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The members of The Leatherback Project are nursing warm Cokes and thin coffee at a military base on the edge of Panama City. Nearby, four Panamanian air force mechanics are silhouettes against a sunlit green backdrop of jungle as they huddle around a tiny camouflage-painted Cessna. It is unclear when the little plane last flew, but it is definitely not ready for takeoff. The team’s departure hour on that plane has been a moving target all morning, and now it’s creeping into afternoon. They...

In short: On August 11, 2026, the National Geographic Society and forNature announced 10 Explorer-led projects spanning five continents, each working to build the scientific, legal and community evidence behind the Rights of Nature movement. What is the forNature program? The forNature program is a collaboration between National Geographic Explorer Callie Veelenturf and the National Geographic Society, made possible through the support of The Alfred Kobacker and Elizabeth Trimbach Fund. It...

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 —...