New Model Laws for a Legal Ecosystem That Recognizes the Rights of Nature

How can law contribute to addressing the ecological crisis of the Anthropocene? And how can knowledge from local communities, Indigenous traditions, and integrated ecological approaches be transformed into concrete, coherent, and enforceable legal norms? LUMEN addresses these questions by exploring the potential of the ecosystemic approach as the cornerstone of a global, transcultural legal system capable of including both human and non-human dimensions.

LUMEN starts from a strong premise: although current environmental law is insufficient to address the complexity of the ecological crisis, law remains a strategic lever to guide social, cultural, and economic transformations. Through a dialogue connecting Europe, Latin America, and Africa, the project reconstructs the common ground existing across different ecological cultures and translates it into innovative legal tools designed to support public policies and future legislation.

Within this vision, the Model Law workshop collects a series of open-access templates developed during the project to transform the ecosystemic approach into legal instruments immediately usable by public authorities, local administrations, and territorial communities.

The Model Declaration of the Rights of the River, developed by the research unit at the University of Trieste coordinated by Serena Baldin, introduces an innovative legal framework that recognizes rivers as living beings with rights. Designed to be attached to river agreements, the document consists of a preamble outlining values identified through participatory processes, a section on river rights aligned with the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers, and a final part defining the commitments of actors involved in protecting the river ecosystem. It serves as both a legal and educational tool to cultivate an empathetic and responsible relationship with water bodies, promoting their long-term protection.

The Model for the Recognition of the Rights of Nature, developed by Vito Comar and Silvia Bagni, provides a regulatory framework intended for adoption by municipal administrations. The model recognizes Nature as a rights-bearing subject and protects the ecological integrity of local ecosystems, while also valuing traditional knowledge and community-based land management. It defines guiding principles, fundamental rights of Nature, and public authority duties, proposing practical tools and legal responsibilities that foster cultural and institutional change toward sustainability and civic participation.

The Model Law for Peasant Agriculture, Agroecology, and Agrobiodiversity, developed by Silvia Bagni and Amilcare D’Andrea, introduces a normative framework that values peasant agriculture as a sustainable, equitable form of production capable of preserving agro-ecosystems. It recognizes peasant agriculture as intangible cultural heritage to be protected and transmitted, considers local varieties as freely accessible commons, safeguards farmers’ rights to select and share seeds, and assigns institutions the responsibility of conserving plant genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The resulting law proposal centers on food sovereignty, biodiversity, and the resilience of agricultural systems.

The Declaration of the Rights of the Venetian Lagoon and the Responsibilities of Its Inhabitants and Users, created by Silvia Bagni and Amilcare D’Andrea, recognizes the Venetian Lagoon as an ecosystem with intrinsic value and a unique biocultural history. The text protects ecological integrity, biodiversity, life cycles, and cultural heritage, granting the Lagoon the rights to exist and evolve according to its natural rhythms, to remain free from pollution and waste, and to pass on its historical and environmental heritage to future generations. It also defines the responsibilities of inhabitants and users in caring for the ecosystem and establishes the Lagoon Guardians, tasked with monitoring its health and representing its interests.

Alongside the production of Model Laws, LUMEN has developed extensive public outreach and engagement activities. Among the most notable outputs are the project’s video pills: brief interviews and dialogues with scholars, researchers, and community representatives designed to present experiences, places, and perspectives in an accessible way. Covering topics from the rights of Nature to Indigenous consultations, marine ecology, and the legal personality of ecosystems, the videos make complex research accessible and stimulate broad public reflection.

In addition to the interviews, the project promoted permanent tools for dialogue and dissemination. The blog collects news, reports, and reflections on policies and solutions to maximize the impact of the project; the agenda documents events organized by LUMEN and highlights initiatives promoted by the international research network; publications share analysis results useful for public decision-makers and communities. Over the two years, LUMEN also fostered collaborations with other organizations and projects, generating seminars, workshops, and co-design spaces.

Among these activities was the final conference, “You Need a Seed to Make a Table: Ecosystemic Approach and the Rights of Nature for a Resilient Territory and Community,” held on October 10–11, 2025, at the Forlì campus of the University of Bologna. The conference brought together students, researchers, and local communities to reflect on ecosystemic approaches, territorial resilience, and ecological justice. The first day focused on training and dialogue with scientists and international activists, followed by a second day of participatory results sharing, hosted by the Romiti Neighborhood Assembly and opened with a Heritage Walk through areas affected by the 2023 floods. The initiative aimed to create real connections between academic research, civil society, and local communities, ensuring scientific knowledge increasingly responds to local needs.

The final project output will see the publication of a series of educational podcasts aimed at judges, parliamentary groups, and other institutional actors, designed to make the ecosystemic approach applicable through legal and comparative tools useful for environmental governance.

The models and other outputs produced by LUMEN demonstrate how the ecosystemic approach can form the basis for a legal system capable of integrating scientific, cultural, and community dimensions, going beyond the limits of traditional environmental law. Through a comparative, interdisciplinary methodology and transcontinental dialogue, the project offers concrete tools to innovate environmental policies, inspire national and local legislation, and strengthen the connection between humans, ecosystems, and cultural heritage.

At a historical moment when the ecological crisis requires systemic and global responses, LUMEN’s outputs represent a pioneering contribution to imagining and building a more equitable, sustainable, and shared legal future.

Visit the Model Law page