Can nature be given rights? As the world grapples with the escalating climate crisis, ecosystems are collapsing, and the planet’s future hangs in the balance. For centuries, our legal systems have treated nature as something to be owned and exploited, but a bold new movement is challenging this paradigm. In The Forest Fights Back, Jessica den Outer explores a groundbreaking global movement—Rights of Nature—taking on the legal system to recognise the rights of rivers, forests, and mountains to exist, flourish, and sustain their ecological balance. From the fight for the Whanganui River in New Zealand to the battle for Spain’s Mar Menor lagoon, den Outer highlights the campaigns led by grassroots communities, telling stories of determination and legal ingenuity. This movement goes beyond law – it represents a cultural shift that could reshape how we live, think, co-exist and advocate for nature. Table of Contents Introduction1. Professor Stone and the birth of the Rights of Nature2. People and ecosystems protected from polluters in Pennsylvania3. Water bodies appear before judges in Florida4. A river with legal personality in Aotearoa/New Zealand5. A difficult struggle for sacred rivers in India6. The Colombian Amazon rainforest has a right to protection7. Rights of Mother Earth in the Constitution of Ecuador8. Spain is leading the way in Europe with rights for a lagoon9. Love Our Ouse: campaigning for river rights in England10. Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come11. Join the movementAcknowledgementsNotesFurther readingIndex About the Author Jessica den Outer is an expert in environmental law who advocates globally for the Rights of Nature. Since 2017, she’s been consulted and has spoken for institutions like the UN and Harvard. She founded the NGO ‘Stichting Rechten van de Natuur’ and has received numerous awards for her pioneering work. What People Are Saying "The Rights of Nature movement is one of the few rays of light on the dimming horizons of a planet that is racked by intersecting environmental crises. Jessica den Outer takes readers on a journey across the globe to chart the achievements of the courageous activists, indigenous leaders and legal innovators who have succeeded in having the legal rights of sacred rivers, mountains and forests recognized in Aotearoa/New Zealand, India, Spain and England. A must-read for anyone passionate about environmental justice, Indigenous rights, and the future of our planet." Amitav Ghosh "Everywhere the natural world is under threat, and for years I have been working to raise awareness, to give a voice to the voiceless, urging us to get together and work to heal the harm we have inflicted. In The Forest Fights Back, Jessica den Outer lends her voice to forests, rivers, and ecosystems that cannot speak for themselves—but whose cries for protection grow louder every day. It’s time we listened. Please read this book and you will be inspired to take action." Jane Goodall, founder, The Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace "Undoubtedly one of the next generation’s leading voices calling for Nature’s rights to be recognized legally. If Jessica, her mission, and this book sharing stories of success stories in advocacy for and implementation of the Rights of Nature does not inject you with fervent hope for the future, I am not sure what will." Callie Veelenturf, marine conservation biologist "This rousing call-to-action contends that change is not only possible but already here." Publishers Weekly
