Films:

The Rights of Nature: A Global Movement | Goeckeritz

Speakers:

Ansu John, College of the Environment Salish Sea Region, WWU
Marla Powers, Environmental Planner, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe

Western views and the legal system tend to view nature as property, and as a resource from which wealth is extracted, a commodity whose only value is to provide for human needs. But for millennia indigenous communities have viewed themselves as part of nature. As pressures on ecosystems mount and as conventional laws seem increasingly inadequate to address environmental degradation, communities, cities, regions and countries around the world are turning to a new legal strategy known as The Rights of Nature.

This film takes viewers on a journey that explores the more recent origins of this legal concept, and its application and implementation in Ecuador, New Zealand, and the United States. Learn how constitutional reforms adopted in Ecuador have helped recognize nature as a legal entity, and how partnerships between the Māori and the government of New Zealand have led to personhood status for rivers, lakes and forests, and a renewed sense of balance between people and nature. See how the Rights of Nature function in the urban setting of Santa Monica, California. The film explores the successes and challenges inherent in creating new legal structures that have the potential to maintain and restore ecosystems while achieving a balance between humans and nature.

Poster: Download, print and share   

Learn More: The Rights of Nature

Videos on YouTube

• The Rights of Nature | Goechkeritz
• The Rights of Nature | Patricia Siemen TEDx
• Giving Nature a Voice | Josephine Brooks TEDx

Books

• The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World | Robin Kimmerer (KRLibrary)
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants | Robin Kimmerer (KRLibrary)
• The Rights of Nature, A Legal Revolution That Could Save the World | David Boyd

Articles

• Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
• Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature
• Rights of Nature FAQ
• UN declares healthy environment a human right

Local laws – Rights of Nature

• Snohomish River Watershed Rights – by Everett citizens (Initiative 24-03)

Local proclamations – Rights of Species

• Port Townsend | SR Orcas (1^st)
• Langley | SR Orcas
• Gig Harbor | SR Orcas

Legal Resources

• Standing for Washington | Standing for the Snoho
• CDER Centerforenvironmentalrights.org | Washington State Rights of Nature Initiative
• Rights of Nature Initiative
• Earth Law Center | The Southern Resident Orcas toolkit