click Official Document and English Translation.
2020 In an unprecedented court settlement to the Ashaninka people of the State of Sucre, in the Brazilian Amazon, rendered on 1 April 2020, guaranteed reparations for crimes committed almost 40 years ago to the Ashaninka people whose lands were deforested in the 1980s to supply the European furniture industry. This settlement represents a historic win for indigenous rights. Click article and click court decision.2019 The Superior Court of Justice (STJ), adopting an ecological perspective based on the principle of dignity of the human person, issued an historic ruling recognizing non-human animals as subject of rights. The ruling further addresses the need to change the legal anthropocentric paradigm and replace it with biocentric thinking which advances the interconnectedness and close relationship between human beings and Nature and also recognizes Nature’s intrinsic value. Click articles #1 and #2 (only available in Portuguese) and click court decision (only available in Portuguese, key paragraphs can be found in pages 4, 5 and 7).
7. Canada
2020 The ?Esdilagh First Nations people (translated as Where the Land meets the Water) of the Tsilhqot’in Nation have documented their rights and responsibilities as traditional caretakers of ?Elhdaqox (Sturgeon River, alson known as the Fraser River). Endorsed by the Tsilhqot’in Council of Chiefs, on 28 May, 2020, the ?Esdilagh Sturgeon River Law states that people, animals, fish, plants, the nen (“lands”), and the tu (“waters”) have rights. Click article. Click official document.
8. Colombia
2019 The department of Nariño became the first in the country to recognize Nature as a subject of rights by signing Decree 348. Click official document.
2020 On 17 June 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia declared the Isla de Salamanca National Park (Salamanca Island Road Park) as subject of rights to protect it from rampant deforestation. Click article and click official document.2020 The governance framework for the Atrato River Basin was mandated by the Constitutional Court in 2016 to create a multi-stakeholder commission of stewards made up of scientific agencies, universities, NGOs, national and international environmental organizations, public and private institutions, and civil society. The ruling ordered that this commission of stewards be supported and supervised by a board of experts integrated by several supervisory state agencies, NGOs, academic centers, the petitioners, and the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. The Court also ordered that several national, regional and municipal governmental agencies undertake social and environmental programmes for toxicological and epidemiological research, decontamination, definitive neutralization of illegal mining and logging along the Atrato River Basin, and for ethnic-development plans to recover the communities’ food security and protect other human rights that had been violated, including the prevention of further displacement.2019 The Colombian Municipal Civil Court of La Plata – Huila recognized the La Plata River as a subject of rights ordering protective measures for the well being of both, the people and the La Plata River. Click court decision (only available in Spanish).
2019 The Administrative Court of Tolima ordered to stop the mining exploitation of the rivers Coello, Combeima and Cocora, along with their basins, recognizing them as subject of rights for protection, conservation, maintenance and restoration. Click article and click court decision (only available in Spanish).
2019 The Superior Court of Medellin recognized the River Cauca, its basin and affluents as subject of Rights. Click article and click court decision.
2019 The First Criminal Court of Neiva’s District recognized the Magdalena River as subject of rights. The ruling states that the Magdalena River, its basin, and its tributaries are an entity subject to rights for protection, conservation, maintenance, and restoration by the State. Click article and click court decision (only available in Spanish).
2019 The Administrative Court of Quindío has recognized the Quindío River as a subject of rights to protection, conservation, maintenance and restoration. Click article and click court decision.
2019 The Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz de Colombia (JEP), recognized Katsa Su, the vast territory of the Awá people, as subject of rights and victim of the armed conflict. Click article and Click court decision (only available in Spanish).
2019 In July 2019, the Juzgado Tercero de Ejecución de Penas y Medidas de Seguridad in Cali, Colombia, recognized Río Pance as a subject of rights. The Court decision came in response to a tutela citing violations of the rights due to contamination. Click article and click official document.
2019 In September 2019, the Juzgado Cuarto de Ejecución de Penas y Medidas de Seguridad de Pereira, Regional Court recognized Río Otún as a subject of rights. Click article and click official document.
2018 The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia issued a historic ruling by granting rights to the Colombian Amazon Region along the same lines as those given to the Atrato River. Click article and click court decision (only available in Spanish).
2018 The Administrative Court of Boyacá, Colombia, declared the Páramo de Pisba (Pisba Highlands) as a subject of rights. Click article and click official document.
2018 The First Criminal Court of the Circuit of Cartagena ordered the State of Colombia to protect and preserve the life of bees as pollinating agents. Click article and click court decision (available only in Spanish).
2017 The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia established that animals are subjects with rights and granted rights to the Andean bear also called the Spectacled Bear or Oso de Anteojos (Tremarctus Omatus). Click article and click court decision (available only in Spanish).
2016 The Constitutional Court of Colombia issued a decision on a case regarding illegal mining, which recognizes the Atrato River as a subject of Rights. Full text of the decision and specific reasoning on this subject in pages 135 – 140. Click article and click official document (English translation).
See the full list HERE.