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Political representation of nature

Snæfellsjökull, a glacier in the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland, was a nominee to run in the 2024 Icelandic presidential elections.[1]
The Whanganui River, and its tributaries were established as a legal entity with its own standing in 2012.[2]

Political representation of nature refers to the concept and practice of granting political, or institutional standing to nonhuman entities—such as animals, plants, and ecosystems—within governance systems.[3] This concept has developed to incorporate natural entities in political decision-making, reflecting debates about human-centered governance's effectiveness in environmental protection.[4][5]

The debate in this field is driven by emerging trends, including the political turn in environmental ethics and the representative turn in political theory. Following progress in legal representation for nonhuman nature, such as the granting of legal personhood to animals,[6] rivers[2] and ecosystems,[7] the conversation has broadened to consider how nature can be represented within legislative and executive branches of government.[8]

  1. ^ Kassam, Ashifa (2024-04-19). "Bid to secure spot for glacier in Icelandic presidential race heats up". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  2. ^ a b "Saving the Whanganui: can personhood rescue a river?". The Guardian. 2019-11-29. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  3. ^ Burke, Anthony; Fishel, Stefanie (2020), Pereira, Joana Castro; Saramago, André (eds.), "Across Species and Borders: Political Representation, Ecological Democracy and the Non-Human", Non-Human Nature in World Politics: Theory and Practice, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 33–52, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49496-4_3, ISBN 978-3-030-49496-4, retrieved 2024-09-18
  4. ^ Pereira, Joana Castro; Saramago, André (2020), Pereira, Joana Castro; Saramago, André (eds.), "Introduction: Embracing Non-Human Nature in World Politics", Non-Human Nature in World Politics: Theory and Practice, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–9, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49496-4_1, ISBN 978-3-030-49496-4, retrieved 2024-09-18
  5. ^ Watts, Jonathan (2024-01-01). "Could 2024 be the year nature rights enter the political mainstream?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  6. ^ "Orangutan Sandra granted personhood settles into new Florida home". The Guardian. 2019-11-07. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  7. ^ Jones, Sam (2022-09-21). "Endangered Mar Menor lagoon in Spain granted legal status as a person". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  8. ^ Magaña, Pablo (2022-10-07). "The Political Representation of Nonhuman Animals". Social Theory and Practice. 48 (4): 665–690. doi:10.5840/soctheorpract2022811171.
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