Rights for Nature

European Citizens' Initiative

We are European citizens uniting to call on the EU to recognise ecosystems as rights-holders rather than property. Signature collection is now open - join one million Europeans bringing this demand before the European Commission.

Our goal: one million signatures in Europe

Legal Voice

Nature gains legal standing to defend itself against harm through citizen representation.

Ecosystem Regeneration

Empowering damaged ecosystems with rights to healing, regeneration, and recovery.

Citizen Empowerment

Enabling Europeans to directly advocate for the ecosystems they depend on.

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Why This Matters

We've all seen it: a river running dry, a forest felled overnight, a coastline swallowed by algae. And we've felt the frustration of knowing that there is little we can do to prevent it because nature has no rights. It is property. It can be owned, sold, and destroyed, as long as the paperwork is in order and authorities are reluctant to act.

But what if that could change? In Spain, the Mar Menor lagoon already holds its own legal rights. In New Zealand, the Whanganui River is recognised as a legal person. In both places, ordinary citizens can now stand up in court, not for themselves, but for the ecosystem itself.

We want to bring that same shift to Europe, using the most powerful transnational tool for bringing our proposal to the decision makers in Brussels: a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), which obliges the EU to act when one million people speak with one voice.

This change is possible. Be part of it.

Rights for Nature activists at a campaign event

Who we are

A movement of European citizens - for nature and for democracy

We are citizens from across the EU - lawyers who have argued for the rights of rivers in court, activists who brought a nature rights bill before the Polish parliament, campaigners who helped turn the Mar Menor lagoon into a legal person under Spanish law. We come from different countries and different traditions, but we share a conviction: that nature deserves better than the law currently gives it.

Rights for Nature is our tool. By collecting one million signatures across EU member states, we are calling on the European Commission to establish a legal framework that recognises ecosystems as rights-holders - shifting the foundation of European law from treating nature as property to treating it as a partner. It is a change grounded in democratic principles, built on legal precedent, and driven by citizens who believe we can build a common future with nature, not at its expense.

The initiative is officially registered with the European Commission.

Signature collection is now open. We have one year to gather one million signatures across the EU. Will you become part of that journey?

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Your Voice Matters

What supporters of the initiative say

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We are bringing the Spree to Brussels. There is no time to lose. The time has come for a paradigm shift in European and national laws.

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Numerous citizens' initiatives at the local level show that the recognition of the Rights for Nature is awaited by civil society. In France, many "Parliaments" of ecosystems are created to give a voice to nature.

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We support the Rights for Nature ECI because it shows the strength of grassroots movements across Europe. We're ready to join forces for ecological justice at the EU level.

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We have been working to get the Odra River recognised as a legal person since the major poisoning disaster in 2022. Now is the time to take major steps towards an EU law for the Rights for Nature.

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To prevent planetary collapse, we must transform societies, including our legal system. We can't keep seeing Nature as property to exploit. It's time law understands ecosystems are agents worthy of care and respect.

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In the Capitalocene era, this European Citizens' Initiative sparks awareness of the need to coexist with all beings - honouring the balance and respect long practiced by many Indigenous communities.

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The European Union will soon be filled with the hope that the Rights for Nature have brought for the future of the Mar Menor and its communities. An eco-centric shift in environmental legislation will allow a return to harmony with Nature.

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By granting nature legal rights, action can be taken not only after damage has occurred, but also when damage is imminent.

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There are intimations that this island of Ireland, her landscapes and the communion of species with whom we belong together, are speaking to us with new clarity. There are signs that Ireland the more-than-human are re-entering our histories as active subjects, as shapeshifters of possible futures. (in Dúchas - Responses to Amitav Ghosh's Seamus Deane - Field Day Lecture, Mayo Books Press, 2026).

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Our time is marked by a critical need for a new kind of law. We are here together; there is only one planet Earth, and there is no us without the rest of nature. Our laws must embody this understanding.

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This European Citizens' Initiative comes at a crucial moment. We need to transform not only our laws but also our relation to nature to avoid exacerbating the worst consequences of climate change. This initiative is a unique opportunity - not only to get the Rights for Nature discussed at the highest political levels but also to build network and friendship around positive change across the European continent.