Why does nature need its own rights?

As ecosystems increasingly face exploitation, pollution and numerous other forms of human-induced degradation, how can they, as living entities, defend themselves? This is the question underpinning the growing Rights of Nature movement, advocating for landscapes and species to have legal avenues to demand reparations for the damage they endure.

Currently, Rights of Nature exist in legal systems in 17 countries, in turn supporting a host of basic human rights, from clean water and air to food security, while combatting the deleterious effects of capitalism. However, a number of obstacles stand in the way of their further spread, from corporate governance to the recognition of local and Indigenous communities.

A new documentary film, Invisible Hand (2020), explains the complexities of Rights of Nature by looking at four legal cases, exploring the history and future of this movement. Produced by investigative journalism nonprofit Public Herald and actor Mark Ruffalo, the film has received a host of accolades, and in this GLF Live, we spoke with co-director Joshua Boaz Pribanic on the learnings from the filmmaking process and the pathway forward for this crucial form of environmental conservation.

Joshua Boaz Pribanic (pronoun: ki/kin) is an American film director, editor, investigative reporter and founder of the investigative news non-profit, Public Herald. Ki is best known for his award-winning documentary films on fracking, Triple Divide (c. 2013) and Triple Divide [Redacted] (c. 2017), and for ki’s role as Editor-in-Chief and investigative journalist at Public Herald (cited in over 200 publications). Pribanic’s 2020 documentary INVISIBLE HAND showcases the “Rights of Nature” movement worldwide and will be ki’s third film collaboration with actor Mark Ruffalo — signed on as an Executive Producer — and ki’s third documentary with co-director Melissa Troutman.