{"id":89269,"date":"2017-03-27T12:01:03","date_gmt":"2017-03-27T11:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=89269"},"modified":"2017-04-04T09:58:04","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T08:58:04","slug":"these-two-rivers-were-just-given-the-same-legal-rights-as-humans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/03\/these-two-rivers-were-just-given-the-same-legal-rights-as-humans\/","title":{"rendered":"These Two Rivers Were Just Given the Same Legal Rights as Humans in India"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Ganges River. Photo credit: Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

21 Mar 2017 – <\/em>While the U.S. makes it easier<\/a> for coal companies to dump mining waste into streams and waterways, other countries are acknowledging the importance of water and granting personhood<\/a> to these precious resources.<\/p>\n

The High Court of the Indian state of Uttarakhand ruled that the Ganges and Yamuna rivers and their tributaries are “legal and living entities having the status of a legal person with all corresponding rights, duties and liabilities.”<\/p>\n

The decision marks the first time a court has recognized a non-human as a living entity in India.<\/p>\n

Judges Rajeev Sharma and Alok Singh cited the example<\/a> of New Zealand’s Whanganui River, which became the first in the world to be granted the same legal rights as a person last week.<\/p>\n

The decision by New Zealand’s Parliament marked the end of the country’s longest-running court case, as the Whanganui Iwi have long fought for the recognition of their authority over the river and consider it “an indivisible and living whole.”<\/p>\n

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World's First River Given Legal Status as a Person https:\/\/t.co\/cQqscoDqi4<\/a> via @EcoWatch<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/LJeUbX8QT8<\/a><\/p>\n

— Climate Council (@climatecouncil) March 20, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n