Should Rivers Have Same Legal Rights As Humans? A Growing Number Of Voices Say Yes

Should Rivers Have Same Legal Rights As Humans? "In Bangladesh, the river is considered as our mother," says Mohammad Abdul Matin, general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, a Dhaka-based environmental group. Sponsor Message But when the construction company didn't comply with the court's ruling, "the NGO could not afford to run a second case," says O'Donnell. Soon after, the state government appealed to the Indian Supreme Court, arguing "that their responsibilities as guardians of the rivers were unclear because the rivers extended well beyond the border of Uttarakhand," says O'Donnell. There is, however, one place where legal rights were given to a river with buy-in from both the government and its people, O'Donnell says: New Zealand.