Who's Missing?
Non-Human Perspectives
Just as the loudest, most prevalent voices can reveal a great deal about a controversy, we can also learn a great deal from the voices that are underrepresented or missing from the discussion.
A key viewpoint that is often overlooked in controversies involving human-environment interactions is non-human perspectives, representing the interests of environments and ecosystems themselves.
Considering non-human, or more-than-human perspectives has been central to Indigenous ways of knowing for centuries, and is increasingly incorporated into many social science disciplines. However, the non-human and more-than-human are less commonly recognized in policy-making settings.
How Does it Work?
As non-human voices cannot literally "speak for themselves" in policy contexts, these perspectives are facilitated through legal protections and proxies.
One of the most famous international examples of this was in 2017, when the New Zealand government granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River in recognition of its sacred importance to the Indigenous Māori people, and to facilitate environmental protection.
"Having the river recognised as a legal person means harming it is the same as harming the tribe. If there is any kind of abuse or threat to its waters, such as pollution or unauthorised activities, the river can sue. It also means it can own property, enter contracts and be sued itself."
Recognition in Alberta
To date, Alberta does not have any legislation that fully recognizes the non-human or more-than-human in the sense of granting legal personhood to environmental entities or beings. However, there are initiatives underway to further these efforts.
For example, the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre has published a report titled "The Legal Standing of Nature and Right to a Healthy Environment," which provides an overview of international legislation granting legal rights to environmental entities, such as oceans, trees, mountains, rivers, and ecosystems. It addresses the potential of similar legislation in Canada.