https://www.juancole.com/2026/06/critical-moment-history.html
"Greenfield, Mass. (Special to
Informed Comment; Feature) – “Ecosystems,
wildlife and the Earth itself are living beings with inherent rights to exist,
evolve and regenerate.” This, the Rights of Nature philosophy and movement, is
led by Indigenous people worldwide who hold that humans are partners and
guardians not owners of land, water and wildlife. Indigenous peoples perceive
land, air and water as ancestors from whom they come. They identify who they
themselves are through their rivers, their mountains, their forests who
comprise their physical/spiritual life force. Behold stories of their
successes for the world.
How did Māori Indigenous knowledge and persistence make the Whanganui River
officially a living being and legal person in New Zealand? Theirs was almost a
century and a half legal fight involving many generations. Thanks to the savvy
of elders and more progressive politicians in the New Zealand government in the
early 2000s their efforts achieved a treaty, the
Whanganui River Claims
Settlement Act, which recognized the river as a legal person. To the elders
surprise the settlement has had global significance. One elder reflected that
New Zealand is just a “speck in the sand” and their victory is an “opening for
others around the world” to go and do the likewise” for land, for forests, for
mountains.
As a child growing up along the banks of Colombia’s Magdalena River, Yuvelis
Morales Blanco learned to read the water. “Dark spots on the river” (from an
oil spill) “meant we were not going to eat.” Beginning in 2018, at 16 she
became one of Colombia’s strongest activists for the Rights of Nature. By
2026, Morales Blanco was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize known as the
Green Nobel Prize, for her fierce activism in stopping fracking in Colombia.
She co-founded a youth-led anti-fracking organization in her hometown Puerto
Wilches, which educates local fishers and farmers about all the environmental
risks of fracking: including groundwater contamination, seismic activity,
aquifer depletion, and serious human health impacts, within the ecosystem of
the Magdalena River. Their efforts reflect a broader legal and moral argument:
“ecosystems like the Magdalena River should be treated not as resources to
exploit, but as living systems with rights.” Nature gives us life, “I am the
daughter of the river”: we cannot live without water, but we can without fossil
fuels, Blanco insists. No matter who the people elect in 2026, be it a far
right contender or the leftist senator, supported by Gustavo Petro, the current
progressive president who has placed a moratorium on new oil and gas
exploration, she vows to sustain her activism."
Via Rod Mesa and Muse.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
