From a national law to a UN declaration: the road so far
Updated: 4 days ago
In short: Panama passed the world's third national Rights of Nature law in 2022, then partnered with forNature to push the idea onto the global stage. In April 2026, that effort became a formal diplomatic campaign for a UN Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature, a non-binding but precedent-setting global standard, not a treaty.
What is the Rights of Nature movement?
The Rights of Nature movement holds that ecosystems and species have an inherent right to exist, thrive, and regenerate — not just value as resources for people. Since 2009, the movement has worked to bring this idea into global recognition through the UN's Harmony with Nature programme. Bolivia made an early attempt to take it global in 2011, but the push stalled. It took until 2026, and Panama's willingness to lead, for a country to pick the cause back up.
How did Panama get involved?
forNature was founded by Callie Veelenturf, a marine biologist whose sea turtle research in Panama led her to a bigger question: what if Nature itself had legal standing? That question connected her to the existing global Rights of Nature movement, and she helped catalyze two Panamanian laws: Law 287, the country's national Rights of Nature law (2022, the third such national law in the world), and Law 371, the world's first species-specific Rights of Nature law, protecting sea turtles.
What did Panama and forNature announce in 2026?
On April 10, 2026, forNature signed a memorandum of understanding with Panama's Ministry of the Environment to lead a diplomatic push for a UN Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature. The plan includes building the forNature Coalition of States, an alliance of countries backing the Declaration at the UN General Assembly.
Is the UN Declaration legally binding?
No. Like the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights it's modeled on, a UN Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature would not be a binding treaty. It would set a shared global standard, one that could shape national laws in the more than 40 countries and territories that already recognize Nature as a rights-bearing subject.
Where does the process stand now?
forNature and Panama are working to add operative paragraphs to a UN resolution providing the formal first step toward a full Declaration. If adopted, it opens a multi-year, co-facilitated drafting process involving more than 130 countries. If not adopted, the movement waits for the next country willing to lead.
