Rights of Nature: Rivers That Can Stand in Court

Lidia Cano Pecharroman
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Lidia Cano Pecharroman: AC4, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA

Resources, 2018, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: An increasing number of court rulings and legislation worldwide are recognizing rights of nature to be protected and preserved. Recognizing these rights also entails the recognition that nature has the right to stand in court and to be represented for its defense. This is still an incipient field and every step taken in this direction constitutes a precedent from which to learn and on which to base new rulings and legislation initiatives. Within this doctrine, rivers seem to be on the spotlight and court rulings on the rights of rivers are the ones setting precedent. These cases have taken place in New Zealand, Ecuador, India, and Colombia. This review looks into what all these rulings and legislation worldwide say about the rights of nature and what legal and systemic considerations should be taken into account as the recognition of the rights of nature moves forward.

Keywords: rights; nature; rivers; Yamuna; Ganges; Atrato; Vilcabamba; Whanganui; jurisprudence; earth centric; deep ecology; law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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