JACKSON, Wyo. — On Monday, July 1, the Town of Jackson passed a resolution to recognize and uphold the rights of nature.
The Town Council defined nature as “the physical world and everything in it, including plants, animals, mountains, rivers and other features and products of the earth.”
According to the Town, recognizing the rights of nature is considered a global movement led by Indigenous people who live their lives rooted in the idea that nature has the right to exist and flourish. Town staff asked various local Tribes to review the resolution, and Tribal Nations specifically prioritized the inclusion of humans as a part of nature.
The Town Council staff report lists many examples of nature being recognized for its own intrinsic value all over the world. In 2008, Ecuador became the first country to formally recognize the rights of nature in its constitution. The Bhutan Constitution has incorporated “the duty to preserve, protect and respect the environment, culture and heritage of the nation” into the fundamental duties of citizens. New Zealand granted legal personhood to select lands and rivers, and Bangladesh granted its rivers the same rights as humans.
In March, a Peruvian trial court ruled that the Marañón River has intrinsic value and possesses the rights to exist, flow and be free from pollution. In the United States, the City Council of Pittsburgh passed an ordinance in 2010 recognizing the rights of nature. In 2015, the Ho-Chunk Nation, a federally recognized Tribe of the Ho-Chunk with traditional territory across Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, became the first Tribal Nation within the United States to add a rights of nature declaration to its constitution.
On December 18, 2023, during the Town Council Workshop, staff presented the resolution as a potential strategy within the Town of Jackson Sustainability Plan. The Town of Jackson says that the Rights of Nature Resolution strategy will help encourage residents and visitors alike to acknowledge the responsibilities to preserve and protect nature. It will also serve as a reminder to elected officials and community leaders to consider the importance of the inherent rights of nature in decision-making.
