The Colombian Amazon Is Now a ‘Person’, and You Can Thank Actual People
In 2016, Colombian officials made a similar decision regardingthe Atrato River in the country’s northwest corner. Last week’s ruling is truly extraordinary though—in fact, this ruling is a first among this kind of “nature-as-person” climate litigation. The court based its decision on people and on future generations, not on the trees or the plants. A growing body of litigation is using future generations as an argument, but none have resulted in legally granting a piece of nature personhood.
The Colombian Amazon Is Now a ‘Person’, and You Can Thank Actual People