Rights of Nature Timeline
International
Time Immemorial — Indigenous Nations
For thousands of years, many Indigenous peoples have upheld legal and cultural traditions that recognize reciprocal duties and kinship with lands and waters—sometimes conferring personhood-like status on rivers, mountains, and species. While diverse and not monolithic, these worldviews laid essential groundwork that contemporary Rights of Nature efforts acknowledge and build upon.
2008 — Ecuador
National Constitution Articles 71-74: First nation to recognize Rights of Nature. PDBA
2010–2012 — Bolivia
Law of the Rights of Mother Earth & Framework Law: National RoN framework (critiqued in practice). Ampeid
2011 — Ecuador
Vilcabamba River / Provincial Court of Loja: First successful court application of constitutional RoN. Earth Laws
2014 — New Zealand
Te Urewera Act: Te Urewera forest recognized as a legal entity. Legislation New Zealand
2016 — Colombia
Atrato River, T-622/16: Constitutional Court recognized the river as a rights-holder; ordered guardianship measures. Climate Change Litigation
2017 — New Zealand
Te Awa Tupua: Whanganui River recognized as a legal person with guardians. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2017 — India
Ganga & Yamuna: Uttarakhand High Court granted personhood, but India’s Supreme Court stayed the order (July 2017); not in force.
2017 — Mexico
Constitution, Art. 13: Recognizes preservation/protection of nature and calls for secondary law on “rights of nature.” Animal Law
2018 — Colombia
STC 4360-2018: Supreme Court recognized the Colombian Amazon as an entity entitled to protection. ESCR-Net
2018 — Bangladesh
High Court recognized all rivers as legal persons; later developments continue (Supreme Court has since upheld the 2019 ruling). Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2019 — Uganda
National Environment Act, Section 4: First African nation to recognize RoN. NEMA
2021 — Ecuador
Los Cedros: Constitutional Court blocked mining, affirming Rights of Nature protections. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2022 — Panama
Law 287: National RoN law (Feb. 24, 2022); later cited by Panama’s Supreme Court in striking down the Cobre Panamá mine. Law
2022 — Spain
Mar Menor: Europe’s first ecosystem with legal personhood (Law 19/2022); constitutionality upheld Nov. 20, 2024. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2023 — Aruba
Aruba drafts a Constitutional Amendment to recognize the Rights of Nature, making it only the second country to constitutionally recognize the Rights of Nature. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2023 — Brazil
Municipal RoN measures emerging; e.g., Guajará-Mirim (RO) granted personhood to the Komi Memem River. AP News
2023 — France
The LIP Environmental Code (CEPIL) is updated to include natural entities in law, giving animals new legal status. IRD
2024 — Spain
Galicia’s city council unanimously adopts the Declaration of Rights of the Tins River, giving the river 10 rights and making it the first river in Spain to have rights. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2024 — Peru
The Marañon River is recognized as a legal entity, setting a new precedent in Peru, and has the Kukama Federation of Indigenous women river defenders appointed as its co-guardian. Earth Law Center
2024 — Mexico
The legislature of the State of Mexico recognizes the Rights of Nature and the rights of native endemic species by reforming two of the articles (articles 8 and 15) of their constitution. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2025 — New Zealand
Parliament granted legal personhood to Taranaki Maunga (mountain), adding to NZ’s RoN corpus. The Guardian
United States
1972 — “Should Trees Have Standing?” (Christopher D. Stone).
Seminal law review article later expanded to a book; cited in Justice Douglas’s dissent in Sierra Club v. Morton (U.S. Supreme Court, 1972). ACTL
2006 — Tamaqua Borough, PA
First U.S. ordinance to recognize Rights of Nature (banned toxic sludge dumping). CELDF
2010 — Pittsburgh, PA
First major U.S. city ordinance banning fracking and recognizing RoN. Pittsburgh Legistar
2011 — West Homestead, PA
Borough ordinance banning gas drilling via a community bill of rights. Community Rights US
2011 — Baldwin, PA
Ordinance banning natural-gas extraction; recognizes ecosystem rights. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2013 — Santa Monica, CA
Sustainability Rights Ordinance recognizing rights of people and nature in city governance. eCode360
2013 — Mora County, NM
County ban on oil & gas citing RoN; later struck down in federal court (SWEPI v. Mora County) and repealed in 2015. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2013 — Lafayette, CO
City charter amendment recognizing RoN and banning oil & gas extraction (followed by 2017 “Climate Bill of Rights”). Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2014 — Grant Township, PA
Community Bill of Rights against wastewater injection; portions invalidated in federal court amid protracted litigation. Justia Law
2016 — Ho Chunk Nation, WI
General Council approved amending the tribal constitution to enshrine RoN (multi-year process). CELDF
2016 — Waterville, OH
Voter-approved Community Bill of Rights charter amendment recognizing RoN; aimed at blocking Nexus pipeline/compressor station. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2016 — Barrington, NH
Rights-based ordinance restricting resource extraction/waste disposal; recognizes RoN. Community Rights US
2017 — Ponca Nation, OK
Resolution/statute recognizing Rights of Nature; penalties for “crimes against nature.” Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2017 — Lafayette, CO
“Climate Bill of Rights and Protections” recognizing rights of residents and ecosystems to a healthy climate. Bill
2018 — White Earth Band of Ojibwe, MN
Rights of Manoomin (wild rice) law; 2021 tribal-court litigation over Line 3 water permits followed. White Earth
2019 — Toledo, OH
Lake Erie Bill of Rights passed; struck down by federal court on Feb. 27, 2020. Animal Legal Defense Fund
2019 — Exeter, NH
Right to a Healthy Climate Ordinance (recognizes RoN; bans toxic waste activities). CELDF
2020 — Crestone, CO
Dark-sky ordinance; town had earlier (2018) RoN resolution and was recognized by IDA (2021) as a Dark Sky Community explicitly linking RoN to light-pollution policy. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2020 — Orange County, FL
Borough ordinance banning gas drilling via a community bill of rights. Community Rights US
2021 — Nederland, CO
Resolution recognizing rights of the Boulder Creek watershed; repealed in May 2024 amid a reservoir/dam dispute. The Colorado Sun
2021 — Ridgway, CO
Resolution recognizing rights of the Uncompahgre River/watershed. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor
2024 — Yurok Tribe, CA
Ordinance establishing rights of the Heyhl-keek ’We-roy (Klamath River), building on a 2019 resolution. Yurok Tribal Codes
2024 — Ojai, CA
City Rights of Nature ordinance (waterbodies, flora, fauna, mountains & hillsides) — adopted Nov. 12, 2024. eCode360
2024 — Everett, WA
Voters approved Initiative 24-03 recognizing rights of the Snohomish River watershed. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor