Under consideration PE2131: Grant Scottish rivers, including the River Clyde, the legal right to personhood
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to grant the River Clyde, and potentially other rivers in Scotland, the legal right to personhood by:
adopting the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Rivers
appointing a Nature Director to act as a guardian of the River Clyde, with the responsibility for upholding its river rights
considering whether an alternative mechanism should be established to act for the rights of the river, its inhabitants (human and non-human), and society at large.
Background information
The Universal Declaration of River Rights (UDRR, 2020) was first developed by Earth Law Center in 2017, and provides a framework of six minimum rights that are possessed by rivers.
Our podcast, 'Who owns the Clyde?', centres around the unrealised potential of the Clyde due to fragmented ownership and inconsistent stewardship. Granting the Clyde legal personhood would enable ecological and common human interests to thrive.
International examples of granting legal personhood to rivers as a means of protecting natural habitats and the common good include:
Whanganui River, New Zealand granted personhood in 2017
Hundreds of Bangladesh's rivers were legally designated as living people in 2019
2021, Canada's Magpie River, called the Mutuhekau Shipu by the Innu First Nation, gained legal personhood.
We held three well-attended events joined by residents, Leader of the Glasgow City Council Susan Aitken, Councillor Graham Campbell, Paul Sweeney MSP, Councillor Holly Bruce, and former MSPs Sandra Whyte and Andy Wightman.
451 signatures
This petition is now under consideration
Click here for further information about the consideration of this petition.