The International Rights of Nature Tribunal held its 12th local hearing at the Haw River State Park in North Carolina this month. Led by our partners 7 Directions of Service with Movement Rights and the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, it was the first Indigenous-led tribunal of its kind in global history. The Yesah Tribunal: Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and the Rights of Rivers had more than 100 people attended in person, and dozens more tuned into the day-long proceedings via livestream. The Tribunal took place shortly after MVP experienced serious pipe failures during hydrostatic testing, all while developers demanded FERC grant the project an in-service request.

They received their grant at the dismay of environmental groups and frontline communities. David Sligh, Conservation Director, joins the podcast to talk about his experience as an expert at the Tribunal, an update on what’s next for the fight against the MVP, and context for Rights of Nature / Rights of Rivers as a legal instrument.

The Yesah Tribunal focused on the contentious case of the MVP and its impact on the Rights of Rivers. The MVP, notorious for its environmental violations and disregard for water quality, has drawn the ire of communities across Virginia, West Virginia, and now North Carolina.

With over $2.5 million in fines amassed for water quality violations, it is imperative to spotlight the collusion between corporations and governments that perpetuate such destruction.

The Rights of Nature—including the Rights of Rivers—is the fastest growing environmental justice movement in the world with laws in over 30 countries. Recognizing that Nature has the right to exist, evolve and carry on its vital cycles free from destructive projects like pipelines places legal and enforceable obligations on humans to live within the boundaries of the natural world.

More than just a legal construct, this Indigenous-led movement is working to bring ancestral wisdom, traditional ecological knowledge, modern science and law together to shift how we as humans live. Tribunals like the Yesah Tribunal are opportunities to practice and embody this critical paradigm shift.

The first rights of nature court case in the United States came in 2021, when an environmental activist sued a development company and the Florida secretary of environmental protection on behalf of five bodies of water in Orange County.