Rights of Nature: A Millenia-Old Concept

 Population Media - Imagine a court hearing where the plaintiff is not a person, but a damaged river, lake or mountain. The plaintiff is a sea turtle or a Mexican grey wolf. The plaintiff is nature itself. Imagine a world where nature, and all the living beings of the natural world, had universal rights to live a healthy life free from pollution, poaching, overcrowding and unnecessary killing. Imagine a world where nature is thriving, biodiversity is on the mend, and humans live in harmony with the natural world.

Sea turtles in Panama now have the legal right to live and have free passage in a healthy environment, a change that represents a different way of thinking about how to protect wildlife. Panama’s president signed a law in March recognizing the rights of sea turtles. It was a victory for people who have long argued that wild animals should have the same “rights of nature” that courts have granted to forests, mountains, rivers and other physical spaces. The concept amounts to recognizing an animal’s right to exist and flourish and allowing for lawsuits when those rights are violated....In Poland, a group of activists this week will complete the last leg of a 43-day-long march along the Oder River aimed at drawing attention to their campaign to grant the polluted ecosystem — which runs along the German-Polish border — the legal status of a person.