Rights of Nature: What landowners need to know
The concept of “Rights of Nature” is moving steadily from the margins of legal theory into mainstream policy debate. Most recently, it has entered the parliamentary spotlight through the Nature’s Rights Bill, currently progressing through the House of Lords. The Bill would recognise nature as a legal subject in its own right, granting enforceable rights and imposing duties of care on public bodies, businesses and individuals.
Whether the Bill ultimately becomes law remains uncertain. Its significance lies less in its legislative prospects and more in what it reveals about the evolving relationship between law, the environment and economic activity.
Opening the Second Reading debate, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle reminded the House that “more than half of the world’s gross domestic product is highly or moderately dependent on nature”. Her argument was that, despite decades of environmental legislation, biodiversity decline continues, prompting questions about whether existing legal frameworks are sufficient to safeguard the natural systems upon which societies and economies depend.
A growing international movement
The proposal reflects a wider international trend. Ecuador incorporated Rights of Nature into its constitution in 2008, while New Zealand has recognised the Whanganui River as a legal entity represented by appointed guardians. These developments challenge the traditional view of nature as property or a resource to be managed and instead recognise that natural systems may have interests capable of legal protection in their own right.
More broadly, environmental issues are increasingly being viewed through the lens of governance, risk and accountability rather than environmental regulation alone. In the Philippines, recent legal analysis concluded that directors’ existing duties may require them to identify, assess and manage financially material nature-related risks as part of their wider governance responsibilities. Significantly, the analysis did not suggest the creation of new duties. Rather, it argued that nature-related risks should already fall within the scope of directors’ existing obligations where they are material to the business.
What this could mean for landowners
The United Kingdom presents a different challenge from many of the jurisdictions in which Rights of Nature concepts have emerged. England in particular is a highly managed landscape. The same land is frequently expected to support food production, biodiversity recovery, flood mitigation, water management, carbon sequestration, public access, energy infrastructure and economic development simultaneously. Balancing those demands inevitably requires choices and trade-offs, and any rights-based approach would need to operate within that reality.
An opportunity for active land management
Yet the debate also presents an opportunity. The UK’s long tradition of active land management places
landowners and rural businesses in a strong position to demonstrate how environmental enhancement and productive land use can work together. Whether through habitat creation, natural flood management, sustainable food production or participation in emerging environmental markets, many
estates are already delivering outcomes that governments and policymakers increasingly seek to encourage.
Rights of Nature may or may not become part of the UK’s legal landscape. However, the debate serves as a reminder that the value of land is increasingly being understood not only in terms of what it produces, but also in terms of the wider benefits it provides. For those managing land, that presents an opportunity to help shape the conversation and demonstrate the vital role that well-managed landscapes can play in delivering environmental, economic and societal outcomes.
What this means in practice
Whilst Rights of Nature remains an emerging concept rather than a legal reality in England and Wales,
the debate highlights the growing importance of demonstrating responsible stewardship, environmental outcomes and informed decision-making. Landowners already delivering these outcomes are well placed to contribute practical experience to the discussion.
