ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the recognition of rivers as legal subjects in Aotearoa New Zealand, India and Colombia, critically analysing the theoretical, legal and practical implications of granting nature legal personhood. It explores how these frameworks redefine environmental governance, from treating nature as a legal object to recognizing it as a rights-holder within more ecological and relational perspectives. By comparing governance models – Indigenous-led co-management in Aotearoa New Zealand, state guardianship in India and biocultural rights in Colombia – the chapter assesses their potential to advance environmental protection and justice. Situating these cases within the broader context of legal pluralism, the chapter interrogates whether these legal innovations lead to meaningful transformations in ecological governance or risk becoming symbolic instruments that fail to challenge extractivist policies and entrenched power structures. The analysis highlights the role of judicial activism, local knowledge systems and constitutional frameworks in shaping these approaches, as well as the tensions between legal recognition and enforcement. Ultimately, the chapter reflects on whether rights of nature frameworks offer substantive legal and political tools for addressing environmental crises or whether they risk being co-opted by dominant legal and economic systems. The chapter situates these cases within broader debates on legal personhood and environmental justice.
