Exploring Environmental Law, Activism, and the Rights of Nature

Our rivers are in crisis. Every single river in England is polluted beyond legal limits. Our wildlife is disappearing, and our rivers are not fit to swim in.

Yesterday the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss published their latest report. We are really pleased to see that among the 150 recommendations, the Constitutional Recognition of Rights of Nature features. This follows a submission by a coalition including LFN's Claire Nevin about the importance of Rights of Nature in responding to the biodiversity crisis.

Magazine articles and blogs, conference videos and podcasts, books and films: we are awash with information and ideas, making it hard for any, however good, to break through. Occasionally, one does and, happily, that appears to be the case with Giving Nature a Seat on the Board.

The concept of Rights of Nature challenges the way many human beings see the world, a mindset of the natural environment being seen, either actively or passively, as a commodity to be dominated and exploited for the sake of profit or consumption. This idea is deeply encoded in global institutions, including our anthropocentric legal systems. Rights of Nature proposes a shift in our way of thinking about the complex interrelations between humans and nature.‍

This time last year, I had just returned from COP26, and along with many others, had been questioning the legitimacy of its outcomes. Participation in the conference had been compromised by restrictive travel rules due to the ongoing pandemic, and visa and accommodation issues. These restrictions had primarily affected the attendance of civil society and Indigenous peoples in the Blue Zone and outside.

In April 2022, the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (“The Assembly”) held its inaugural meeting in Dublin Castle. Since then, the Assembly, which is made up of 99 randomly-selected members of the public and an independent Chairperson, has been examining how the state can improve its response to biodiversity loss. On completion of its work later this year, the Assembly will make a number of recommendations to the Government in this regard.

We’ve covered Denial, Gratitude, Facing Reality, Climate Grief. This post covers Stage 5 and Stage 6.

In the first post, we covered Stage 1, Denial, and Stage 2, Gratitude. This post covers Stage 3 and Stage 4.

I know that the urgent state of the climate crisis can seem too painful to fully contemplate. I’ve felt this for a while, and it comes in waves. Towards the end of last year we had the international climate conference of COP26, which gave some potential for progress.