Prior to the LeidenGlobal Public Annual Event is this Masterclass for PhD Candidates and (Research) Master Students, together with dr. Shivant Jhagroe (Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Leiden University), who is studying and promoting the rights of water bodies in the Netherlands, and dr. Diana Vela Almeida (Copernicus Institute, Utrecht University), a scholar and activist working on indigenous land rights in Latin America.

Should nature be given rights? Recently, the idea that nature should have legal rights has gained support worldwide. However, is the idea of giving rights to nature the best way to produce a new kind of human-nature relationship? If nature has legal personhood, could entities such as states or corporations sue rivers for flooding? And is there a risk that ecosystems with rights will displace indigenous communities, whose worldviews often lie at the basis of these rights?