Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current
Preferred Name
Lillian Johns
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Date of Graduation
5-14-2026
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Publish
yes
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department
Department of Political Science
First Advisor
Dr. Jennifer Byrne
Second Advisor
Dr. Tara Parsons
Third Advisor
Dr. Tara Parsons
Abstract
This thesis examines three distinct cases, Ecuador, the United States, and India, in their conceptualization and implementation of the Rights of Nature and environmental jurisprudence. Although the Rights of Nature have gained global traction as a response to accelerating ecological degradation and as a potential legal mechanism for addressing it, issues with implementation and enforcement consistently arise. The outcomes in each case are largely shaped by institutional design, political context, and legal cultures. Ecuador’s constitutional recognition of the Rights of Nature, the United States multilevel recognition, and India’s judicial assertions of ecological personhood represents divergent pathways for articulating environmental rights. Drawing from legal texts, landmark cases, and scholarly debates, this thesis evaluates the defining characteristics and the practical capacity of the Rights of Nature frameworks in influencing environmental governance. Ultimately, the comparative analysis demonstrates that while the Rights of Nature often struggle to function as a standalone legal tool due to varied institutional constraints, it holds potential in a complementary capacity within broader environmental regulatory systems.
