Rethinking Our Place in Nature Means Rethinking the Law

Erika Schelby argues that the crisis of environmental law is philosophical before it is technical: as long as nature is legally property, no regulation can fundamentally protect it. Granting legal personhood to ecosystems — drawing on both Indigenous jurisprudence and scientific evidence — changes who can sue and on whose behalf.

Why this matters → The Atrato River (Colombia) and Ganges (India) cases reveal the same lesson: legal personhood is only the first step — it requires institutions and communities capable of wielding it.