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rights of nature
The Ocean, Our Common Future: A Call For Legal Recognition
By sending a strong message to advance the rights of the Ocean everywhere in the world, the United Nations Ocean Conference would represent a historic turning point for the protection of marine life.
Jun 02, 2025
We, the undersigned associations and committed citizens, proclaim, as the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice in June 2025 approaches, the necessity of recognizing and defending the fundamental rights of the Ocean. We call upon U.N. Member States to incorporate Ocean Rights in the Nice Ocean Action Declaration, to trigger a transformative change in our relationship with the Ocean.
Humans are part of the living community of the Planet. Thus, the future of humanity and the preservation of human rights are inseparably linked to the existence of marine species, which can only thrive in a healthy ocean.
The Ocean possesses intrinsic value, independent of its economic utility. A source of life and a cultural pillar for many coastal communities and Indigenous Peoples, it must be treated with respect.
In the face of the challenges ahead, we must be the guardians of the Ocean, the stewards of its integrity, the protectors of its biodiversity, the architects of its prosperity.
The living community of the Ocean and all marine beings have fundamental rights, including the right to exist, thrive, reproduce, and evolve in a healthy environment. Rights that do not oppose human rights, but complement them.
At the international level, progress is showing us the way. Constitutional advances in Ecuador for the protection of the rights of coastal marine ecosystems, the Galápagos, sharks mangroves; the law for the rights of the Mar Menor lagoon in Spain; the protection of the rights of sea turtles in Panama; and even a river in England, with many other pioneering victories of the movement across the world.
These steps mark a new horizon—that of an era of harmonious coexistence between humans and the Ocean. For the recognition of the existence and intrinsic value of all members of the community of the living, as well as their inalienable rights, constitutes the foundation of justice, stability, and peace in the world.
This is why we are calling for the inclusion of the rights of the Ocean in the Nice Declaration “Our Ocean, Our Future: Accelerating Action.”
By sending a strong message to advance the rights of the Ocean everywhere in the world, the United Nations Ocean Conference would represent a historic turning point for the protection of marine life and our common future, strengthening the agency of coastal communities, and helping put an end to projects and activities causing most harm to the health of the Ocean and to marine beings.
In the face of the challenges ahead, we must be the guardians of the Ocean, the stewards of its integrity, the protectors of its biodiversity, the architects of its prosperity.
We call on every person, organization, and public institution to support this proposal, to share it, and to join us by signing the petition, counting over 53,000 signatures already, for the rights of the Ocean. The future of the Ocean is the future of us all.
The authors of the Tribune:
Earth Law Center (U.S.), Longitude 181 (France), Ocean Vision Legal (U.S.) Vagues (La Réunion Island), Wild Legal (France), Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (Ecuador), the Varda Group (Spain/Netherlands), and The Ocean Rights Coalition (U.K.).
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The Rights of Nature: A Paradigm Shift for Environmental Protection
This revolutionary legal framework moves beyond traditional environmental laws and acknowledges that Nature itself has inherent rights, much like human beings and corporations.
Apr 21, 2025
For centuries, legal systems around the world have treated Nature as property—something to be owned, exploited, and managed for human benefit. This anthropocentric perspective has led to widespread environmental degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss.
However, a revolutionary legal framework is emerging: the recognition of the Rights of Nature. This paradigm shift moves beyond traditional environmental laws and acknowledges that Nature itself has inherent rights, much like human beings and corporations.
The Rights of Nature concept is based on the idea that ecosystems and species are not mere objects but living entities with their own inherent rights to exist, thrive, and evolve. This legal framework challenges the prevailing notion that Nature is merely a resource for human use and instead recognizes its intrinsic value. By granting legal personhood to rivers, forests, and other natural entities, governments and courts can ensure that these ecosystems have standing in legal proceedings.
By shifting from an exploitative to a respectful relationship with the natural world, humanity can ensure a healthier planet for future generations.
The movement gained global attention when Ecuador became the first country to enshrine the Rights of Nature in its Constitution in 2008. The document states that Nature, or "Pachamama," has the right to exist and regenerate. Similarly, Bolivia passed the Law of Mother Earth in 2010, reinforcing Indigenous worldviews that see Nature as a living system with rights. Since then, countries such as New Zealand, Panama, India, and Colombia have also granted legal rights to specific ecosystems, setting legal precedents that continue to inspire the global community.
Why should we grant rights to Nature, you might ask? Traditional environmental laws often fail to prevent ecological destruction because they are based on regulation rather than protection. Corporations and governments can exploit loopholes, pay fines, or simply weigh the financial cost of pollution against profit margins. The Rights of Nature framework, however, fundamentally shifts the legal system from one of ownership to one of stewardship.
One of the most compelling cases for this approach is the Whanganui River in New Zealand. In 2017, the New Zealand government recognized the river as a legal entity, granting it the same rights and responsibilities as a person. This decision was made in collaboration with the Whanganui iwi, the Indigenous Māori people who have long regarded the river as an ancestor. Now, legal guardians, including representatives from both the government and the Māori community, speak on behalf of the river in legal matters. This recognition has already influenced policy decisions related to conservation and sustainable water management. Similarly, in 2017, the High Court of Uttarakhand in India granted legal rights to the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, acknowledging their sacred and ecological importance. Although this ruling faced legal challenges, it sparked important discussions about environmental governance and the need for stronger protections for vital ecosystems.
Despite these victories, the implementation of the Rights of Nature faces legal, political, and economic challenges. Many governments and corporations resist this shift, fearing restrictions on industrial activities. Additionally, enforcement mechanisms vary widely, and some legal rulings remain symbolic without proper institutional backing. However, the movement continues to gain momentum. Local communities, Indigenous groups, and environmental activists are advocating for the recognition of Nature's rights as a crucial tool for fighting climate change and biodiversity loss. In the United States, cities such as Pittsburgh and Toledo have passed local ordinances recognizing the rights of ecosystems, empowering communities to challenge environmental destruction more effectively.
Ecuador has witnessed several groundbreaking legal victories that affirm Nature's rights. Among these, the 2021 Constitutional Court ruling on Los Cedros Reserve was historic: The court halted mining exploration in this biodiversity hotspot, recognizing that the rights of the forest and its species, including endangered monkeys and orchids, outweighed extractive interests. Similarly, in Intag, a region long defended by local communities, legal actions based on behalf of endangered frogs and the Rights of Nature have helped suspend mining operations that threatened primary cloud forests and rivers vital to both people and ecosystems.
Another notable case is Estrellita, a woolly monkey rescued from illegal trafficking. When authorities attempted to relocate her to a zoo, a judge ruled in favor of her individual rights as part of Nature—marking the first time an animal in Ecuador was granted such recognition. These cases underscore the growing power of constitutional rights when applied to real-life conflicts between conservation and exploitation. They also reflect the tireless advocacy of Indigenous peoples, environmental defenders, and legal experts who are reshaping the legal landscape to center ecological integrity and the interconnectedness of all life.
The Rights of Nature framework is more than just a legal concept—it is a cultural and ethical transformation. By shifting from an exploitative to a respectful relationship with the natural world, humanity can ensure a healthier planet for future generations. As this movement grows, it is essential for policymakers, legal scholars, and citizens alike to support and advance this revolutionary approach to environmental protection.
The Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) is a global network that has been at the forefront of the Earth Jurisprudence and Rights of Nature movement for the last 15 years, educating, upholding, and supporting its growth. With over 6,000 allies worldwide, GARN serves as a movement hub, connecting Indigenous leaders, civil society, lawyers, and advocates reshaping environmental governance.
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Want to Protect Coral Reefs? Recognize the Rights of Nature
The escalating coral bleaching crisis must serve as a call to action, not just for environmental protection, but for a transformative shift in how we view and relate to Nature.
Nov 12, 2024
Amid the most widespread coral reef bleaching ever recorded, we face a crucial question: How can we implement effective, holistic protections for coral reefs?
For over 30 years, governments and civil society have gathered at United Nations Climate Change Conferences, yet the results have often been superficial and ineffective. Despite scientists’ urgent warnings about the devastating effects of warming beyond 1.5°C, proposed mitigation targets remain unmet, and accountability is absent due to non-binding agreements. Climate policies have largely centered on humanity’s needs in the name of development and economic growth, neglecting the equally vital futures of other species. This oversight has led to repeated failures for Nature, contributing to today’s largest recorded coral bleaching event across 74 countries. Now, scientists warn that even 1.5°C may be too much for coral and ocean health.
News headlines keep warning us of a point of no return, calling attention to fires in the Amazon and yet another massive coral bleaching event. This may seem distant from our daily lives, but the truth is that the problem is closer than we realize—and solutions lie within each of us. Recognizing the inherent Rights of Nature is one such solution.
What Are the Rights of Nature?
Recognizing and respecting Nature’s rights holds the potential to change humanity's relationship with our planet. The Rights of Nature movement traces its roots to Christopher Stone’s 1972 book Should Trees Have Standing? Since then, countless scholars, scientists, and activists have joined the call to recognize Nature’s inherent rights and our responsibility to all other beings with whom we are interconnected.
The Rights of Nature is now a powerful global movement aiming to transform human consciousness, redesign unsustainable economic and social systems, and provide a framework for living in harmony with Nature. Drawing on the wisdom of ancient and Indigenous cultures and leveraging modern law, the movement seeks a balanced relationship between humankind and all forms of life, honoring the natural equilibrium of our biosphere.
Recognizing the rights of corals ensures a holistic approach to ocean protection, safeguarding these crucial ecosystems so they can continue to exist, persist, and regenerate their life-sustaining cycles.
Recognizing the inherent Rights of Nature to protect the future of coral reefs provides a real and holistic solution not only to corals but to the well-being of all species that live among them. The escalating coral bleaching crisis must serve as a call to action, not just for environmental protection, but for a transformative shift in how we view and relate to Nature. By recognizing coral reefs as living entities with inherent rights through the Rights of Nature framework, we move beyond traditional conservation approaches. This holistic lens not only restores and protects coral ecosystems but also elevates the voices and rights of Indigenous communities, whose knowledge and stewardship are vital to these ecosystems’ survival. Granting legal rights to reefs ensures their protection from exploitation and destruction while fostering a deeper respect for the interconnectedness of all life. It’s a crucial step toward securing the future of coral reefs and the communities that depend on them.
Have Coral Reefs Been Granted Rights Around the World?
The Rights of Nature movement allows for a flexible approach, enabling creative implementation tailored to different environments and legal systems. In Ecuador, these rights were embedded in the Constitution in 2008, while Panama established them as National Law (Law 287) in 2022. Various initiatives and campaigns for Ocean Rights, encompassing diverse marine ecosystems, are underway—a majority of them featured in the EcoJurisprudence Monitor.
Just this past September, the Rights of Nature movement had a big win led by the Leatherback Project and local entities when Panama adopted the Saboga Wildlife Refuge under Resolution N° DM-0361-2024, protecting critical sea turtle habitat and recognizing corals’ rights to regenerate their vital cycles. The resolution proposes to “promote the protection of the Rights of Nature, enshrined in Law 287 of 2022, ensuring that the ecosystems within the Saboga Wildlife Refuge are treated as subjects of rights, with the aim of preserving their integrity, regeneration, and ecological balance.” Additionally, the law recognizes the rights of corals to regenerate under this specific clause: “Promote the protection, conservation, and restoration of coral reefs and seagrass meadows, recognizing their importance as critical habitats for marine biodiversity and as fundamental components for the ecological health of the protected area and its resilience to climate change.” The protection of the Saboga Wildlife Refuge will require Panama’s action even beyond the borders of the reserve, as upholding coral and sea turtles' rights will not depend only on what happens inside protected areas.
Who Can Benefit From Corals Having Their Rights Recognized?
Listing coral reefs’ contributions to a healthy ocean could go on endlessly. Thriving coral reefs support thriving ocean life, provide essential nurseries for marine species, and offer reliable food sources. Recognizing the rights of corals ensures a holistic approach to ocean protection, safeguarding these crucial ecosystems so they can continue to exist, persist, and regenerate their life-sustaining cycles. As scientists warn, rising ocean temperatures are damaging coral reefs, making urgent action essential. Oceans know no borders, and governments must implement bold climate mitigation measures to halt and reverse ecosystem degradation. Recognizing Nature’s rights offers an effective and bold solution to achieving this goal. In summary, all benefit from coral reefs having their rights recognized.
How the Rights of Nature Are Being Used Around the World
From Antarctica to the Amazon rainforest to rivers in Bangladesh, the Rights of Nature movement is working to holistically protect vital ecosystems through principles rooted in ancient wisdom and the undoubted connection between humans and Nature. We need to restore our connection to Mother Earth and act boldly for the implementation of real, effective solutions to the polycrises we are facing today. The Rights of Nature movement offers hope for future generations, both human and non-human.
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Nations Urged to Bolster Biodiversity Plans by Enshrining Rights of Nature
"Just as the Human Rights Declaration paved the way for peace after WWII, we must now make nature's rights a global priority."
Oct 03, 2024
A report released Thursday, ahead of a summit in Colombia, argues that "recognition of the Rights of Nature and national implementation of Mother Earth-centric actions are critical for meeting the 2030 and 2050 goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework."
Finalized in late 2022, the framework aims to protect 30% of all land and water vital to species and ecosystems by 2030. The new publication urges governments to include ecocentric commitments in their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), which are each country's proposal to meet the goals of the agreement.
"To halt and reverse the biodiversity crisis, nations must urgently transform their laws and societies to live in harmony with nature," said report co-author and Earth Law Center (ELC) executive director Grant Wilson in a statement.
"The Global Biodiversity Framework presents an unprecedented opportunity to advance the Rights of Nature and other transformative legal paradigms for the planet," Wilson continued. "For many countries, this could also mean receiving significant financial support, catalyzing a profound shift in how we relate to and protect the natural world."
"Acknowledging the Rights of Nature and Mother Earth should be at the top of the priority list of the biodiversity convention, not merely in the footnote."
As the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services explains, Rights of Nature "is a legal instrument that enables nature, wholly or partly, i.e. ecosystems or species, to have inherent rights and legally should have the same protection as people and corporations; that ecosystems and species have legal rights to exist, thrive and regenerate. It enables the defense of the environment in court—not only for the benefit of people, but for the sake of nature itself."
The new report emphasizes that Target 19 of the framework "seeks to mobilize at least $200 billion per year by 2030—from domestic, international, public, and private resources—to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans," and "explicitly stipulates... funds will be available for enhancing 'Mother Earth-centric actions.'"
The paper was produced by ELC with support from End Ecocide Sweden, Keystone Species Alliance, Lawyers for Nature, and Rights of Mother Earth. It comes ahead of the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), set to be held in Cali from October 21 to November 1.
"To achieve COP16's theme of 'Peace with Nature,' acknowledging the Rights of Nature and Mother Earth should be at the top of the priority list of the biodiversity convention, not merely in the footnote," said Rights of Mother Earth co-founder Doris Ragettli. "Just as the Human Rights Declaration paved the way for peace after WWII, we must now make nature's rights a global priority."
Noting that the paper shows "over 30 countries already recognize Rights of Nature through constitutional provisions, laws, or court decisions," Lawyers for Nature affiliate Jeremie Gilbert similarly said that "achieving 'Peace with Nature' requires incorporating these rights into biodiversity conservation efforts globally."
Just last week, communities in Chile launched a Declaration of Rights to protect the Biobío River "against mounting environmental threats." While the river is the first ecosystem in the South American country protected by such action, the declaration followed other recent progress on the continent, including a court decision in Peru that granted rights to the Marañón River and a ruling in Ecuador that found pollution violated the rights of the Machángara River.
The recognition of the waterway's rights in Chile is "a bridge that not only guarantees the inherent value of rivers and natural entities, but is also key to the full realization of the human rights of their communities," said Constanza Prieto Figelist, Latin America director for ELC.
"It is incredibly inspiring to see people from all over the world with diverse interests uniting to uphold the intrinsic value of nature."
ELC noted that Thursday's report "was primarily authored by law school and undergraduate interns working alongside sponsoring organizations. These youth advocates, increasingly vocal in their support of Rights of Nature and ecocentric law, will join the Earth Law Center delegation at COP16 to engage with governments on how to implement transformative Earth-centered policies."
Emily Zinkula, a Stanford Law School student who contributed to the paper as an ELC intern, said that "it is incredibly inspiring to see people from all over the world with diverse interests uniting to uphold the intrinsic value of nature."
"For many of us, nature's right to be protected feels intuitive," Zinkula added. "Seeing ELC and its partners tirelessly work to turn that intuition into a global truth is empowering. The recognition of nature's rights by global leaders gives much-needed hope, courage, and validation to a generation longing for it."
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Landmark Declaration of Rights Safeguards Biobío River in Chile
"A paradigm shift is necessary," said an advocacy group. "Let's recognize now that the Biobío River has value in itself."
Sep 25, 2024
Biodiversity and Rights of Nature defenders celebrated a "historic moment" on Wednesday as communities in Chile joined advocacy groups in launching the first Declaration of Rights protecting an ecosystem in the South American country, with the document aiming to safeguard "the rights of Chile's Biobío River against mounting environmental threats."
Communities located along the river—the second-longest in the country—joined environmental advocates, Indigenous tribes including the Pehuenche and Lafkenche people, and scientists in several months of "participatory dialogues" to determine how to protect the Biobío River from industrialization and other threats to the countless species it supports and to the river itself.
International Rivers, a group dedicated to protecting free-flowing rivers around the globe, said that the "cornerstone of the declaration lies in its profound acknowledgment of the intrinsic value held by the Biobío River" and its right to flow unimpeded by hydroelectic projects, disruptions to the riverbed, and other activities.
The Declaration of Rights affirms the river's right to:
- Adequate flow to sustain the health of surrounding ecosystems;
- Unhindered flow and connectivity from the mountains to the sea;
- Preservation of structural integrity, vital functions, and evolutionary processes;
- Safeguarding native biodiversity; and
- Ongoing regeneration and restoration efforts, fostered through enduring partnerships with riverside communities.
According to International Rivers, major concerns of riverside communities and Indigenous people who have deep cultural connections to the river include ongoing hydroelectric projects including the Rucalhue and Frontera Hydroelectric Plants, which would join three that have already been completed.
Another proposed plant is in the planning stages, and like the others would "jeopardize the river's flow and water quality, resulting in loss of native biodiversity and affecting fish migration and ultimately leading to irreversible damage," said International Rivers.
The riverbed structure and water quality have also suffered from both legal and illegal extraction of boulders, rubble, gravel, and sand that have been taken for use in construction, and ecosystem defenders have warned about the negative impact of proposed road infrastructure projects in the Biobío region.
Projects including the Concesión Vial Puente Industrial, a viaduct and road connection, and road projects such as Costa Mar and Costanera "would cause the total destruction of the wetlands of these localities," said the group.
"These developments underscore the inadequacy of the national legal framework in ensuring the protection of riparian ecosystems and citizen participation, lacking international standards that prioritize sustainable development in harmony with nature," said International Rivers.
Alejandro Gatica, a member of the community group Defensa Ribera Norte Chiguayante, said the Declaration of Rights "revalues and protects the water network," which is "in an environmental crisis due to extractivist actions on its banks, with uncontrolled logging, lack of protection of its wetlands, and the coastal project that threatens to intervene in its structure."
In a video about the Declaration of Rights, International Rivers said the Biobío "has been sadly silenced" by industrialization, despite the crucial support it provides to "multiple ecosystems and countless riverine and terrestrial species, many of them endemic," in addition to "water security and food sovereignty of its riparian communities for whom it is a crucial element in agriculture, fishing, and tourism."
"When we deny its right to flow we are silencing it. When we pollute, exploit, degrade, and urbanize it we are silencing it. When we block its access and connection to communities we are silencing it," said the group. "A paradigm shift is necessary. Let's recognize now that the Biobío River has value in itself."
The launch of the declaration "signifies a pivotal moment," said Monti Aguirre, Latin America program director of International Rivers.
"This initiative underscores our shared dedication to preserving this vital ecosystem amidst mounting destructive pressures," said Aguirre. "The well-being of the Biobío River, along with that of surrounding communities, is imperiled by the pressures imposed on its ecosystem, stemming from established dams such as Ralco, Pangue, and Angostura, as well as proposed hydro-projects and extractive activities."
The recognition of the waterway's rights is "a bridge that not only guarantees the inherent value of rivers and natural entities, but is also key to the full realization of the human rights of their communities," said Constanza Prieto Figelist, Latin America director for Earth Law Center.
The international Rights of Nature movement has celebrated several victories in South America in recent months, including a court decision in Peru that granted rights to the Marañón River and a ruling in Ecuador that found pollution violated the rights of the Machángara River.
"The Rights of Nature favor the incorporation of more powerful standards of environmental protection and citizen participation in environmental issues through, for example, the figure of representatives or guardians of nature," she said. "Likewise, comparative experience shows that they are a powerful instrument for combating activities that favor biodiversity loss or climate change."
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'Historic Victory': Ecuadorian Judge Rules Pollution Violates River's Rights
The court ordered the city of Quito to clean up the Machángara River, citing the rights of nature enshrined in Ecuador's Constitution.
Jul 09, 2024
Environmentalists around the world this week cheered what they called a "historic" ruling by an Ecuadorian court that human-caused pollution violates the rights of a river running through the capital city of Quito.
Responding to an application for a protective action filed by the Kitu Kara Indigenous people, a Quito judge on Friday found that municipal authorities are responsible for violating the Machángara River's rights and ordered officials to devise a decontamination plan.
The city of Quito said it will appeal the ruling. Mayor Pabel Muñoz said last week that an approved cleanup plan for the Machángara, which includes new water treatment plants, would cost $900 million and take 17 years to complete, according to La Hora.
An editorial in El Comercio called the ruling a "significant step forward in defending the rights of nature" and "a milestone in the fight for environmental preservation in Ecuador."
"The recognition of the Machángara River as an entity with its own rights goes beyond considering it a mere natural resource," the editorial asserted. "This progress means that the river now has legal protection, and the authorities have an obligation to ensure its health and well-being."
Kitu Kara organizer Darío Iza said in a statement that "this is historic because the river runs right through Quito, and because of its influence, people live very close to it."
Quito must now implement a comprehensive wastewater treatment plan to reduce the discharge of pollutants into the river, restore riverbanks, and replant vegetation in degraded areas. The city of more than 2 million inhabitants has long used the Machángara—whose source is high in the Andes Mountains—as a dump, a problem exacerbated by a lack of adequate wastewater treatment infrastructure.
"It is alarming what happens with the Machángara because it should be full not of bacteria and chemicals, but of animal and plant life."
"The river carries away tons of garbage that comes down from gullies and hillsides," Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature said on social media. "This decision represents a breakthrough in the protection and decontamination of one of the most vulnerable rivers in the country."
Experts have likened the section of the Machángara running through Quito to a sewer in a Paris-sized city. The river is contaminated with heavy metals, fats, detergents, oils, bacteria, fecal matter, and a wide array of chemical pollutants.
"It is alarming what happens with the Machángara because it should be full not of bacteria and chemicals, but of animal and plant life," Blanca Ríos, an ecologist who has studied the river for 20 years, told Primicias on Tuesday.
Ecuador—one of the world's most biodiverse nations—is one of just a handful of countries to enshrine rights of nature in its constitution. Previous court rulings, including a 2021 decision against mining in the Amazon Rainforest and an earlier block on dumping in the Vilcabamba River, have upheld this right.
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A River's Rights: Indigenous Kukama Women Lead the Way with Landmark Legal Victory
Defending the rights of nature represents a big step forward in the fight against climate change.
Jun 17, 2024
Here’s one of the most powerful pieces of good news you probably missed this year: a group of Indigenous women in Peru succeeded in asserting the legal right to integrity and protection of the Marañón River, a sacred waterway that flows from the Andes to the Amazon. This is a significant victory for the preservation of nature, water, forests, and biodiversity; in other words, life itself. It’s also a big step forward in the fight against climate change, and for the rights of nature, both topics that were debated last week at the 11th Pan Amazonian Social Forum in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia.
The women warriors behind this legal victory—the second of its kind in Latin America after the case of the Atrato River in Colombia—come from the Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana, a Kukama women’s federation in the lower Marañón Watershed.
108 oil spills in 40 years
The Federation began its fight in 2021, when Kukama women from 29 communities, led by Mari Luz Canaquiri, filed an injunction action against Petroperú (a Peruvian state-owned petroleum enterprise), the Ministry of Environment, and other government bodies. The women were outraged at how the ecosystems of their rivers, forests, and sacred plants were being poisoned and systematically destroyed by more than 40 years of oil spills. In fact, according to an article published by the Citizens' Movement against Climate Change (MOCICC, in Spanish), at least 108 oil spills have occurred along the path of the North Peruvian Oil Pipeline (ONP) since its inception in 1977, with little to no response or outrage from the national and international opinion. These spills are ecocidal, and yet, the Peruvian state has enjoyed near total impunity from any consequences so far.
The most outrageous aspect of this fact is that ONP did not respect the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) stipulated in ILO Convention 169, nor has it implemented environmental safeguards measures and proper maintenance of the pipeline. Only in 2014, as a consequence of a big rupture of one of the pipelines the Kukama became aware of the imminent danger of the oil spill flooding their forest ecosystems and water bodies. Since then, they, especially the inhabitants of the community of Cuninico, have been forced to consume this contaminated water, with serious consequences for women's reproductive health (with a rise in the number of miscarriages), and generalized immune, respiratory, and gastrointestinal diseases. Even now, owing to the permanent contamination of the Marañón, fish and other riverine species essential to the livelihoods of local communities are disappearing.
Meanwhile, the Peruvian State has not bothered to provide even basic amenities like drinking water or health care to these communities. The health problems amongst the Indigenous Peoples continue to remain unaddressed, while the staggering profits from the sale of crude oil are amassed by a few foreign companies. This includes Pluspetrol, with Argentine capital, in lot 8; the French Perenco, in lots 67 and 39; and Frontera Energy in lot 192 (ex1Ab) and PetroTal in lot 95 from Canadian capital.
“In our culture, the Marañón River is a living being”
After years of struggle, the Kukama women leaders succeeded in getting Judge Corely Armas Chapiama, of the Mixed Court of Nauta-Loreto, to rule in favor of their demands in March 2024. It was so evident that more than four decades of oil spills have destroyed the livelihoods of the Amazonian communities living along the tributaries of the Marañon River. In the words of one of the women leaders, Emilsen Flores: “When there are spills, our forests are contaminated, our plants, the space [territory] we live in is contaminated. The spills threaten to kill our fish, our fauna, our flora (...) Our health is at risk, our education, and everything related to food, because the food is contaminated.” In court, Emilsen was also the voice of her living and sacred river. As the words of leader Mariluz Canaquiri of the Shapajilla Native Community make clear: “in our culture, the Marañón River is a living being. The Kukama have a close relationship with the rivers, the Purahua lives there, the largest boa in the Amazon, which for us is the mother of the rivers. For the Kukama people, the river is the heart of life, which pumps blood to the whole body.”
The ‘voice’ of the River
Since the establishment of the colony in Peru until almost the 1970s, public spaces, such as courts, have privileged and listened primarily to the voices of men, generally white, with formal education. Women's voices were considered 'gossip', as they were seen as incapable of testifying rationally and coherently. Women were even barred from entering the realm of legal proceedings and litigation. If they were called to testify as witnesses, the testimony of three women together was considered equal to the testimony of a man (see Vera Delgado 2011, p. 54).
This makes the facts of the ruling of the Mixed Court of Nauta on November 12, 2023 nearly transcendent; a female judge of Indigenous descent, listening attentively not only to the testimony of the Kukama leaders, but also – through the leaders – to the ‘voice’ of a vital and animate entity, the Marañón River and its tributaries. Judge C. Armas Chapiama understood that not only are the rights to a healthy and fair livelihood of local communities being violated by the oil companies, but also the inherent right to life of the Marañon River. These rights include its right to flow freely and without contamination to ensure healthy ecosystems of forests, water sources, and biodiversity; the right to feed and be fed by its tributaries; the right to be protected, conserved and restored; and the right to the regeneration of its natural cycles.
No reparations or compensation
Although Judge Armas Chicama ordered ONP’s authorities to update their environmental management instruments and to respect FPIC, she did not issue a ruling to provide reparations to the 69 communities in total who have been affected by the oil spills for more than 40 years. Despite this, it is expected that the ONP authorities will comply with the court's ruling, since, in Amazonian countries, similar rulings and their subsequent implementations have followed not only the letter of the law, but also its spirit.
The victory of the Kukama sisters is of enormous significance for the country, since it provides monumental inspiration for the struggles of the Amazonian peoples against the many extractive activities that are destroying their territories. For instance, on April 22, 2024, the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampis Nation mobilized for the first time in rejection of illegal mining and logging that are invading their territories, activities that are endorsed by the current Peruvian government. In this context, the commodification of Indigenous Peoples’ forest territories has become a daily practice, with differentiated impacts on the local population, especially women in all their diversities and youth.
It is also important to note that years of abuse and violations of the rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon by the oil industry, including murders of Indigenous leaders, have gone unpunished to date.
As this is not enough, in January 2024, the Peruvian government approved Law 31973, a modification of Forestry Law No. 29763 - the new law is a wolf in sheep's clothing, opening the door to intensive cattle ranching, monoculture plantations of oil palm and genetically modified soybeans, among others; which is promoted by large companies and conservative religious organizations such as the Mennonites.
The struggle for justice continues
Amazonian peoples’ organizations and environmental and human rights defenders have held massive national mobilizations against Law 31973. Under the slogan “La selva no se vende, se defiende”, (“The jungle is not for sale”, a famous slogan that emerged in one of the first Indigenous struggles against oil in 2009, known as Baguazo) Peruvians are continuing to fight for the repeal of this harmful law which threatens the ecosystems of the Amazon. However, the congressmen who promoted Law 31973 are not only turning a deaf ear to the people's demands, but are also trumpeting the benefits of the new law -supposedly- for small and medium illegal agricultural activities.
While the murders of Indigenous leaders and Amazon defenders remain unpunished and invisible, entire ecosystems of our forests are cut down and destroyed, water sources are polluted, and biodiversity is being preyed upon, the UN’s Green Climate Fund is shelling out nearly US$200 million for monocultures of oil palm, cocoa, and rubber, and unsustainable industrial cattle ranching in places like the Amazon. Agribusiness giants like the food processing company Marfrig of Brazil, which has been linked to illegal logging, “cattle laundering” and extensive deforestation for monoculture oil palm plantations, are the primary beneficiaries of these policies.
Legal victories like the Kukama women’s successful fight to defend the Marañón River are rare. This is because transnational corporations are empowered and protected by legislation like Peru’s “Anti-Forestry” Law 31973. In fact, powerful groups that wield influence in Peru’s current government are already trying to have the historic ruling overturned, arguing that an anthropocentric vision is a fundamental principle of the Peruvian Constitution, and that the rights of nature hold no value.
In light of these monumental challenges, the world’s ecofeminist, environmental, and climate justice movements must unite so that grassroots struggles like that of our Kukama sisters endure and do not fade away.
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After Years of Indigenous-Led Campaigning, Court Grants Rights to Peru's Marañón River
The decision "establishes a groundbreaking legal framework that acknowledges the inherent rights of natural entities," said one campaigner.
Mar 19, 2024
After years of campaigning, an organization of Indigenous women in Peru's Loreto province celebrated "a landmark decision" on Tuesday by a court in Nauta, which found that the Marañón River has "intrinsic value" and that its "inherent rights" must be recognized by the government.
The Mixed Court of Nauta ruled that specific rights of the river must be codified, including the right to exist, the right to ecological flow, the right of restoration, the right to be free of pollution, the right to exercise its essential functions with the ecosystem, and the right of representation.
Led by Kukama women, the Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana Federation in the Parinari district of Loreto began its legal fight on behalf of the Marañón River in 2021, demanding that the state and federal governments protect the waterway from "constant oil spills."
Petroperu's Oleoducto Norperuano, or Norperuvian oil pipeline, caused more than 60 oil spills between 1997-2019, and the 28 communities represented by the federation are still recovering from a 2010 oil spill that sent 350 barrels of oil into the river near Saramuro port.
Indigenous groups blocked the river in protest in September 2022 after another spill sent 2,500 barrels of crude oil into the Amazon, of which the Marañón is a main tributary.
The Marañón supplies drinking water directly to communities in Loreto, and is a vital habitat for fish that help sustain Indigenous communities.
"We do not live on money. We live from what we grow on our land and our fishing. We cannot live without fish," Isabel Murayari, a board member of the federation, told the Earth Law Center, when the group filed its lawsuit in 2021.
The Kukama women also aimed to halt infrastructure projects including hydroelectric dams and the Amazon Waterway—recognized as environmental risks by the International Union for Conservation of Nature—and warned that illegal gold mining has left the Marañón with mercury contamination that must be remedied.
Martiza Quispe Mamani, an attorney representing the Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana Federation, said the "historic ruling is an important achievement of the Kukama women."
"The fact that the judge of the Nauta Court has declared the Marañón River as a subject of rights represents a significant and transcendental milestone for the protection not only of the Marañón River but also of all rivers contaminated by extractive activities," said Mamani.
In addition to granting the river inherent rights, the court named the Indigenous group and the Peruvian government as "guardians, defenders, and representatives of the Marañón River and its tributaries."
Loreto's regional government was ordered to take necessary steps with the National Water Authority to establish a water resource basin organization for the river. The court also required Petroperu to present an updated environmental management plan within six months.
Mariluz Canaquiri Murayari, president of the federation, said the group's fight to protect the environment in the region "will continue."
"It encourages us to fight to defend our territories and rivers, which is fundamental," Murayari said of the ruling. "The recognition made in this decision has critical value. It is one more opportunity to keep fighting and claiming our rights. Our work is fundamental for Peru and the world: to protect our rivers, territories, our own lives, and all of humanity, and the living beings of Mother Nature."
The women who led the legal action noted that courts in recent years have recognized rights for other waterways, including Colombia's Atrato River, New Zealand's Whanganui River, and Canada's Magpie River.
Monti Aguirre, Latin America director of International Rivers, which supported the federation in its lawsuit, said the ruling "underscores the vital impact of community-led advocacy in safeguarding river ecosystems and sets a crucial precedent for river conservation efforts globally."
"By recognizing the Marañón River as a subject of rights, this decision is significant not only in terms of environmental protection but also in advancing the rights of nature and the rights of rivers," said Aguirre. "It establishes a groundbreaking legal framework that acknowledges the inherent rights of natural entities, paving the way for similar legal recognition and protection of rivers worldwide."
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'Huge Win for the Planet' as Panama Court Shuts Down Massive Mine
"The people have spoken and expressed that they don't want more mines, that they want sustainable economic development, and have no intention of destroying the country for profit," said one campaigner.
Nov 29, 2023
Indigenous and environmental campaigners this week hailed a landmark win for the Rights of Nature movement, the Panamanian Supreme Court's unanimous ruling that the contract for the Cobré mineral mine—one of the world's largest—is unconstitutional and must be shut down.
The November 24 ruling against Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals, followed weeks of nationwide protests against the open-pit mine, which began operations in 2019 and where mainly copper, but also gold, silver, and molybdenum, are extracted. Opponents say the mine threatens area water supplies. A gunman shot and killed two people at a protest against the mine earlier this month.
Last year, the Cobré mine produced over 86,000 tons of copper, approximately 1% of the world's total production, 5% of Panama's gross domestic product, and 75% of the Central American country's export revenue. More than 2% of Panama's workforce is employed at the mine.
Cobré—which is located in a biodiverse area on Panama's Caribbean coast—will now shut down as a result of the ruling.
"The Panamanian people have spoken," Kherson Ruiz, executive director of the London-based Sustainable Development Foundation, told Mongabay. "The people have spoken and expressed that they don't want more mines, that they want sustainable economic development and have no intention of destroying the country for profit."
Referring to his introduction of Panama's Rights of Nature law, Juan Diego Vásquez Gutiérrez, an independent—and, at age 27, the youngest—member of Panama's National Assembly, said Wednesday that "I am very happy to have been part of a fundamental legal instrument to end the metal mining industry in the country."
"This is one of many tangible effects that we must repeat in defense of the environment thanks to legislation like this," Vásquez added.
Rengifo Navas Revilla, secretary of the National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples of Panama, said in a statement that "when all this nature is contaminated, we all die."
"Even the planet itself, even Mother Earth herself, dies," he added. "This is the principle that has been instilled in us and that is why we continue to fight."
Since Ecuador became the first country to constitutionally enshrine the Rights of Nature in 2008, more than 30 nations have taken similar actions to protect their environment.
The advocacy groups Leatherback Project and Earth Law Center noted Wednesday that the Panamanian ruling "comes after a similar blocking of a copper mine earlier this year in Ecuador, where a provincial court ruled a mining project violated the constitutional Rights of Nature in the Intag Valley of the tropical Andes."
Constanza Prieto Figelist, Latin America legal director at Earth Law Center—which provided input and expertise on the Rights of Nature as the law was being drafted—said of the Panama ruling that "this case demonstrates that under a Rights of Nature framework, governments must give stronger consideration to the health and intrinsic value of nature when overseeing mining and other activities, elevating the interests of species and ecosystems to a higher status alongside human interests."
"The case also shows that the Rights of Nature can be an effective tool to protect the environment where traditional laws might fall short," she added. "We hope this will inspire other governments to give nature a formal voice and rights in the legal system, as Panama did."
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'It Is Like Satire': Prince Charles' Terra Carta Is a Manifesto for the Status Quo
The ecological crisis demands we protect the Rights of Nature from being watered down.
Jan 18, 2021
On January 11, 2021, the Prince of Wales and maybe next king of England introduced a Terra Carta, "a charter that puts sustainability at the heart of the private sector." The declaration dangerously waters down recognition and enforcement of Rights of Nature, a radical demand that has been advancing for years.
The prince links the document to the rights of ecosystems, saying the next logical step from the Magna Carta is the eventual incorporation of Nature into the social compact with sovereignty. "If we consider the legacy of our generation, more than 800 years ago, Magna Carta inspired a belief in the fundamental rights and liberties of people," he writes in the Forward. "As we strive to imagine the next 800 years of human progress, the fundamental rights and value of Nature must represent a step-change in our 'future of industry' and 'future of economy' approach."
However, rather than advocate for establishing and defending legally enforceable rights inherent in natural communities and ecosystems, the Prince suggests honoring the Rights of Nature can be accomplished through new industrial growth under the control of corporate CEOs.
Unlike Rights of Nature advanced by indigenous-led social movements that subordinate wealth accumulation, exploitation and extraction to the Rights of Nature, Terra Carta instead proposes voluntary commitments from the worst corporate offenders.
Article 1 of the Terra Carta calls for "accelerating sustainable industries, businesses, products, services and supply chains while working within and across industries." It advocates "encouraging innovative financial instruments in order to scale and accelerate transition efforts across businesses, industries and countries." This is an aggravated appropriation of the idea of Rights of Nature for the purpose of perpetuating the existing system of privilege, wealth and power. Little surprise that it's been proposed by royalty.
Unlike Rights of Nature advanced by indigenous-led social movements that subordinate wealth accumulation, exploitation and extraction to the Rights of Nature, Terra Carta instead proposes voluntary commitments from the worst corporate offenders. The Prince asks industry to be "a little nicer to nature," as my colleague Pella Thiel put it. Thiel is the chairperson of End Ecocide Sweden and coordinator of the Swedish Network for Rights of Nature.
"It is very important to go back to first principles, like Magna Carta," Pella continues. "But Prince Charles' Terra Carta isn't going back to first principles. Nature itself has her own rights, [the prince] says ... but then when I read the document, he says ...'Today must be the decisive moment that we make sustainability the growth story of our time, while positioning Nature as the engine of our economy. To help us succeed, and to complement global efforts across public, private and philanthropic sectors, I am calling on CEOs from around the world to engage and play their part in leading the global transition.' I think," Pella says, "it is such a sign of the times to have a royalty pointing at the Magna Carta to nicely ask the powers of today, corporations, to behave. It is like satire."
It must be satire, yes. Because this manifesto is all about industry and extraction and consumerism "leading the way." The exact opposite of what is needed.
'Environmentalists' historic failures show need for powerful new paradigm
For over 50 years, environmentalists have tried to "protect the environment" by enforcing regulations that decisively avoid interfering with corporate profits. But the existing corporate hegemony has happily coexisted with those environmental laws.
Continuing down this path while politely curtseying Nature as a damsel in distress, as Prince Charles suggests, changes nothing.
Terra Carta calls for more regulations and incentives for the private sector. And if we've learned anything from the United States experience, it's that merely requiring minor regulations of industry through legislation like the Clean Water, Clean Air and Endangered Species acts falls far short of avoiding ecological and climate crisis.
Rather than peddle in false solutions, we can accelerate the world-wide adoption of local, state, national and international Rights of Nature laws that criminalize extinguishing communities of living beings for the accumulation of commercial profit.
This movement is well on it's way, winning new victories on a monthly basis. Oligarchs like Prince Charles won't be allowed to co-opt it.
More perspective
Establishing and defending the Rights of Nature is intended to emancipate Nature from its current legal status as property; reverse the burden of proof from the victim to the perpetrator; and force political and legal reckonings to abruptly halt the ongoing destruction of the Earth's life-giving systems. Corporate interests have long opposed and attacked Rights of Nature movements, including law making and organizing efforts assisted by myself and my colleagues with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. Corporate and state attacks are ongoing. And now we have to contend with an aristocratic campaign to co-opt Rights of Nature and convert it into yet another weaponized legal concept for the immunization of wealth from community accountability.
We know why the conventional environmentalist strategy failed: it was never meant to halt the profitable extraction of resources, the use of toxic technology and energy sources, or the over-production of commodities. Recognizing and defending the Rights of Nature is about flipping that legal system, which subordinates life and Nature to the laws of property, on its head.
The Rights of Nature paradigm is gaining traction globally. It is deeply rooted in indigenous cosmology and political organizing. People whose culture never separated from Nature do not conceive of the natural world as infinitely subdividable parcels of property. Instead, their way of being in-the-world rises organically from feeling, thinking and acting on the understanding that Nature is intrinsic to their lives and they are inseparable from it.
Non-native organizers must work in solidarity
In 2006, following consideration of legal arguments for establishing rights for ecosystems raised by law professor Christopher Stone, in his book Should Trees Have Standing, I helped draft the first law enacted on settler colonial-controlled land to recognize such rights. Two years later, the people of Ecuador, with a large indigenous population, ratified a new national constitution recognizing the Rights of Pachamama (Mother Earth). In the ensuing years, other nations as well as numerous U.S. local governments, have passed laws and initiated legal actions affirming the legal status of Nature and ecosystems as rights-bearing entities.
As demands for fundamental change to our political and economic systems grow, the demand that powerful Rights of Nature accompany such change is on the table. And it won't be watered down by those hoping to distract from paradigm shifts.
Rights of Nature organizers around the world ought to ensure Rights of Nature:
- Not be subordinated to administrative law; as we recently saw happen in Orange County, Florida. Fundamental rights are not subject to regulation;
- Not be financialized. That means no "carbon trading" and other market-based measures in the name of the "Rights of Nature;"
- Not superimpose existing legal status, such as "personhood," onto ecosystems. Rather, Nature's own unique rights should be recognized and defended;
- Continue to be led by indiginous communities and never be used to victimize indigenous people for their subsistence living on the pretense of protecting endangered species. They are not poachers. Living symbiotically with the environment is a lost human art that we must rediscover if we want to follow real natural law. (Nor should "wild" areas be off limits to all people except those extracting "beneficial [economic] uses" from Nature, as has been the case on many public lands worldwide. Such an outcome would mark the final enclosure, that is, privatization, of Nature.)
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