An Introduction to the Rights of Nature

“Wild Law” author Cormac Cullinan’s important essay in Orion Magazine, titled: “If Nature Had Rights.” It explains the history and implications of the movement to recognize the rights of nature.

For another perspective on how the rights of nature idea developed, see the article on Natural Law in Earth Island Journal (Spring 2012).

Dan Leftwich has written an essay titled: “Evolving From Dominion To Communion” which describes how legal rights for nature evolved and can be implemented as our cultural attitudes evolve from seeing humanity as having dominion over nature to our need to act in communion with nature.

Priscilla Stuckey has a blog post, Why do the rights of nature matter?, about why we must place the rights of nature into law. This post grew out of her experience at CELDF’s Democracy School, which she recounts in 3 prior posts, It’s a democracy problem, Rolling back democracy, and Why do we need a local bill of rights?