Rights of Nature and Biodiversity Renewal in the UK

Research team

David Bavin (project lead) – National Trust

Siobhan Vye – National Trust

Sicily Fiennes – National Trust

Claire Collins – National Trust

Bryony Aitchison – National Trust

Sarah Crowley – University of Exeter

Matthew Heard – National Trust

Partners

Collaborators

Theme

ExCASES missions provide short, intense periods of focus towards issues communicated as priorities for RENEW partner organisations and external stakeholders. The ExCASES team work collaboratively with people across different sectors and disciplines, co-designing research and participatory processes to generate empowering outcomes for people and the environment. 

Aims

Rights of Nature (RoN) is an emerging legal approach that treats parts of nature, such as species, landscapes or ecosystems, as having rights to exist and thrive rather than being seen as for human benefit alone. In the UK RoN has developed mainly through legal advocacy, community led initiatives, local authority motions and voluntary governance experiments, with limited engagement from ecologists, conservation practitioners and land managers.

The aim of this mission was to:  

• Holistically explore how Rights of Nature might interact with and potentially affect conservation and land management policy and practices in the UK;
• Identify opportunities, challenges, knowledge gaps and future directions. 

Approach

We conducted a rapid scoping of the academic and general literature to appraise the current situation in the UK, working initially with RENEW partners and external collaborators to gather information, identifying stakeholder needs and points of potential intervention in relation to Rights of Nature in the UK.

We then engaged with environmental lawyers, policymakers, RoN advocates, community activists, scientists, ecologists and land managers across a participatory process, culminating in a two-day facilitated workshop in London. 

Impact

We facilitated the sharing of learning, experience, and insights between stakeholders from different disciplines and sectors.

We produced a report of the process, and a policy brief for decision-makers.

We have submitted a Policy Direction, produced in collaboration with the mission participants, to the Journal of Applied Ecology. This will inform policy makers, conservation scientists and practitioners.

The policy brief has been shared with the Parliamentary Office for Science & Technology, and the House of Commons Library.

ExCASES collaborated with the British Ecological Society on a panel event, exploring ‘Could Rights of Nature save Britain’s disappearing wildlife?’. Panellists included Nathalie Bennet (Green Party), Sallie Bailey (Chief Scientist for Natural England), Paul Powlesland (Lawyers for Nature), Yadvinder Malhi (Oxford University), and Caroline Howe (Imperial College London). ExCASES disseminated the policy brief and spoke about the mission outcomes with attendees and panellists.

Testimonials

“The workshop has massively expanded my understanding of Rights of Nature and what it could mean for biodiversity renewal and rivers”  – Conservation practitioner

“I really valued all of the different expertise and love the multi-disciplinary outlook”  – RoN activist and community organiser 

“I think it’s crucial to keep conversations between ecologists, conservationists, land managers and Rights of Nature practitioners open”  – Legal philosopher

“The workshop on Rights of Nature and follow on activities broke new ground in bringing people together from a range of backgrounds; in particular bringing conservationists into contact with the campaigners, lawyers and philosophers who have been at the forefront of RoN. This led to important debates and outcomes which will bring RoN more into the sphere of conservation research and practice. The workshop was well run and brought out debates and contradictions in a constructive way, leading to improved consensus.” – Professor James Bullock, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Next Steps

• We are collaborating with the British Ecological Society to address current knowledge gaps, and to progress exploration of the future directions and opportunities identified in the mission outcomes.  
• We are organising an event to explore embedding justice-based governance within landscape-scale protected area management, using UNESCO Biosphere Reserves as model systems. 

Outputs

Mission outputs will be published here shortly.