Rights of Rivers

Efforts to recognise the rights of rivers aim to give rivers legal standing, either by treating a river as a ‘legal person’ or by appointing guardians to act in its interests. Legal personhood is a mechanism that allows a non-human entity, such as a company, to hold rights and duties in law.

Campaigns for legal rights for rivers have taken place both internationally and closer to home, including in various counties in England. Proponents argue that recognising the rights of rivers improves environmental protection and can address environmental harm more directly than traditional approaches, while critics question compatibility with existing legal models and the practicalities of enforcement.

How might rivers be afforded rights?

There are two main approaches by which rivers might be afforded rights:

• the ‘direct legal personhood’ model, which grants a river legal personhood in its own right
• the ‘indirect legal personhood’ model, which creates a separate legal person, such as a statutory body, to represent a river’s interests without changing the status of the river itself

These approaches draw on wider academic and legal theories of the rights of nature. Existing Indigenous laws and practices are also relevant, as many Indigenous communities understand humans and nature as part of a shared community, with reciprocal responsibilities.

What are the implications of affording rights to rivers?

The legal case monitor Eco Jurisprudence tracks environmental legislation and litigation worldwide, including court cases and civil society declarations. It estimates that, globally, there have been approximately 115 legal initiatives focused specifically on freshwater.

The briefing provides an overview of the discussions and stakeholder perspectives about whether rights of rivers add systemic advantages over improved implementation of existing environmental law.

Proponents of recognising the rights of rivers argue that doing so can raise the profile of river health, translate nature-centred values into legal processes, and, in some contexts, strengthen protection where traditional regulation has proved inadequate. It has also been argued that recognising the rights of rivers offers a way to reflect Indigenous legal traditions within current legislative contexts.

Challenges in implementing rights for rivers include extending the concept of personhood to new entities, deciding who represents a river and how they are held to account, and operationalising a river’s rights. Even where courts recognise new rights, enforcement can mirror the limitations of existing environmental law. This is especially the case where institutions have limited capacity or where there are persistent pressures such as diffuse pollution or illegal extraction.

The briefing also highlights concerns from some Indigenous perspectives about equating rights of nature with Indigenous rights or reframing complex relationships with land and water in narrow legal terms.

Developments in England

Recently, there have been calls to recognise the rights of specific local rivers in England in the context of river condition and regulation. Following the local recognition of the River Ouse charter by Lewes District Council in 2025, several other local authorities have also passed rights of rivers motions. Additionally, there are both national and local campaigns to encourage recognition of these rights.

Nationally, the UK Government has not adopted proposals to recognise the rights of nature or of rivers. There has been limited Parliamentary discussion, however related discussions have taken place in both the Senedd Cymru and Scottish Parliament.