The Personhood of Nature: A Strategy for Indigenous-Led Environmental Protection
Identification
- Public canonical key
- doi:10.2139/ssrn.6908498
- Authors
- Max Katner
- Reported year
- 2026
- Reported language
- en · und
- Source type
- posted-content
- First detected
- 2026-11-09T19:04:47.932650+00:00
- Last metadata observation
- 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
- Last HTTP verification
- Not checked
Documentary abstract — original language
In recent years, Indigenous and settler communities worldwide have been at the forefront of a groundbreaking legal movement: granting legal personhood to rivers and their ecosystems. This article explores how Indigenous and environmental advocacy groups use innovative strategies to legally safeguard the ecological integrity of river watersheds around the world. By recognizing rivers as legal persons, communities and governments challenge conventional legal frameworks that prioritize human interests above the environment. New Zealand, Bangladesh, Colombia, Perú, the U.S., and others are adopting creative collaborative approaches that incorporate Indigenous worldviews which consider nature inextricably interconnected with humans and deserving similar inherent rights. Whether legal systems recognize the personhood of rivers or the rights of riverine communities flowing from rivers, judges and policymakers redefine humanity’s relationship with the natural world via principles long upheld by Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. Through litigation and advocacy efforts, these initiatives create transformative potential by incorporating Indigenous perspectives into environmental governance. The growing movement highlights an urgent need to recognize the intrinsic value of healthy rivers in a world where our societies’ viability hinges on longterm environmental sustainability.
Identifiers
- OPENALEX
- W7171658958
- DOI
- 10.2139/ssrn.6908498
Documentary context
- Documentary family
- Working paper
- Source-reported types
- posted-content · preprint
- Publishers
- Elsevier BV
- Natural entities mentioned
- River · Watershed · Ecosystem
Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.
Sources
Crossref · Record 1
OpenAlex · 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
- Not recorded
- Court
- Not recorded
- Issuing authority
- Not recorded
- Publisher
- Documentary source reported
- 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
Cite this reference
Max Katner. The Personhood of Nature: A Strategy for Indigenous-Led Environmental Protection. 2026. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6908498
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
- Max Katner. (2026). The Personhood of Nature: A Strategy for Indigenous-Led Environmental Protection. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6908498
- Chicago
- Max Katner. The Personhood of Nature: A Strategy for Indigenous-Led Environmental Protection. 2026. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6908498
- ISO 690
- Max Katner. The Personhood of Nature: A Strategy for Indigenous-Led Environmental Protection. 2026. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6908498
UDTR Global Rights of Nature Legal Library. The Personhood of Nature: A Strategy for Indigenous-Led Environmental Protection. Documentary record: https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-bd54f041baa15cf1d34180ebedd9b4fd/ · Last HTTP verification: not performed
Field provenance and record version
Version 80a28f6747229bf3 · udtr-reference-1.1.2
- Title
- Crossref · source · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:04:47.932650+00:00 - Authors
- Crossref · source · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:04:47.932650+00:00
Multiple reported values; disagreement retained. - Year
- Crossref · source · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:04:47.932650+00:00 - Identifiers
- Crossref · source · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:04:47.932650+00:00
Multiple reported values; disagreement retained. - Source URL
- Crossref · source · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:04:47.932650+00:00
History tracks record metadata and does not certify the state of the law.
e5b7aec45f221dfc · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
aaa9605bc5bbb022 · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
d705da9f298d6451 · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
80a28f6747229bf3 · 2026-11-10T01:19:03.042655+00:00
Research dossiers and documentary relations
Source roles
Bibliographic / original publication source · https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6908498
Discovery source · https://openalex.org/W7171658958
An authority link alone does not verify a legal claim. Abstracts and full texts remain subject to their source terms.
Documentary status
Relevance pending
Library
This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.