Recognizing Water Bodies as Subjects of Rights and Reversing Biodiversity Loss: A Comparative Case Study of Brazil and Switzerland

Given the decline in biodiversity across aquatic ecosystems and the increasing risk of ecosystem collapse, initiatives oriented towards the recognition of water bodies as subjects of rights emerged in different geographical, economic, and cultural contexts. In this study, we analyze two distinct cases, each located in a country represented by one of the researchers, who therefore possess contextual knowledge of both the natural and legal aspects.

The first case addresses a 2025 constitutional amendment proposal submitted by a Swiss NGO to the Canton of Lucerne, aiming at the recognition of the legal rights and personhood of the Reuss River. The amendment seeks to include the assurance of fundamental rights, legal personality, the right to existence, and ecological integrity of these non-human entities in the Constitution.

The second case concerns a Public Civil Action of a structural nature, initiated in 2021 by lawyers and researchers from a Research Group at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, filed before the Federal Court in Florianópolis, Brazil. In this lawsuit, the creation of new socio-ecological governance institutions that preserve the natural integrity of the ecosystem was requested, as well as the recognition of the Lagoa da Conceição lagoon as a subject of rights. Both the Reuss River and Lagoa da Conceição have faced severe biodiversity degradation that motivated these legal actions.

Our aim is to analyze the differences and similarities between these two cases in relation to their juridical and political systems, as well as their consequences for biodiversity preservation and the possibilities for representing water bodies. The Swiss case involves a constitutional amendment that potentially confers legal personhood on the Reuss River, enabling it to represent its own interests as a hybrid legal personality. In contrast, the Brazilian case is grounded in a judicial decision that seeks to establish a governance mechanism—the Judicial Chamber—for Lagoa da Conceição, while also recognizing the active legal standing of associations advocating for its rights. By incorporating philosophical perspectives, we also intend to analyze the legitimacy of these forms of representation for water bodies to evaluate which model may be most suitable to protect biodiversity.