Mobilizing rights of nature and science to contest industrial mining: The legal battle of Intag's frogs
Identification
- Public canonical key
- doi:10.1177/25148486261444550
- Authors
- Cristina Espinosa
- Reported year
- 2026
- Reported language
- en
- Source type
- article
- First detected
- 2026-11-09T19:04:47.961657+00:00
- Last metadata observation
- 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00
- Last HTTP verification
- Not checked
Institutions reported by the source
University of Freiburg
Reported affiliation countries
DE
Documentary abstract — original language
Environmental justice (EJ) groups are increasingly turning to courts to address socio-ecological conflicts. Central to these efforts is the production of evidence and the translation of collective grievances into arguments recognized by judicial institutions. This article develops the concept of ‘science-based legal mobilization’ to capture the strategic use and foregrounding of scientific knowledge and expert testimony to meet evidentiary standards and advance EJ claims. Drawing on a qualitative case study of rights of nature litigation in Intag, Ecuador, the article examines how community members, activists, scientists, and legal actors assemble and mobilize diverse forms of knowledge. These include local knowledge, science, regulatory administrative knowledge and legal knowledge. Focusing on a key moment in the legal defense of territory through rights of nature—centered on the protection of threatened species such as the long-nosed harlequin frog and the confusing rocket frog—the study traces how knowledge is co-produced, legitimized, and presented in court. The findings show that, while rights of nature frameworks signal openness to plural knowledge systems science and credentialed expertise continue to play a central role in engaging the judiciary and shaping legal arguments and judicial reasoning. Science based legal mobilization enables EJ groups to meet legal standards and secure ecological protection, yet it also reinforces epistemic hierarchies by privileging knowledge forms that are traditionally recognized as authoritative. As a result, local perspectives and broader socio-cultural harms risk being marginalized. The article concludes that the transformative potential of rights of nature litigation depends on confronting these epistemic hierarchies. Advancing knowledge pluralism requires not only the strategic use of science but also greater recognition of diverse ways of knowing in legal processes, which shape both what counts as evidence and which ‘natures’ are ultimately protected.
Identifiers
- OPENALEX
- W7155040857
- DOI
- 10.1177/25148486261444550
- OPENAIRE
- doi_________::9f91eeea369ee5e4da57e0d10af2c640
Documentary context
- Documentary family
- Scholarship
- Source-reported types
- Article · article
- Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources
- EC
- Natural entities mentioned
- Species · Territory
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
Documented bibliographic relations
Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.
- openalex:w1908412752 · CITES
- openalex:w1970013555 · CITES
- openalex:w1979437250 · CITES
- openalex:w1990172753 · CITES
- openalex:w1991032433 · CITES
- openalex:w2008580544 · CITES
- openalex:w2012830928 · CITES
- openalex:w2015411663 · CITES
- openalex:w2031609847 · CITES
- openalex:w2116803854 · CITES
- openalex:w2122179740 · CITES
- openalex:w2131016539 · CITES
- openalex:w2155361167 · CITES
- openalex:w2156111684 · CITES
- openalex:w2177836626 · CITES
- New Transitions from Human Rights to the Environment to the Rights of Nature · CITES
- Interpretive Affinities: The Constitutionalization of Rights of Nature, Pacha Mama , in Ecuador · CITES
- openalex:w2288593125 · CITES
- Matter, politics and the sacred: insurgent ecologies of citizenship · CITES
- Nature Advocacy and the Indigenous Symbol · CITES
0 incoming references within the detected corpus
Documentary field provenance
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- Studied subject derived from explicit documentary context
- Court
- Not recorded
- Issuing authority
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- DOI
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- Not recorded
- Official identifier
- Not recorded
- Source URL
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- Source-reported status
- Not recorded
- Amendment / repeal
- Not recorded
Cite this reference
Cristina Espinosa. Mobilizing rights of nature and science to contest industrial mining: The legal battle of Intag's frogs. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486261444550
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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
- Cristina Espinosa. (2026). Mobilizing rights of nature and science to contest industrial mining: The legal battle of Intag's frogs. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486261444550
- Chicago
- Cristina Espinosa. Mobilizing rights of nature and science to contest industrial mining: The legal battle of Intag's frogs. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486261444550
- ISO 690
- Cristina Espinosa. Mobilizing rights of nature and science to contest industrial mining: The legal battle of Intag's frogs. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486261444550
UDTR Global Rights of Nature Legal Library. Mobilizing rights of nature and science to contest industrial mining: The legal battle of Intag's frogs. Documentary record: https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-f3a585fd4a1d2db097b4e57eca9e5f6a/ · Last HTTP verification: not performed
Field provenance and record version
Version af0261dbc85d2262 · udtr-reference-1.1.2
- Title
- OpenAIRE · source · 2026-11-09T19:06:31.049161+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00 - Authors
- OpenAIRE · source · 2026-11-09T19:06:31.049161+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00
Multiple reported values; disagreement retained. - Year
- OpenAIRE · source · 2026-11-09T19:06:31.049161+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00 - Identifiers
- OpenAIRE · source · 2026-11-09T19:06:31.049161+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00
Multiple reported values; disagreement retained. - Source URL
- OpenAIRE · source · 2026-11-09T19:06:31.049161+00:00
OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00 - Source-reported author ORCID
- OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00
History tracks record metadata and does not certify the state of the law.
9ce50e56e5d083e1 · 2026-11-09T19:06:31.049161+00:00
67b6a065d8f1cb95 · 2026-11-09T19:06:31.049161+00:00
f14949891ba838ff · 2026-11-09T19:06:31.049161+00:00
8897a3114ece8f1d · 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00
af0261dbc85d2262 · 2026-11-10T16:58:51.449722+00:00
Research dossiers and documentary relations
EC ·
Source roles
Discovery source · https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486261444550
Discovery source · https://openalex.org/W7155040857
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Documentary status
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Library
This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.