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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

Beyond the Rights of Nature: Land that Owns Itself | Climate One | Vagelintel