UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Laboratories of the Future: Tribes and Rights of Nature

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.15779/z38599z292

Authors

Elizabeth Ann · Jensen

Reported year

2023

Reported language

en · und

Source type

Article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.878406+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-10T16:58:51.255971+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

University of Utah

Reported affiliation countries

US

Documentary abstract — original language

From global challenges such as climate change and mass extinction, to local challenges such as toxic spills and undrinkable water, environmental degradation and the impairment of Earth systems are well documented. Yet, despite this reality, the U.S. federal government has done little in the last thirty years to provide a comprehensive solution to these profound environmental challenges; likewise, significant state action is lacking. In this vacuum, environmental legal advocates are looking for innovative environmental solutions to these challenges. Against this backdrop, rights of nature have increasingly gained traction as a possible legal tool to help protect the natural environment from the harms perpetrated by humans. Rights of nature laws generally have two elements: (1) legal personhood for natural entities, such that nature has standing in court, and (2) substantive rights for natural entities. This Article explores the scope and origins of rights of nature and examines how they are being implemented both within the United States and abroad. It highlights the work being done by Tribes and Indigenous Peoples in this space and argues that, particularly in the United States, state and local governments should learn from this work. Specifically, the work of Tribes in this space can serve as alternative ethical paradigms and laws for non-Native communities looking for an alternative to the status quo. In the United States, Tribes can serve as “laboratories” for environmental change given their tribal sovereignty and environmental ethics. In addition, Tribes exist within a different legal framework from U.S. states and municipalities. By comparing rights of nature-related litigation in Florida and in the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe, it becomes clear that rights of nature provisions adopted by Tribes stand a greater chance of withstanding legal challenge than provisions adopted by municipalities. Accordingly, environmental reform can benefit from the collaboration and experimentation of Tribes.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W6962375620

DOI

10.15779/z38599z292 · 10.2139/ssrn.4466493

OPENAIRE

doi_________::b64e1822fdd1e7daa1ac7bf3c90a2067 · doi_________::e0d31851401ba686dc379b31ccdc7790

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

Article · Other literature type · Text · preprint

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

US

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

DataCite · Record 1 · Record 2

OpenAIRE · Record 1 · Record 2 · Record 3

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2 · Record 3

• Document · http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4466493
• DOI · https://doi.org/10.15779/z38599z292
• DOI · https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4466493
• Document · https://dx.doi.org/10.15779/z38599z292
• Document · https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1267289
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W6962375620

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

4 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.