The world is transforming... Natural entities across the globe are changing status, gaining recognition of their rights. Through human voices and the efforts of fragile collectives, lakes, forests, rivers, valleys, seas, and animal and plant species are being granted the status of 'subjects'...
During this second key moment of Towards an International of Rivers, the discussion focused on the stories of the Whanganui River in New Zealand, Lake Erie in the United States, the Atrato River in Colombia, and the Mar Menor Lagoon in Spain—natural beings that have become 'legal persons' in recent years.
© Anne-Marie Filaire
The Assembly of the Voices of Nature…
… Voices from around the world, live, across time zones and languages, from New Zealand to Latin America… tell the stories of the Whanganui River, Lake Erie, the Atrato River… and, more broadly, weave a collective narrative of this cultural and legal turning point.
With Tisch O’Dell and Kai Huschke from the United States, Rory Smith from New Zealand, Elizabeth Gallon Droste, Estefanía Pavón from Latin America… and the many voices in Europe fighting for the defense of their ecosystems.
The Case of 'Mar Menor': The Story of a Lagoon…
Mar Menor, a lagoon in southern Spain threatened by numerous industries, is the first ecosystem in Europe to be granted the status of a "non-human person" under a 2021 law. How did this happen? What is the history of this lagoon and the law that made it a "subject of rights"? How can this serve as inspiration?
With Eduardo Salazar, lawyer, professor of public law, and human voice of Mar Menor.
© Anne-Marie Filaire
© Anne-Marie Filaire
Fiction of a Law to Come
Following his practice of "transformative meditations," Camille de Toledo offered a narrative—fragments of thoughts, reflections, and stories—to shape this world to come and propose a path toward an international alliance of rivers and other elements of nature…
© Anne-Marie Filaire
The Ecosystems
The ecosystems discussed here come to life through stories that reveal their profound transformation. The Whanganui River, Lake Erie, the Atrato River, the Mar Menor Lagoon… These landscapes, these natural beings, have recently gained recognition of their rights, attaining the status of "subjects" in a world undergoing metamorphosis. These narratives are carried by the voices of those who defend them.
