A Meeting of Rivers: Exploring the Rights of Nature in the UK

河流交汇：探索英国的自然权利

• 批准号: AH/Z505766/1
• 负责人: Neil Williams
• 金额: $ 10.83万
• 依托单位: University of Roehampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FZ505766%2F1
• 关键词: Meeting; Rivers; Exploring; Rights; Nature

Across the globe, a legal and environmental revolution is occurring. In places such as Ecuador, New Zealand, Columbia, Uganda, Spain, and Canada, communities and indigenous groups are protecting their local ecosystems from human exploitation by granting them rights. The "Rights of Nature" (RoN) movement marks a radical shift away from a view in which nature is seen as a resource for human use, and to a model in which nature is recognised as part of our moral and legal community. As such, the RoN movement has been presented as exactly the paradigm shift needed to address the environmental crises we currently face. This movement is steadily growing, with at least 27 countries passing RoN legislation, and many others currently developing it.Though the method of recognising these rights is different in each context, RoN legislation generally has two features: a recognition that we have responsibilities to nature which goes beyond human use of it, and a recognition that indigenous and local communities are best placed to represent the interests of nature in a legal context. Recognising this, RoN legislation often involves the creation of new representative roles which give previously disenfranchised communities the ability to manage their local environment through representing its rights and interests. As such, RoN connects environmental and social sustainability, and embodies the idea the health and empowerment of local communities is intimately connected with the health and empowerment of ecosystems.The RoN movement in the UK is slowly growing. In the last three years, community charters, motions in local councils, and community declarations across the UK have recognised nature's rights, with some attempting to pass RoN policy. But these fledgling RoN initiatives face at least two serious obstacles. Firstly, these groups are for the most part isolated from each other and from the global RoN movement. Secondly, there currently exists little academic research into the possibility and plausibility of recognising RoN in the UK which these groups might draw on. This project will address both issues.This project aims to bring existing RoN initiatives in the UK together to form a new network, to facilitate communication, the exchange of information, and possible collaboration on RoN action in the future. Through a series of workshops, this network will explore ways of understanding nature's rights; how RoN can or should be represented; the legal frameworks in the UK which might enable or prevent RoN; and how local communities can collect ecological data to support their nature advocacy. An interdisciplinary team of academics will guide these workshops and, in conjunction with the network of practitioners, undertake a definitive exploration into the possibility and plausibility of RoN in the UK context. Comprised of a philosopher, a legal theorist, and an ecologist, this interdisciplinary team will produce a definitive report into the conceptual grounding, legal pathways, and ecological measurement which could underpin any future RoN legislation. As such, the project will be of lasting benefit to local communities, policymakers, and legal practitioners interested in RoN within the UK and elsewhere.

全球范围内，一场法律和环境革命正在发生。在厄瓜多尔、新西兰、哥伦比亚、乌干达、西班牙和加拿大等地，社区和土著群体通过赋予当地生态系统权利来保护当地生态系统免受人类剥削。 “自然权利”（RoN）运动标志着从将自然视为人类利用资源的观点转向将自然视为我们道德和法律共同体一部分的模式的彻底转变。因此，RoN 运动被认为是解决我们当前面临的环境危机所需的范式转变。这一运动正在稳步发展，至少有 27 个国家通过了 RoN 立法，许多其他国家正在制定 RoN 立法。尽管在不同情况下承认这些权利的方法有所不同，但 RoN 立法总体上有两个特点： 承认我们对自然负有责任这超出了人类对其的利用，并认识到土著和地方社区最有能力在法律背景下代表自然的利益。认识到这一点，RoN 立法通常涉及设立新的代表角色，使以前被剥夺权利的社区能够通过代表其权利和利益来管理当地环境。因此，RoN 将环境和社会的可持续性联系起来，体现了当地社区的健康和赋权与生态系统的健康和赋权密切相关的理念。英国的 RoN 运动正在缓慢发展。在过去三年中，英国各地的社区宪章、地方议会动议和社区宣言都承认自然权利，其中一些试图通过 RoN 政策。但这些刚刚起步的 RoN 计划至少面临两个严重障碍。首先，这些团体在很大程度上相互隔离，也与全球 RoN 运动隔离。其次，目前关于英国承认 RoN 的可能性和合理性的学术研究很少，这些团体可以借鉴。该项目将解决这两个问题。该项目旨在将英国现有的 RoN 倡议整合在一起，形成一个新的网络，以促进沟通、信息交换以及未来在 RoN 行动方面可能的合作。通过一系列研讨会，该网络将探索理解自然权利的方法； RoN 可以或应该如何表示；英国可能促成或阻止 RoN 的法律框架；以及当地社区如何收集生态数据来支持他们的自然倡导。一个跨学科的学术团队将指导这些研讨会，并与从业者网络一起，对 RoN 在英国背景下的可能性和合理性进行明确的探索。这个跨学科团队由一位哲学家、一位法律理论家和一位生态学家组成，将针对概念基础、法律途径和生态衡量提出明确的报告，这可能为未来的任何 RoN 立法奠定基础。因此，该项目将为英国和其他地方对 RoN 感兴趣的当地社区、政策制定者和法律从业者带来持久利益。