Snohomish River Gains Legal Rights

Voters in Everett, Washington approved a ballot measure that gives the Snohomish River the legal right to “exist, regenerate, and flourish,” reports Katie Surma for Inside Climate News.

According to Surma, “Everett’s referendum is part of the fast-growing rights of nature movement that has cemented into law rights of individual species and ecosystems. The laws are aimed at preserving the integrity of the natural world and have been enacted in more than a dozen countries, including Spain, Ecuador, Colombia and New Zealand.”

The law paves the way for city agencies, residents, and organizations to sue polluters on behalf of the river. As Surma explains, “Rights of nature laws tend to provide a higher level of protection than conventional regulations, which typically regulate the pace and amount of pollution allowed. Rights of nature laws flip that concept on its head. They can require that it is better to avoid risks to ecosystems that could lead to irreversible damage, absent scientific evidence that shows the risks are manageable.”