Exploring India's Ecological Landscape on the Road to Environmental Personhood

Abstract

Several countries have established regimes for the protection of nature, including Ecuador, Bolivia, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, and local governments in the United States. In the case of Animal Welfare Board v. A. Nagaraja, the apex court of India has said that the Grundnorm, i.e., the Constitution of India's Article 21 right to life, could also be extended to non-humans. This paper contends that endowing nature with rights might undermine anthropocentric environmental protection legislation and regulations, improve environmental results, and strengthen the acceptance of First Nations stewardship notions. The research aims to evaluate the extent to which the legal concept of 'environmental personhood' has been recognized in India and to propose a roadmap for establishing nature's rights and representation in the country's environmental laws and constitution.  By extending legal rights and protections to non-human elements such as rivers, forests, and ecosystems, the notion of environmental personhood constitutes a paradigm shift. This research looks at the legal frameworks, socio-cultural viewpoints, and policy actions that contribute to the emerging discourse of environmental personhood in India.