Rights of Nature represents a groundbreaking shift in environmental protection — a legal framework that recognizes rivers, forests, and other natural entities as having inherent rights to exist, flourish, and remain clean. This transformative model emerged in the Global South, led by Ecuador, the first country to enshrine Rights of Nature in its constitution. It has since inspired movements and legal debates worldwide, redefining the relationship between people and the planet.
Join us for a special Keynote in which lawyers, civil society activists, and academics discuss how Rights of Nature is being interpreted and applied in the courts of Ecuador and Colombia. They will also explore the challenges this paradigm faces and highlight the opportunities it creates for strengthening environmental protection and advancing sustainability. The conversation offers a rare, frontline look at the evolving global dialogue on environmental justice.
This work is part of a collaboration between the Ashley School of Global Development and Environment at Cornell and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. It is supported by the Cornell Global Hubs Program and the Polson Institute for Global Development.
Open access background reading:
Special Issue: Integrating Ecology, Law, and Society to Protect the Environment.
Journal of Integrated Global STEM: People, Technology and Policy. 3(1). Warner and Martínez-Moscoso (2026).
