A Symposium: National Interest, Representation, and the State: Implications for the Recognition of Rights of Nature

The recognition of nature as a legal rightsholder has occurred in an increasing number of jurisdictions, particularly in the global South. In October of 2022, the Spanish Parliament approved the first rights-of-nature law in Europe when it recognized the legal personhood of the Mar Menor lagoon. Two questions that commonly arise when such legal recognition is contemplated are political as much as legal: how nature will be represented and the relation of its recognition as a rightsholder to environmental and political concepts of the national interest. This symposium, organized by the Formas-funded research project Realizing Rights of Nature: Sustaining Development and Democracy, is designed to bring together scholars from different fields and members of the public for a conversation about these questions and their implications for the impact of rights of nature on democracy. To provide context and spark discussion scholars working in political and legal fields will discuss the themes of representation and national interest more broadly.