UDTR — Radar mondial des droits de la Nature

Legal Personhood of Rivers in Bangladesh: Promise, Pitfalls, and the Way Forward

Identification

Clé publique

doi:10.5281/zenodo.17386530

Auteurs

Ahona Singha

Année déclarée

2025

Langue déclarée

en

Type source

article

Première détection

2026-11-09T19:04:47.530450+00:00

Dernière observation des métadonnées

2026-11-09T19:04:47.530450+00:00

Dernière vérification HTTP

Non effectuée

Institutions déclarées par la source

University of Rajshahi

Pays d’affiliation déclarés

BD

Résumé documentaire — langue originale

The study examines the environmental and governance implications of granting ‘Legal Personhood’ to all rivers in Bangladesh, following the 2019 Turag River case. It is conducted using a twofold approach, integrating doctrinal legal analysis with empirical inquiry based on the Narrative Thematic Analytical Approach (NTAA). The doctrinal part examines the constitutional and statutory frameworks through the lens of the High Court’s directions to determine any gaps between judicial innovation and legislative power. The empirical layer is based on 41 in-depth interviews, with thematic saturation achieved at 36, the remaining 5 interviews confirmed the themes without adding new insights. Interviews are conducted with farmers, fishers, local authorities, and NGO representatives (April-June 2024), in the Baral, Karatoya, and Narod rivers, chosen as ecologically pressured critical cases. Field accounts indicate that pollution, encroachment, and drying have been ongoing issues over time, and that community consciousness has primarily focused on livelihoods and cultural continuity, rather than legal rights. Findings suggest that weaknesses in the institutions, the advisory mandate of the NRCC, and the lack of statutory enforcement powers restrict the practical ramifications of personhood. The study concludes that, without statutory codification, empowered guardianship, and ecological monitoring benchmarks, the concept of river personhood remains symbolic. Implementing rights-standard features into the legislation, decentralizing enforcement, and incorporating local co-guardianship are necessary steps to achieve meaningful ecological outcomes.

Identifiants

DOI

10.5281/zenodo.17386530 · 10.5281/zenodo.17386531 · 10.5281/zenodo.17416929

OPENALEX

W7092365020

Repères documentaires

Famille documentaire

Doctrine

Types déclarés par les sources

article

Juridictions étudiées — sources explicites

BD

Entités naturelles mentionnées

Fleuve / rivière

Les mentions d’entités ne constituent pas une preuve de reconnaissance juridique. La juridiction étudiée est distincte du pays d’affiliation des auteurs.

Sources

OpenAlex · Document 1 · Document 2 · Document 3 · Document 4

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17386530
• DOI · https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17386531
• DOI · https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17416929
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7092365020

Relations bibliographiques documentées

Références et liens déclarés par les sources ; ils ne constituent pas une preuve juridique ni une qualification UGLC. Affichage limité à 20 références sortantes.

1 références entrantes au sein du corpus détecté

Statut documentaire

Validée documentairement

Bibliothèque