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orange county

Florida Judge Asked to Recognize the Legal Rights of Five Waterways Outside Orlando

The “rights of nature” movement, gaining adherents across the country and globally, asserts that rivers, trees, mountains and ecosystems have legal rights, just like people and corporations.

By Katie Surma

A person stands on a dock on Lake Virginia in Orlando. Credit: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The Whanganui River near the entrance to Whanganui National Park, near Whanganui, North Island, New Zealand. Credit: Matthew Lovette/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Does Nature Have Rights? A Burgeoning Legal Movement Says Rivers, Forests and Wildlife Have Standing, Too

By Katie Surma

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