Five Rights of Nature and Ecocentric Law-related Motions to be Voted Upon at Upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2025
Media Contacts:
Grant Wilson, ELC Executive Director, gwilson@earthlaw.org, 510-566-1063
Gayle Carda, ELC International Legal Counsel, gcarda@earthlaw.org, 503-312-5358
Rights of Nature Motions at the IUCN
Rights of Nature and ecocentric law-related motions are heading to the IUCN World Conservation Congress from October 9 to 15, 2025 — a crucial international event held once every four years.
After completing the online discussion period, the IUCN Motions Working Group has referred a motion drafted by Earth Law Center (ELC), Motion 067: “Living in harmony with rivers through the rights of nature and ecocentric law”, and other ecocentric law-related motions to the Members’ Assembly for live discussion and a vote during the Congress (you can read the complete working group update here). ELC’s motion has 14 co-sponsors (listed below), and special thanks are due to International Rivers for helping with this motion.
This is a pivotal moment to unite IUCN Members behind a bold vision: the Rights of Nature and ecocentric law redefine our relationship with ecosystems—from domination to respectful coexistence.
The ecocentric law-related motions scheduled for the Members’ Assembly are:
Motion 067: Living in harmony with rivers through the rights of nature and ecocentric law - Proposed by ELC with 14 co-sponsors.
Motion 054 - Operationalising the rights of nature through their implementation in territories
Motion 055 - Recognition of the rights of Antarctica
Motion 056 - Advancing an ethical human-ocean relationship
How can you help?
Vote in support of Motions 067, 054, 055, 056 and 070 (if you are attending the Congress in person).
Respectfully encourage other IUCN Members to do the same by sharing:
That IUCN Res. 5.100 supports this shift toward ecocentric law; and
Why now is the time to show IUCN that Rights of Nature and ecocentric law are key to a just, sustainable future.
Join a contact group to discuss and endorse the motion’s language (during the virtual contact sessions or if you are attending the Congress in person).
Shoutout to the proponents of the other motions: Les Eco Maires, Wilderness Foundation Africa, Gallifrey Foundation, & SEO/BirdLife (who all represent larger coalitions of advocates and supporters). Earth Law Center is proud to be a co-sponsor of these important motions!
Shoutout to co-sponsors of the rivers motion (067): Community Action for Nature Conservation (Kenya), Center for Biological Diversity (USA), Asociación Ak' Tenamit (Guatemala), Corporación ECOPAR (Ecuador), Stop Ecocide International (UK), Institute for Nature Conservation in Albania (Albania), ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (USA), Ecological Society of the Philippines (Philippines), Synchronicity Earth (UK), Climate Action Network Tanzania / Climate Action Network Tanzania (CAN Tanzania) (Tanzania), Environment-People-Law (Ukraine), Wetlands International (The Netherlands), Nature Conservation Centre (Doğa Koruma Merkezi Vakfi) (Türkiye), and COICA ORG (Ecuador).
