UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Thick and Thin Roots—Rights of Nature in Germany and New Zealand

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.70322/ecolciviliz.2026.10010

Authors

Knau�Andreas Gutmann Stefan · Andr�Kahl · Jenny García Ruales · Wiliams Tim · Janina Reimann · Klaus Bosselmann

Reported year

2026

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.867688+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-10T16:58:51.365228+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Documentary abstract — original language

Rights of Nature (RoN) represent an innovative form of environmental governance. However, the diverse application of RoN across varying socio-ecological contexts remains under-researched. This paper employs the “Roots of Rights” (RoR) approach for a comparative analysis. We examine RoN’s institutionalisation, implementation, and contestation in Germany and Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on underlying relational values. Our analytical framework investigates two core dimensions: political dynamics of marginalisation and the role of relational approaches in the codification process. The findings reveal a fundamental divergence in RoN’s function. In Germany, RoN operates primarily as a radical theoretical tool. It is used by civil society to challenge the prevailing anthropocentric legal tradition. Conversely, legal personhood in New Zealand (e.g., Whanganui River) is a direct political product of Treaty Settlements. These frameworks serve the political self-determination and emancipation of Māori Iwi. Crucially, they codify a deeply-rooted, pre-existing relational worldview (tikanga). We conclude that RoN functions as a “thin” conceptual instrument in Germany, but as a ‘”hick”, politically instrumental means of securing non-hegemonic norms in New Zealand.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W7151888012

DOI

10.70322/ecolciviliz.2026.10010

OPENAIRE

doi_________::b8663893eec034c41692456b0ad277ca

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

Article · article

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

DE · NZ

Natural entities mentioned

River

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

Sources

OpenAIRE · Record 1

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.70322/ecolciviliz.2026.10010
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7151888012

Documented bibliographic relations

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

• Community stewardship: the foundation of biocultural rights · CITES
• openalex:w2005359108 · CITES
• openalex:w2400038823 · CITES
• Personhood and the Rights of Nature: The New Subjects of Contemporary Earth Politics1 · CITES
• openalex:w2801657541 · CITES
• openalex:w2964174976 · CITES
• Nature’s rights as Indigenous rights? Mis/recognition through personhood for Te Urewera · CITES
• Pachamama als Ökosystemintegrität – Die Rechte der Natur in der Verfassung von Ecuador und ihre umweltethische Rechtfertigung · CITES
• Toward a New Framework for Rights of the Biotic Community · CITES
• Hybride Rechtssubjektivität · CITES
• openalex:w4232119494 · CITES
• openalex:w4234263389 · CITES
• Defining Nature · CITES
• openalex:w4292168260 · CITES
• Rights of Nature in Europe · CITES
• Forest moralities, kindred knowledge and Sacha Runakuna : Kawsak Sacha as law · CITES
• Von Flüssen und Dieselabgasen · CITES
• Stories of Systemic Failure? · CITES
• Summary for policymakers of the methodological assessment of the diverse values and valuation of nature of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) · CITES
• Personhood Across Borders · CITES

0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

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