How 'personhood' works as a legal defense of nature

Will giving the environment the rights of a human encourage conservation efforts?

Mountains, water, and leaves
The "Rights of Nature" movement started approximately 50 years ago in the U.S.
(Image credit: Illustrated/Gettyimages)

In June, a municipality in the Brazilian Amazon called Guajara-Mirim successfully designated the Komi Memem River, known as the Laje in non-Indigenous maps, and its tributaries as "living entities with rights, ranging from maintaining their natural flow to having the forest around them protected," per The Associated Press. It is now the first of hundreds of rivers in the region to be granted "personhood status."

In terms of environmental conservation, legal personhood involves giving nature similar rights as humans so as to protect the planet from destruction. The designation is growing in popularity, especially as the climate crisis worsens.

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Devika Rao, The Week US

 Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.