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 — Brazil
Municipal RoN measures emerging; e.g., Guajará-Mirim (RO) granted personhood to the Komi Memem River. AP News
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+1
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