Summary
In 2022 a network of citizens collaborating in the campaign Maas Cleanup launched a petition to recognize the River Maas as a subject with rights. The petition is to recognize the Maas/Meuse River as possessing the fundamental rights: (1) to flow; (2) to perform the essential ecological functions in its ecosystem, including providing healthy housing for fish, amphibians, aquatic plants and other river life; (3) to be free from pollution; (4) to feed and be fed by a healthy underground aquifer; (5) to native biodiversity; (6) to restoration.
In early 2023 citizens were collecting signatures to present to the Netherlands House of Representatives, asking members to investigate how to use current legislation and regulations to establish the fundamental rights of the Maas River.