The Personhood of NatureMarina Lostal in conversation with Nancy Couling

The Rights of Nature movement proposes that nature should not be treated
only as property or a resource for human use. Instead, rivers, forests,
territories and other ecosystems should be recognised as subjects of law.
This talk introduces the core idea behind the movement and
explains how it has developed into law through different legal models: rights
in Ecuador, legal personality in New Zealand, and a hybrid formulation
in Spain. The talk also warns of an important risk. As these ideas enter legal
systems, existing environmental law frameworks may end up
colonising the rights of nature. This can reflect a kind of institutional inertia:
new concepts are absorbed into familiar principles that continue
to prioritise economic interests and resource management.
If that happens, the recognition of nature’s rights may reproduce the very
problem it was meant to challenge: nature’s commodification and its
subordination to economic value.

DR MARINA LOSTAL
is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Essex.
Her research advances the recognition of ecosystems as victims
of international crimes and contributes to emerging debates
on the implementation of rights of nature. She has worked
as a reparations expert at the International Criminal Court and
has advised organisations including UNESCO and the
Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace on issues including cultural
heritage, and environmental protection in situations of conflict.