Nations Urged to Bolster Biodiversity Plans by Enshrining Rights of Nature

A report released Thursday, ahead of a summit in Colombia, argues that "recognition of the Rights of Nature and national implementation of Mother Earth-centric actions are critical for meeting the 2030 and 2050 goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework."

Finalized in late 2022, the framework aims to protect 30% of all land and water vital to species and ecosystems by 2030. The new publication urges governments to include ecocentric commitments in their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), which are each country's proposal to meet the goals of the agreement.

"To halt and reverse the biodiversity crisis, nations must urgently transform their laws and societies to live in harmony with nature," said report co-author and Earth Law Center (ELC) executive director Grant Wilson in a statement.

"The Global Biodiversity Framework presents an unprecedented opportunity to advance the Rights of Nature and other transformative legal paradigms for the planet," Wilson continued. "For many countries, this could also mean receiving significant financial support, catalyzing a profound shift in how we relate to and protect the natural world."

"Acknowledging the Rights of Nature and Mother Earth should be at the top of the priority list of the biodiversity convention, not merely in the footnote."

As the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services explains, Rights of Nature "is a legal instrument that enables nature, wholly or partly, i.e. ecosystems or species, to have inherent rights and legally should have the same protection as people and corporations; that ecosystems and species have legal rights to exist, thrive and regenerate. It enables the defense of the environment in court—not only for the benefit of people, but for the sake of nature itself."

The new report emphasizes that Target 19 of the framework "seeks to mobilize at least $200 billion per year by 2030—from domestic, international, public, and private resources—to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans," and "explicitly stipulates... funds will be available for enhancing 'Mother Earth-centric actions.'"

The paper was produced by ELC with support from End Ecocide Sweden, Keystone Species Alliance, Lawyers for Nature, and Rights of Mother Earth. It comes ahead of the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), set to be held in Cali from October 21 to November 1.

"To achieve COP16's theme of 'Peace with Nature,' acknowledging the Rights of Nature and Mother Earth should be at the top of the priority list of the biodiversity convention, not merely in the footnote," said Rights of Mother Earth co-founder Doris Ragettli. "Just as the Human Rights Declaration paved the way for peace after WWII, we must now make nature's rights a global priority."

Noting that the paper shows "over 30 countries already recognize Rights of Nature through constitutional provisions, laws, or court decisions," Lawyers for Nature affiliate Jeremie Gilbert similarly said that "achieving 'Peace with Nature' requires incorporating these rights into biodiversity conservation efforts globally."

Just last week, communities in Chile launched a Declaration of Rights to protect the Biobío River "against mounting environmental threats." While the river is the first ecosystem in the South American country protected by such action, the declaration followed other recent progress on the continent, including a court decision in Peru that granted rights to the Marañón River and a ruling in Ecuador that found pollution violated the rights of the Machángara River.

The recognition of the waterway's rights in Chile is "a bridge that not only guarantees the inherent value of rivers and natural entities, but is also key to the full realization of the human rights of their communities," said Constanza Prieto Figelist, Latin America director for ELC.

"It is incredibly inspiring to see people from all over the world with diverse interests uniting to uphold the intrinsic value of nature."

ELC noted that Thursday's report "was primarily authored by law school and undergraduate interns working alongside sponsoring organizations. These youth advocates, increasingly vocal in their support of Rights of Nature and ecocentric law, will join the Earth Law Center delegation at COP16 to engage with governments on how to implement transformative Earth-centered policies."

Emily Zinkula, a Stanford Law School student who contributed to the paper as an ELC intern, said that "it is incredibly inspiring to see people from all over the world with diverse interests uniting to uphold the intrinsic value of nature."

"For many of us, nature's right to be protected feels intuitive," Zinkula added. "Seeing ELC and its partners tirelessly work to turn that intuition into a global truth is empowering. The recognition of nature's rights by global leaders gives much-needed hope, courage, and validation to a generation longing for it."