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Can Nature Be a Legal Person: Perspectives on Rights of Rivers, Forests, and Ecosystems

Identification

Public canonical key
doi:10.5281/zenodo.24019605
Authors
Vishnu Yadav
Reported year
2026
Reported language
en · und
Source type
article
First detected
2026-11-09T19:04:47.527432+00:00
Last metadata observation
2026-11-09T19:11:06.551236+00:00
Last HTTP verification
Not checked

Documentary abstract — original language

The growing ecological crisis, characterized by climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, pollution, and degradation of freshwater ecosystems, has prompted renewed debate regarding the adequacy of conventional environmental law. Traditional legal systems generally treat nature as property or a resource subject to human ownership and exploitation, providing protection primarily through regulatory mechanisms designed to control environmental harm. In recent decades, however, several jurisdictions have adopted an innovative legal approach by recognizing rivers, forests, ecosystems, and other natural entities as legal persons possessing enforceable rights. This emerging doctrine, commonly known as the Rights of Nature, represents a significant shift from anthropocentric environmental governance toward an ecocentric legal framework that acknowledges the intrinsic value of the natural world. This paper critically examines the evolution of legal personhood for nature from the perspectives of environmental law, constitutional law, jurisprudence, and comparative legal studies. It analyses the philosophical foundations of the Rights of Nature movement, evaluates judicial and legislative developments in jurisdictions including Ecuador, New Zealand, Colombia, India, and the United States, and assesses the legal implications of granting personhood to rivers, forests, and ecosystems. The paper further explores the challenges associated with representation, enforcement, constitutional compatibility, indigenous rights, property ownership, and environmental governance. Finally, it proposes legislative and institutional reforms aimed at developing a coherent legal framework capable of recognizing the rights of nature while balancing ecological protection, sustainable development, and human interests.

Identifiers

OPENALEX
W7225383636
DOI
10.5281/zenodo.24019605 · 10.5281/zenodo.24019606
OPENAIRE
od______2659::3db110567537defa08717af643d1411e

Documentary context

Documentary family
Scholarship
Source-reported types
Article · JournalArticle · article
Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources
CO · EC · IN · NZ · US
Natural entities mentioned
River · Forest · Ecosystem

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

Sources

DataCite · Record 1 · Record 2 · Record 3 · Record 4

OpenAIRE · Record 1 · Record 2

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

Zenodo · Record 1 · Record 2

Documentary field provenance

Source-backed values and values with unresolved provenance are kept separately. Bibliographic provenance validates no legal claim.

Title
Documentary source reported
Publication
Documentary source reported
Authors
Documentary source reported
Document type
Documentary source reported
Jurisdiction
Studied subject derived from explicit documentary context
Court
Not recorded
Issuing authority
Not recorded
Publisher
Not recorded
DOI
Documentary source reported
ISBN
Not recorded
Official identifier
Not recorded
Source URL
Documentary source reported
Source-reported status
Not recorded
Amendment / repeal
Not recorded
Instrument versions and official source

Source unresolved

Documentary identity verification only: a link or date establishes neither full-text verification, legal effect nor current force.

Possible duplicate awaiting documentary verification.

Status from the preserved documentary extraction: Unestablished

Cite this reference

Vishnu Yadav. Can Nature Be a Legal Person: Perspectives on Rights of Rivers, Forests, and Ecosystems. 2026. https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-3e8db0cc386bfbdca8c729158abdf634/

JSON · CSL-JSON · BibTeX · RIS · CSV · JSON-LD ·

APA, Chicago, ISO 690: bibliographic formats using available fields. OSCOLA / Bluebook: structured data only; full legal citation compliance is not claimed without verification of required elements.

APA
Vishnu Yadav. (2026). Can Nature Be a Legal Person: Perspectives on Rights of Rivers, Forests, and Ecosystems. https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-3e8db0cc386bfbdca8c729158abdf634/
Chicago
Vishnu Yadav. Can Nature Be a Legal Person: Perspectives on Rights of Rivers, Forests, and Ecosystems. 2026. https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-3e8db0cc386bfbdca8c729158abdf634/
ISO 690
Vishnu Yadav. Can Nature Be a Legal Person: Perspectives on Rights of Rivers, Forests, and Ecosystems. 2026. https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-3e8db0cc386bfbdca8c729158abdf634/

UDTR Global Rights of Nature Legal Library. Can Nature Be a Legal Person: Perspectives on Rights of Rivers, Forests, and Ecosystems. Documentary record: https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-3e8db0cc386bfbdca8c729158abdf634/ · Last HTTP verification: not performed

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Field provenance and record version

Version 48cabe629c18d389 · udtr-reference-1.1.2

Title
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096534+00:00
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096373+00:00
Authors
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096534+00:00
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096373+00:00
Year
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096534+00:00
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096373+00:00
Identifiers
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096534+00:00
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096373+00:00
Multiple reported values; disagreement retained.
Source URL
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096534+00:00
DataCite · source · 2026-11-09T19:05:35.096373+00:00
Multiple reported values; disagreement retained.

History tracks record metadata and does not certify the state of the law.

d785d76455e9cb8e · 2026-11-09T19:11:06.551236+00:00

616bf25a910d2b9f · 2026-11-09T19:11:06.551236+00:00

aaa093ee1d63562e · 2026-11-09T19:11:06.551236+00:00

48cabe629c18d389 · 2026-11-09T19:11:06.551236+00:00

Frozen-version metadata

Research dossiers and documentary relations

CO · EC · IN · NZ · US ·

Vishnu Yadav

Source roles

Bibliographic / original publication source · https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24019605

Bibliographic / original publication source · https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24019606

Bibliographic / original publication source · https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.24019605

Bibliographic / original publication source · https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.24019606

Discovery source · https://zenodo.org/records/24019606

Discovery source · https://openalex.org/W7225383636

An authority link alone does not verify a legal claim. Abstracts and full texts remain subject to their source terms.

Documentary status

Documentary validated

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