
Beyond the Rights of Nature: Land that Owns Itself
Climate One
- Published
- July 10, 2026
- Duration
- 1h 3m
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Jul 22, 2026
Discusses The “rights of nature” is the idea that if a corporation can have legal standing as a person, why ca…
Summary
The “rights of nature” is the idea that if a corporation can have legal standing as a person, why can’t a river or a mountain? Thomas Linzey, one of the early architects of a legal framework for granting rights to nature, now believes that structure doesn’t go far enough: Even when ecosystems are granted rights, the land is still owned by someone or some …
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Show notes
The “rights of nature” is the idea that if a corporation can have legal standing as a person, why can’t a river or a mountain? Thomas Linzey, one of the early architects of a legal framework for granting rights to nature, now believes that structure doesn’t go far enough: Even when ecosystems are granted rights, the land is still owned by someone or some entity, even if that is a land trust or conservancy. Through Linzey’s work in collaboration with the Sacred Contract Coalition, a 30-acre mount