It’s time to recognize the rights of ecosystems and the authority of communities to stop harmful projects. “[T]he best defenders of nature and biodiversity are the communities themselves.”

“[It’s time to] enact laws that recognize the inalienable rights of ecosystems to exist, flourish and naturally evolve, and the authority of the community to protect [it]”

Community members in North Union Township, Pennsylvania, engage with CELDF and its partner Network to discuss using Community Rights to protect their water from being siphoned off.

Oil corporations were forced to back off native lands in Ecuador. A court decision held that their actions were “inadequate and violated the ‘community’s right to self-determination.'”

More than just recognizing legal rights, the growing Rights of Nature movement is a paradigm shift in the relationship between human beings and nature.

Community Rights leader Markie Miller, from Toledo, Ohio, speaks to the UN General Assembly. She was invited to talk about the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, an historic law adopted by Toledoans in February.

Earth Day celebrations span the globe, highlighting Earth’s beauty and the threat of climate change devastation. Rights of Nature is a growing movement to stop climate change and other harms.

The Editorial Board of the Toledo Blade calls out the irony of Houston-based BP Corporation funding the anti-Lake Erie Bill of Rights campaign, which attacked the citizen initiative as led by “outside influencers.”

The Rights of Nature movement is underway and growing – and there is no time to lose. Learn about this new legal paradigm and how it’s transforming our relationship with nature.

BP Corporation was the sole monetary donor behind the campaign to quash the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR). The measure won with 61% of the vote.