Towards the Rights of Nature in Brazil

On September 4, 2025, the first in a series of events organized by Prof. Vito Comar, with the participation of Prof. Liana Amin Lima, both faculty members at UFGD, was held to promote a popular legislative initiative recognizing the rights of nature, both as municipal laws in Dourados and Campo Grande and as a law of the federated state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The first event was the inaugural lecture of the postgraduate courses in Sociology and Anthropology at UFGD, with an introduction by Prof. Vito Comar, a presentation by Prof. Silvia Bagni, LUMEN project coordinator for the UNIBO research unit, on the rights of nature, and Prof. Liana Lima as discussant. The event was also attended by the rector of UFGD, who expressed strong interest in the topic. Notably, there was broad participation from students of Faindi, the Indigenous Faculty of UFGD, one of the first and most important of its kind in the country.

On September 5, 2025, Prof. Silvia Bagni gave a lecture on the rights of nature to students of the Faculty of Law and International Relations at UFGD. The event was organized by Prof. Liana Amin Lima, who introduced the topic, and saw the participation of a large number of students and some faculty colleagues from the same department. During the event, the proposed popular legislative initiative for recognizing the rights of nature in the municipality of Dourados was also discussed.

On September 8, 2025, in Campo Grande, the capital of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, the first state-level seminar on the rights of nature was held. The event, organized by IMAD, the Institute for Environment and Development founded by Prof. Vito Comar, was supported by numerous local organizations, including WWF and the Mupan association, part of the Wetlands International network. The seminar was hosted by the Institute of Biosciences of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul and saw the participation of many colleagues and institutional representatives. During the seminar, the proposed popular legislative initiative for recognizing the rights of nature in the municipality of Campo Grande and in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul was also discussed. If enacted, this would be the first state law of its kind.