Rights of Nature

This category is dedicated to investigations and reflections on the emerging legal field that recognizes elements of Nature—such as rivers, forests, mountains, and ecosystems—as subjects of rights endowed with their own legal personality, overcoming the traditional anthropocentric view that treats them as mere objects of economic exploitation. It brings together analyses of pioneering constitutional experiences, such as those of Ecuador and Bolivia; studies of international case law that has granted rights to specific natural entities; inquiries into the contributions of Indigenous ancestral knowledge in grounding this new legal perspective; and debates on the practical challenges of implementing these guarantees within the Brazilian legal system, especially considering the complex Amazonian socio-environmental reality, where traditional communities have for centuries practiced forms of coexistence based on recognizing the agency and intrinsic value of non-human beings.