Nature has rights: towards an ecosystemic justice
Rivers and mountains recognized in the human legal system
Since the beginning of the 21st century, a profound shift has taken place in international law and national constitutions: natural entities such as rivers, forests, and entire ecosystems are recognized as subjects of law in the human legal system. In 2008, Ecuador incorporated the Rights of Nature into its Constitution. Bolivia declared Mother Earth a subject of law in 2010. The Whanganui River in New Zealand was granted legal personality in 2017.
These recognitions are not anecdotal: they mark an evolution in our worldview. Nature is no longer a mere "object" to be exploited, but a subject of law with which we must engage in a relationship of respect and interdependence.
From environmental law to the Rights of Nature
Traditionally, environmental law protected Nature as a resource for humans. The Rights of Nature go further: they recognize that Nature has its own rights, independent of human utility: the right to exist, regenerate, evolve, be restored, protected, and defended.
This shift entails profound transformations:
In the legal framework, where natural entities must be represented in courts.
In institutions, which must integrate proactive protection of living beings.
In the legal culture, which shifts from anthropocentrism to an ecosystemic approach.
It also has a systemic benefit for humans: by recognizing the Rights of Nature, we protect the very conditions of human life. The right to a healthy environment is thus linked to the realization of numerous fundamental human rights: health, food, housing, clean water, and culture.
A tool for governance and public policy
The Rights of Nature open new practical perspectives for public policies:
Citizen legal observatories: to document violations of the rights of living beings.
Ecosystem indicators: to evaluate the effects of a policy based on natural cycles.
Co-decision with natural entities: represented by guardians of rights (river, forest, mountain).
Local experiments show that these tools allow for fairer, more sustainable decisions that are more compatible with the Sustainable Development Goals. They also create spaces of reconciliation between institutions, local populations, and Nature.
New legal and ethical alliances
Recognizing rights for Nature challenges boundaries:
Between human and non-human: toward coexistence based on ecological justice.
Between law, science, and spirituality: toward a relational ethics of life.
Between peoples: by recognizing Indigenous worldviews as foundational to planetary governance.
This legal paradigm shift supports a pluriversal vision of law and life on Earth. It strengthens both the resilience of ecosystems and the capacity of human societies to face global crises.
Toward a sacred, non-dogmatic approach to life
This evolution does not stem from religious beliefs: it arises from a systemic and ethical understanding of our interdependence with Nature. Declaring that water is sacred is not invoking a dogma; it is recognizing its vital role, fragile cycles, and irreplaceability.
It is in this spirit that Thomas Egli stated in 2013, during his interactions following his conference in Budapest on the Rights of the World: “Wonder, gratitude, awareness of relationship: these are the roots of recognizing the rights of the living. The sacred is where we understand there is no outside to life.”
This ethical approach to life paves the way for a civilization of coexistence, responsibility, and regeneration.
Back to the basics
In April 2012, Mr. Thomas EGLI, President of the NGO Objectif Sciences International, had the honor of closing the symposium "Who Has the Right to the World??" organized at the French Cultural Center in Budapest by the association Vedeglyet under the High Patronage of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture. This presentation lays foundational understanding to better support a project for a Declaration or Convention on the Rights of the World. All the points addressed during this presentation have since been the subject of workshops, studies, and signatures... in one place or another, and this speech ultimately provides a fairly comprehensive overview.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: At the time of the symposium held in April 2012 in Hungary, the project presented and analyzed by the various speakers bore the title "International Declaration of the Rights of the World." This explains the use of this term in the conference presented below. The term used in the future could just as well be "International Declaration of the Rights of Nature," "International Declaration of the Ecological Rights of the World," or "International Declaration of the Rights of the Earth."
Interventions by Mr. Thomas EGLI on April 22, 2025 in New York
Link to the UN web TV apr.22 session
Indicative bibliography
Cormac Cullinan (2002), Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice
UN Harmony with Nature Programme (2010–2025)
Earth Law Center (2023), Implementing Rights of Nature
Vandana Shiva (2005), Earth Democracy
Thomas Egli (2012), Conference in Budapest on the Rights of the World (see above)
United Nations General Assembly (2022), Resolution on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment