Rights of Nature: Obstacles and Challenges

The development on Rights of Nature (RoN) gain importance and are part of interdisciplinary discussion all over the world. The impressive advance of academic as well as civil-society encouragement is impressive but doesn’t come without challenges.

The occurring obstacles and the search for solutions to overcome the differentiated problems were object of the conference “Rights of Nature against whom?” in Kassel, Germany (conference report: ZUR 2024, 699) hosted as part of the research project “Nature as a legal entity” funded by the German Research Fund (DFG). The discussions and exchange throughout various disciplines within an academic, but also civil-society context created a motivational atmosphere, which urged the necessity to leave the outcomes and discussions not inside the conference room, but to make it publicly accessible. The authors of this Symposium were all part of the conference and contributed to the discussion about RoN. The Symposium includes some of the different perspectives and approaches with its related obstacles and challenges of the RoN.