Co-hosted by MEPs Pavel Poc, Vice-Chair of ENVI Committee; Benedek Jávor, Vice-Chair of ENVI Committee; and Marco Affronte, ENVI Committee Member, the event: “Nature’s Rights Conference : The Missing Piece of the Puzzle” brought together a high-level panel to discuss how granting legal rights to nature might help to create the paradigm shift needed to live more sustainably and harmoniously within our planet’s limits.

Luc Bas, Director, IUCN European Regional Office provided one of the keynote speeches sharing IUCN’s views on rights for nature. IUCN and its Members clearly recognise the importance of nature’s rights as the resolution “Incorporation of the Rights of Nature as the organisational focal point in IUCN decision making”  was adopted at the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2012 in Jeju. The Resolution invites IUCN and its Members to promote the development of a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature as a first step towards  reconciliation between human beings and the Earth as the basis of our lives, as well as the foundations of a new civilising pact. Since then, the rights for nature has also been referenced in the IUCN Global Programme 2017-2020, adopted in at the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016 in Hawaiʽi.

“Being a science-based and evidence-based organisation, IUCN will continue to explore and evaluate the benefits of such an initiative,” said Luc Bas.

IUCN was joined by Hans Bruyninckx, Executive Director, European Environment Agency who talked about the need for systemic solutions to address the challenges of the 21^st Century. Panellists included Proffesor Massimiliano Montini, Sienna University and Cambridge University C-EENRG Fellow; MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP); Jen Morgan, Systems Change Consultant; and Mumta Ito, Lawyer and Founder of Nature’s Rights.

Learn more about Nature’s Rights and their draft directive here.