Granting Rights of Nature to the Wadden Sea?

Up till now, all legislation has failed to prevent a substantial deterioration in the quality of ecosystems, the ecological status of wildlife and the quality of the landscape. This insight has been instrumental in the search for new approaches in law to better protect nature, including the Rights of Nature (RoN) doctrine: the attribution of legal personality and rights to components of nature.

Katja Philippart handed the first copy to Minister Christianne van der Wal.

Cover report 2022-04 Granting Rights of Nature to the Wadden Sea? An exploratory study

In the Netherlands, the issue of whether the Wadden Sea should be granted rights has been raised, for instance, in parliament and a Frisian municipality. The approach could connect well with the aim of the trilateral cooperation to protect the Wadden region as one integral ecological unit. However, it is important to know more about the possible implications of such a granting of rights. Therefore, at the request of the Wadden Academy, prof. Tineke Lambooy (Nyenrode University) and fellow researchers Tessa van Soest and Ignace Bremer carried out a study on how a Rights of Nature approach could be designed for the Wadden Sea and whether it could be a promising approach for strengthening the protection of the region's ecological values.

The study, which was presented at the 14th Trilateral Governmental Conference at Wilhelmshaven, contains sufficient indications that make it worthwhile to further explore the possible application of the Rights of Nature approach to the Wadden Sea, which is in line with the interest expressed for this approach at the trilateral level.

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