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As we witness three intersecting global crises, many of us are looking for new ways to solve our complex problems of climate change and biodiversity loss. Granting legal rights to nature provides a new way of thinking and may help us protect what we love and need. It requires a belief and understanding that we are not separate from the lands and waters that are the basis of our health and prosperity. Humans belong to a complicated and interconnected community of life on Earth.
This thinking is not new. Indigenous Peoples have known since time immemorial that humans cannot “own” the land or water. They see nature and animals as relatives, as part of a community to which people belong. This thinking underlies a refreshing new global movement to recognize the inherent Rights of Nature.