Summary
On September 27, 2024, D66, GroenLinks, and the Party for the Animals presented an initiative proposal to the Groningen Municipal Council that requests an investigation into the possibilities of giving nature or certain nature areas within the Municipality of Groningen rights and legal personality – including investigating which nature or which nature reserve in Groningen is most suitable for this, finding a good representation to interpret the voice of nature and consulting the opinions of residents throughout the process. Various forms for this are elaborated in the proposal.
The initiative proposal states “Giving nature a voice can be done in different ways: by giving nature rights, or by appointing a guardian to stand up for nature…This initiative proposal asks to start the discussion about a voice for nature in the Municipality of Groningen and to investigate together with residents for which areas in the municipality this could be a good solution in order to ensure that nature in Groningen can flourish and biodiversity can be strengthened.”
Regarding granting legal personality to nature, the proposal states “There are two possibilities, the legal line where a nature area is given legal personality, and a softer line where only a chair is put at the table for a guardian. In the case of legal personality, nature itself can go to court to defend its interests. So not a nature organization, but the nature area itself. A guardian can defend its rights on behalf of nature. A combination of these is also possible.”