Rights of Nature

This book chapter introduces Rights of Nature (RoN) as an emerging legal and ethical approach that recognizes nature, ecosystems, and other natural entities as subjects with rights rather than solely as objects of human ownership, use, or regulation. Rights of Nature represents a shift from predominantly anthropocentric approaches to environmental law toward more ecocentric forms of governance that recognize the intrinsic value and ecological integrity of the natural world.

Within the context of environmental peacebuilding, the chapter considers the potential of Rights of Nature to reshape relationships between people, law, governance, and the environment. It highlights how recognizing the rights and legal standing of nature can influence environmental decision-making, strengthen ecological protection, and contribute to more sustainable and equitable approaches to managing land and natural resources. The concept also raises important questions concerning representation, legal personhood, enforcement, and the role of Indigenous and other relational understandings of human–nature relationships.

Rights of Nature offers a framework for reconsidering conventional legal systems and governance structures in ways that acknowledge ecological interdependence and the responsibilities of humans toward the wider Earth community. Its growing recognition in legal systems around the world makes it increasingly relevant to environmental governance, ecological justice, and environmental peacebuilding.

Originally published as “Rights of Nature” by Cormac Cullinan and Elena Kavanagh in Essential Concepts of Environmental Peacebuilding: An A–Z Guide (Routledge, 2026), pp. 279–281.