Bioneer, The global momentum supporting efforts to enshrine rights for rivers, species and ecosystems has been building for more than a decade. It feels like there is a new report or story in the press on a weekly basis, if not daily. From Florida to Washington State to Cape Cod to Ecuador, New Zealand, India, England and beyond, the movement around Rights of Nature is burgeoning around the planet. If you’re a long-time reader of this newsletter, you’re likely at least familiar with the concept, but for many, even those well-steeped in environmental activism, this revolutionary approach arguing that nature should have legal standing turns the page on traditional notions of environmental law. Briefly stated, the current system of environmental regulations and their enforcement in this country (and around the world) are only as strong as the legislation and the mindset they sprang from. Advocates of a Rights of Nature approach hold that this system is doing nothing more than attempting to regulate the pace and scale of ecological destruction. The recent approval of the Willow Project in Alaska is a reminder that the government oversight of land and water was designed to ease and support resource extraction from the start, and it was only later that regulations regarding environmental harm were added to the mix. Imbuing natural systems, features and species with specific legal rights and standing changes the game, theoretically giving nature the right to literally have her day in court. Giving nature legal standing challenges many core tenants of Western society and makes a variety of players in the system deeply uncomfortable. These are not minor distinctions being made; rather the Rights of Nature movement is truly revolutionary, with all the danger, drama, contradictions and passion that come with revolutionary movements. In this newsletter, we dip into the growing river of activity, highlighting projects, opinions, news and perspectives to support our collective understanding of this building movement. | 
