In Columbia, the Courts have granted recognition of legal personhood for several rivers and other ecosystems (as opposed to the recognition being made by legislation passed by government).  The landmark case for legal personhood revolved around the Atrato River.  In the case of the Atrato River, ¹⁴ the Constitutional Court of Columbia considered an action brought in relation to excessive and illegal mining activities within the basin.  The Court ordered that the “Atrato River, its basin and tributaries … be recognized as an entity subject to rights of protection, conservation, maintenance and restoration by the State” ¹⁵.  Further, the national government was ordered to exercise legal guardianship and representation of the rights of the river, along with the communities that inhabit the river basin. One impact of this decision is that a “more coordinated and participatory formulation of more integral public policies to enforce the river’s rights to protection, conservation, maintenance and restauration {sic}” has been adopted ¹⁶.

In reaching this conclusion, the Court reviewed several principles of the Colombian constitution, important environmental principles, and international legal principles.  The Court stated:

nature and the environment are a cross-cutting element of the Colombian constitutional order.  It’s importance lies, of course, in attention to the human beings that inhabit and the need to have a healthy environment to live a dignified life in decent conditions; but also in relation to the other living organisms with whom the plant is shared, which are understood to be worthy of protection in themselves. It is about being aware of the interdependence that connects us to all living beings on earth; that is, recognizing ourselves as integral parts of the global ecosystem — the biosphere –, rather than from normative categories of domination, simple exploitation, or utility ¹⁷.

Since the decision regarding the Atrato River, the Columbia courts have gone on to grant legal personhood to additional Colombian rivers, as well other ecosystems ¹⁸. For example, the entirety of the Amazon River within Columbia has been granted legal personhood by the Supreme Court of Columbia ¹⁹. In this case, a group of young people brought an action claiming their rights to life, health and enjoyment of a healthy environment were violated by uncontrolled deforestation in the Amazon region.  The Court declared that the Colombian Amazon is “an entity, subject of rights, and beneficiary of the protection, conservation, maintenance and restoration” to be provided by the national and local governments ²⁰. In the Columbia Amazon decision, theCourt also required development of short, medium and large term action plans to combat deforestation and the impacts of climate change, as well as the development of land use plans.

In India, the Uttarakhand High Court granted legal personhood to the Ganges and Yamunotri Rivers and to the Gangotri and Yamunotri Glaciers in two separate decisions ²¹. For both the rivers and the glaciers, the court considered their sacred nature, the high levels of pollution, and the rate of glacier recession ²².

The decision pertaining to the Ganges and Yamunotri Rivers was later set aside by the India Supreme Court because of potential interference in rights of other Indian provinces and uncertain identification of responsibility in the case of natural disaster  (How are rights balanced? LINK) ²³.  However, it appears that the decision regarding the personhood of the Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers still stands, and that courts in India continue to recognize the rights of nature ²⁴. Most recently, the Madras High Court, in considering concerns with destruction of a forest, declared Mother Nature as a legal person with “all corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person, in order preserve and conserve them… and the rights akin to fundamental rights/legal rights /constitutional rights for their survival, safety, sustenance and resurgence in order to maintain its status and also to promote their health and wellbeing” ²⁵.