KIN WITH THE REST
Realizing we are part of nature, we are treating it as kin, and our laws and institutions are starting to catch up. Corporations have long been legal persons, while the ecosystems they depend on remain property. Written into law, finance and governance as a stakeholder, nature stops being a bystander and finally gets its say.
→ Multispecies kinship is gaining cultural traction, from interspecies grief to the slow creep of animal personhood in legal frameworks.
→ Rwanda's mountain gorillas now have digital wallets, and the first cross-species payment cleared in 2024.
→ Rivers are winning legal personhood and human guardians, from New Zealand's Whanganui to Colombia's Atrato to Québec's Magpie.
→ Cosmetic brand Faith in Nature gave Nature a board seat and a vote, with a guardian legally bound to speak for it.
Pockets of the Future
Explore where this signal is already showing up
Elephants in the courtroom: in June 2026, the Hawaii Supreme Court agreed to hear a bid to recognize two Honolulu Zoo elephants, Mari and Vaigai, as legal persons and move them to a sanctuary.
Source: SUD: ‘Can Elephants Obtain Human Rights: Hawaii Supreme Court to Hear Unprecedented Case,’ June 2026
Rivers with rights: a 2025 study traces how river personhood is spreading, via statute, court ruling and Indigenous resolution.
Image: Riverine Rights
Interspecies money: Rwanda’s gorillas hold digital wallets that pay rangers and locals for protecting them.
Nature joins the board: Norwegian outdoor apparel brand Northern Playground has made Nature a company director, following the model Faith in Nature pioneered.