Operationalizing the rights of wetlands

The main aim of the project is to facilitate the operationalization of the Rights of Wetlands approach in five different country contexts, Sri Lanka, Guyana, Kenya, Bolivia and Ecuador. This will ensure the rights of wetlands to function and exist through community management, legal instruments, and governance frameworks. Ultimately, the project aims to conserve wetlands and protect their mainstream use.

Rights of wetlands are part of a global rights of nature movement, which aims to shift the human-wetlands relationship from one of exploitation, extraction, and depletion to one that recognizes the rights of wetlands to life. The project embodies a relationship between wetlands and humans based on reciprocity, kinship, and gratitude. Rights of wetlands identify eight specific rights that wetlands are entitled to and should possess in a court of law.

The broad set of activities to be considered under this project include; contextualization of rights of wetlands, building community, CSO and government capacity in the rights of wetlands approach, knowledge exchange and advocacy for the rights of wetlands, dissemination and upscaling of the rights of wetlands, and developing a formal communication exchange network for the rights of wetlands.