Descripción del proyecto
This project ‘How Do Trees Stand? Legal Viability and Efficacy of Rights of Nature and Implications for the European Union’ (HRoN) asks: How does the conceptualisation of Rights of Nature (RoN) inform a more consistent EU policy and legal response to RoN? Despite the growing awareness of RoN, little research has examined the relationship between its legal viability and efficacy. The fact that two European Union (EU) bodies received contrasting advice from recently requested studies on whether and how the EU should respond to RoN underscores a need for conceptualising RoN. HRoN addresses this gap by investigating three aspects of RoN: conceptualisation, legal practice, and policy and legal implications for the EU. First, I will devise a conceptual framework that charts the legal composition of RoN, based on which its legal viability can be evaluated. Then, I will conduct seven case studies in three countries (i.e., Australia, New Zealand, and the US), using interdisciplinary methods combining legal interpretation, qualitative research, and law-in-context analysis to identify the relationship between the legal viability of RoN and its efficacy in legal practice, and to what extent contexts play a role. Finally, based on the theoretical and empirical research, I will analyse their policy and legal implications for the EU in responding to RoN. HRoN is an interdisciplinary project that combines the expertise at the University of Southern Denmark and the Centre for Law, Sustainability, and Justice on innovative legal approaches to sustainability, with my multidisciplinary research experience in law, philosophy, and social science over the past fifteen years. HRoN will be pioneering in conceptualising RoN that is supported by qualitative study with policy-relevant outputs. It will be particularly valuable for the EU’s decision making on RoN. This research directly contribute to achieving Horizon Europe, European Green Deal, and Sustainable Development Goals.