The rights of living environments: a utopian idea?

In 2017, the Whanganui River was granted legal personhood by the New Zealand Parliament, ending a legal battle the Māori people have been fighting for over 160 years. Days later, in India, the Ganges and its tributary the Yamuna were also endowed with legal personality. The same year, in Colombia this time, the country’s Constitutional Court granted rights to the Atrato River and appointed guardians to enforce its application. This presentation will discuss legal recognition and demonstrate that the concept, far from being utopian, can serve as a model for inspiration to rescue our world from impending environmental disaster.

With
Geremia Cometti
Professor at the University of Strasbourg’s Faculty of Social Sciences (Unistra)