Australia has one of the highest rates of species loss and the highest mammal extinction rate in the world. The eastern coast of Australia is an international deforestation hot-spot with almost half of all forested areas having been lost since European colonisation. We currently have more than 1,700 species and ecological communities threatened and at risk of extinction. Landclearing for urban sprawl, linear economic models and the failure to adequately regulate waste and pollution from industry and consumption are all symptoms arising from the same extractivist mindset, one in which nature is only valued in terms of its utility toward human wants and needs.
The international movement to recognise the legal rights of nature offers an alternative perspective. This movement seeks to shift away from anthropocentric extractivist mentalities, towards more ecocentric or nature centered principles.
Western laws historically have defined nature in terms of “property” rather than as potential rights bearing entities. Early attempts by parliaments to legislate environmental protections, or by the common law to curtail or punish certain behaviours, were justified on the impact to human health or property rights. As our knowlege of environmental sciences has improved, philosophies have evolved to the point where it is now widely accepted that species, ecosystems and the earth itself has intrinsic value and the inherent right to exist and flourish unpolluted. The international Rights of Nature movement seeks to entrench these moral rights into law. Already around the world there are more than 400 initiatives in over 40 countries that have recognised the rights of nature in laws, regulations or practices.
The majority of these fall within three broad categories: Granting legal personhood to nature (most commonly through guardians over a particular geographic area), creating specific legal entities (without legal standing) to give advice and advocate on behalf of a species or ecosystem, or the creation of specific duties in relation to nature.
But for a few exceptions in Australia, the moral rights of nature are not protected by law. Over the coming months TEC will be running webinars and engaging with academics, indigenous groups, activists and other interested parties to discover how we can improve our laws to better recognise the moral rights of nature. We'll be seeking your input to help identify areas of opportunity, promote rights of nature, and shape our ongoing campaign.
Our first webinar was hosted for International Mother Earth Day in April 2025, and is available to watch online here:
Participants of the webinar were asked to complete a questionnaire about Rights of Nature, to inform our evolving campaign. The majority of participants were of the view that the natural environment has a moral right to exist, regenerate and flourish, and that Australia’s environmental laws did not adequately protect these rights.
In terms of specific forms of recognition, 87% of survey participants wanted rights of nature principles recognised at all three levels of government.
83% of participants wanted to see specific obligations to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent or minimise environmental harm entrenched in legislation in NSW within the next five years.
Participants raised a number of rivers and waterways, species and ecosystems as worthy of individual consideration as focal points for exploration for potential application of rights of nature principles. Following the interest raised we arranged a preliminary in-person workshop in July 2026 in Sydney to explore these ideas further in relation to rivers and waterways. The outcomes of this workshop will be reported on shortly.