Rights of Nature

How a Groundbreaking Indigenous Treaty on Whales’ Rights Could Change National Laws

A declaration recognizing whales as legal rights-holders is influencing legislation in New Zealand and sparking an international push to translate Indigenous customs into binding protections.

By Katie Surma

How a ‘Powerful Vision’ on Whales and Oceans Could Change Worldviews

By Katie Surma

Scientists Push for More Ambitious Climate Targets

By Bob Berwyn

‘I Am the River’: How Indigenous Knowledge Reshaped New Zealand’s Law

By Katie Surma

In Ecuador’s Battle of Toad vs. Road, Toad Wins

By Katie Surma

Ecuador’s Voters Protect Rights of Nature, Reject Proposal to Rewrite Constitution

By Katie Surma

AI Is Decoding Whales’ Communications. Could That Be a Turning Point in the Push for Their Rights?

By Katie Surma

Ecuadorians to Vote on Constitutional Rewrite, Possibly Gutting Rights of Nature

By Katie Surma

Defending Stingless Bees in the Peruvian Amazon

By Teresa Tomassoni

How a Declaration of Ancestral Wisdom Is Changing Law, Science and Our Understanding of the World

By Katie Surma

The Scientists Making the Case for Nature’s Rights

By Katie Surma

The Colorado River Is This Tribe’s ‘Lifeblood,’ Now They Want To Give It the Same Legal Rights as a Person

By Alex Hager, KUNC

Tonga Poised to Be the First Country to Recognize Rights of Whales

By Katie Surma

Rights of Nature Defender Wins Goldman Prize for Precedent-Setting Work Protecting an Imperiled River

By Katie Surma

What Are the Rights of Nature?

By Katie Surma

The European Politician Bringing Nature Into the Halls of Power

By Katie Surma

The Rights of Nature Become a Rallying Point Against an Ascendant Mining Industry

By Katie Surma

A Court Says Coastal Marine Ecosystems Have Intrinsic Value—and Legal Rights

By Katie Surma

A River in Washington State Now Has Enforceable Legal Rights

By Katie Surma