Recognising Nature Rights

Paul Powlesland is a barrister who campaigns for the legal recognition of the rights of nature. He founded Lawyers for Nature under the banner: ‘representing the natural world and all who are seeking to defend it’. Lawyers for Nature gives legal advice, proposes legislation, and provides free legal representation for environmental activists. He managed to stop the illegal arrests of activists in Sheffield standing under trees to protect them and those previously arrested received compensation. He has a particular love for rivers. He set up friends of the River Roding in Barking to revive a stretch of the river- bank and restore access for the local community. He has stated the need for urgent action to defend the natural world: ‘We stand at the most crucial juncture in the history of humanity. It’s a really weird time since we are at the “make-or-break” of our civilisation... No part of our civilisation will remain untouched if it collapses; not even our legal system and yet everyone is blithely carrying on as if this issue is not real.’

Here he argues for the introduction of nature rights.

You can read more about Paul in this article published in Counsel Magazine,

https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/wild-law-paul-powlesland

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