“A concept previously restricted to humans (and corporations), ‘rights of personhood’ means, most simply, that an individual or entity has rights, and they’re now being extended to nonhumans.”
“By granting the rights of personhood to the Klamath River, not only does it create laws and legal advocacy routes, but it’s also an expression of Yurok values,” says Geneva Thompson, associate general counsel for the tribe and citizen of the #Cherokee_Nation, who worked on the resolution. “The idea is that the laws of a nation are an expression of the nation’s values.”
“From New Zealand to Colombia, the powerful idea that nature has rights is taking root in legal systems,” says David Boyd, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, of the Yurok Tribe’s resolution. “We must no longer view the natural world as a mere warehouse of commodities for humans to exploit, but rather a remarkable community to which we belong and to whom we owe responsibilities.”