Leidenglobal Annual Event: Should Nature Be Given Rights?

Should nature be given rights? The idea that nature should have legal rights has recently gained support worldwide. However, is the idea of giving rights to nature the best way to produce a new kind of human-nature relationship? If nature has legal personhood, could entities such as states or corporations sue rivers for flooding? And is there a risk that ecosystems with rights will displace Indigenous communities, whose worldviews often lie at the basis of these rights?

This year's Annual LeidenGlobal event invites a range of experts and activists to discuss these paradoxes and challenges. Registration to join the event. 

Programme

• 16:00-16:30 Walk-in
• 16:30-18:00 Panel discussion: Should Nature be given Rights?
• 18:00-18:45 Bites & Drinks

Panel
The panel discussion is moderated by Marja Spierenburg (Professor of Anthropology of Sustainability and Livelihood, Leiden University) and David Kloos (Senior Researcher at KITLV / the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies).

Speakers:

• Shivant Jhagroe, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University. His current research focuses on marginalised and more-than-human actors in policy and politics (e.g. racialised/low-income groups, ecosystems, algorithms). 
• Erna Lilje, Curator Indigenous Knowledge and Material Culture at the Research Centre for Material Culture (RCMC), Wereldmuseum Leiden. [TBC]
• Bernardo Ribeiro de Almeida, Ass. Professor at the Leiden University College (LUC) and Van Vollenhoven Institute (VVI). Researcher and practitioner in land tenure, law, lawmaking, and development and is currently researching the nexus between climate change response and land rights.
• Fadjar Schouten-Korwa, Lawyer and Expert in International Law, Human Rights, and the Right of Self-Determination. Fadjar is an active advocate for the protection of human rights and rights of indigenous peoples and pro bono legal counselor for Papua Support Foundation committed to securing and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms of the people of West Papua. [TBC]
• Diana Suhardiman, Director of KITLV/the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies and Professor of Natural Resource Governance, Climate and Equity at Leiden University. Working at the intersection of water, land, climate, and environmental governance.
• Diana Vela Almeida, Ass. Professor on Political Ecology of Sustainability, Copernicus Institute, Utrecht University. She works at the interface between the fields of political ecology, ecological economics, and feminist critical geography.