Florencia (Colombia) Municipal Law: rights of the Hacha river
On 1 December 2025, the Municipal Council of Florencia in Colombia passed a law recognizing the Hacha River as a subject of rights.Read More →
Government
This page identifies ecological jurisprudence initiatives in which one or more of the initiators is a government entity at any level (e.g., municipal, provincial, state, national). This category only applies to government entities in the executive and legislative branches. Court-led initiatives are tracked through a different category.
Herefordshire (UK) Council Motion: charter for the rights of the River Wye
On 5 December 2025, a motion on a "Charter for the Rights of the River Wye" was brought before the Herefordshire Council and was approved by a simple majority.Read More →
North Carolina (USA): Rights of the Rivers Act 2025
On 10 March 2025, a bill was introduced in the North Carolina state legislature to recognize and protect the rights of the Dan and Haw River ecosystems.Read More →
Lucerne (Switzerland) Parliamentary Inquiry: right to a healthy environment and legal personality of nature
In June 2023 Rahel Estermann submitted an inquiry on the right to a healthy environment and legal personality of nature that sparked a debate in Lucerne.Read More →
Ecuador National Law: rights of non-human animals
In 2022, a draft national law in Ecuador on the rights of non-human animals was formally presented to the National Assembly by Ecuador’s Defensoría del Pueblo.Read More →
Kyrgyzstan Criminal Code (1997): ecocide
In 1997, the Kyrgyz Republic codified the crime of ecocide in its Criminal Code.Read More →
Tajikistan Criminal Code (1998): ecocide
In 1998, Tajikistan formally recognized ecocide at the national level by including provisions in its Criminal Code addressing severe environmental destruction.Read More →
African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN): declaring ecocide as a continental priority
In July 2025, African Environment Ministers agreed at the AMCEN 20 to include ecocide in the continent’s environmental priorities for the 2025-2027 biennium.Read More →