Will ecosystems such as the Elbe River be better protected if they are recognized as legal entities? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This question addresses abstract considerations about the \u201cnature\u201d of a river as well as the various interests associated with it. On the one hand, the Elbe is an important transport route that secures the livelihoods of fishermen, farmers, and fruit farmers; on the other hand, it plays a role in biodiversity. Laws are intended to guarantee the protection of rivers \u2013 does recognition as a \u201clegal entity\u201d help to make this protection more effective? Does it lead to a change in society’s thinking about the use of nature \u2013 and who should be the \u201cadvocate\u201d for a river? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The panel will also look at other jurisdictions where rivers have been granted legal personality. The aim is not to romanticize indigenous approaches, but to take a perspective of planetary solidarity and shared responsibility for the Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matthias Glaubrecht<\/a><\/strong>, Scientific Director New Museum, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Professor of Animal Biodiversity, University of Hamburg<\/p>\n\n\n\n Isabel von Holt<\/a><\/strong>, Research Assistant, Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Hamburg<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kirsten Schmalenbach<\/a><\/strong>, Professor of International and European Law, Paris Lodron Universit\u00e4t Salzburg, HIAS Fellow 2024\/25<\/p>\n\n\n\nModeration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n