The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers: Updates on a Global Movement

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The movement towards the rights of rivers and watersheds continues to grow precipitously. Hear from leading advocates across the world about their work to recognize and implement the rights of rivers. Also learn about the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers, an initiative to define basic rights for all rivers.

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The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers (“Declaration”) is an initiative to define the basic rights to which all rivers are entitled. According to its proponents, the Declaration intends to build awareness and serve as a customizable legal model for governments wishing to join the rights of rivers movement. The Declaration now has support from over 200 organizations from 40 countries and is being used in legal campaigns in El Salvador, France, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the UK, and USA, amongst other places. In parallel, the larger movement towards recognizing the rights of rivers in law has continued to grow rapidly. Globally, over the past year, rights have been recognized or declared for Boulder Creek and the Boulder Creek Watershed (Nederland, USA, using language from the Declaration), the Magpie River (Canada), waterways in Orange County, Florida (USA), the Alpayacu River (Ecuador), and the Paraná River and Wetlands and Argentina (Rosario, Brazil).