Earth Law Center Blog
Lake Titicaca in Danger: Community Action and the Rights of Nature
Lake Titicaca, a large mountain lake on the border of Perú and Bolivia, is sacred to the Aymara and Quechua peoples. Known as “Qota Mama” in the Aymara language, signifying the goddess of water in Andean cultures, the lake faces a serious environmental crisis that threatens its balance and the culture that has nurtured it for generations. In response, Earth Law Center's Latin America Legal Program is collaborating with Indigenous communities to defend the lake's rights, strengthen leadership—especially among women and youth—and support legal actions aimed at protecting the lake. Their work shows that recognizing the lake as a subject of rights is crucial for healing its waters and safeguarding the life, culture, and future of the Altiplano.
Lough Neagh: How Rights of Nature Could Restore a Lake and a Community
Lough Neagh (the Anglicized version of the Irish name, Loch nEachach, pronounced “lock nay,”) is the largest lake in the United Kingdom, an important resource for drinking water and the local fishing and farming economies. But it’s in trouble. Raw sewage and agricultural runoff have harmed the lake, including cyanobacteria algae blooms so bad they could be seen from space. Spurred by the crisis, a coalition of Earth law experts (principally Lawyers for Nature, Earth Law Center, Queen’s University Belfast School of Law, and a corporate law advisor from Pillsbury) have outlined several options for the community, including transfer pathways that would result in the lough’s self ownership.