Celebrating MAPAS – GARN's First Outstanding Member of the Month!

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) is proud to launch a new initiative: the GARN Outstanding Member of the Month! This program highlights the incredible work of individuals and organizations championing the Rights of Nature around the world.

For our inaugural feature, we are thrilled to recognize MAPAS – Methods of Support for Environmental and Social Practices, a Brazilian organization that has spearheaded legal recognition for Nature’s rights across Brazil. 🌿✨

A legacy of legal innovation

Over the years, MAPAS’ work has been spread across different territories located in Brazil’s 6 biomes, with a special focus on regions in the Atlantic Forest, Amazon, and Cerrado. MAPAS has been providing consultancy, advisory services, and academic research for over a decade on the recognition of Nature as a subject of rights, and the implementation of public policies to establish Nature-centric governance in Brazil and globally. In order to do that, MAPAS engages with policymakers, civil society, and Indigenous and traditional communities to promote legal recognition and enforcement mechanisms that protect ecosystems as rights-bearing entities.

Additionally, MAPAS develops knowledge-sharing initiatives, such as workshops and publications, to strengthen the implementation and understanding of the Rights of Nature (RoN) in Brazil and beyond. As the pioneering organization behind the first legal recognition of the Rights of Nature in Brazil in the municipal organic law of the city of Bonito (PE) and of the recognition of the rights of the first River and the first Mountain in Brazil as legal entities, MAPAS has led most of the country’s initiatives in this field and remains at the forefront of efforts to institutionalize these rights in the country.

On the international stage, MAPAS has been working to advance the Rights of Nature through the participation in the United Nations’ Harmony with Nature Program, which coordinates regional actions worldwide and seeks the promulgation of a Universal Declaration of Mother Earth Rights.

Vanessa Hasson: MAPAS leader

Since 2009, the founder of MAPAS, Vanessa Hasson, has been engaged in research on the Rights of Nature. An environmental lawyer with over 30 years of experience, Vanessa began her doctoral studies that year, focusing on climate change, when she encountered the groundbreaking recognition of Pachamama’s rights in the Constitution of Ecuador and the emergence of GARN at the time. Since founding MAPAS in 2004, Vanessa has led the organization, which has always been driven by dozens of passionate and committed volunteers dedicated to the environmental cause. With the defense of her doctorate in 2014, MAPAS joined the global movement, initiating its activities through its founder and director.

The organization participated in the creation of the Expert Members Platform of the UN Harmony with Nature Program in 2015 and, subsequently, in the First International Forum for the Rights of Nature in Mexico City in 2016. Since then, MAPAS and its collaborators have continued to advance the Rights of Nature as the central theme of their activities, because they recognize that the RoN represent a paradigm shift and a powerful approach to rethinking and restructuring human relationships with Nature amidst the evident ecological and climate crises we face due to the Anthropocene era.

Driving policy change and community engagement

So far, MAPAS has been instrumental in integrating the Rights of Nature into municipal and national legislations across Brazil. Notably, in the city of Bonito (PE), MAPAS facilitated the inclusion of the Rights of Nature into the Municipal Organic Law, with the amendment approved on December 21, 2017. This pioneering effort set a precedent for other municipalities, and, since then, several other municipalities in the country have also recognized the Rights of Nature in their organic laws with MAPAS’ support and coordination: Paudalho (2018), Florianópolis (2019), Serro (2022), Guajará Mirim (2023), among others.

One of the most notable MAPAS’ cases was the recognition of the Komin-Memé River as a legal entity. This initiative, developed in partnership with the Brazilian Articulation for the Rights of Nature and COMVIDA, the Committee for the Valorization of the Life of the Madeira River and the Indigenous Community of the Wari ethnicity, represented by the councilman and Indigenous leader Francisco Oro Waram, acknowledged the river as a subject of rights, ensuring its protection against harmful activities. In order to achieve that, two legislative bills were drafted: one to amend the municipal organic law, recognizing Nature’s Rights throughout the municipality of Guajará-Mirim, and the other to approve a new law recognizing specifically the rights of the Komin Memé River and establishing its Guardian Committee.

MAPAS’s efforts operated on two fronts: territorial and institutional. Under Vanessa Hasson’s guidance, community consultations were conducted to inform the drafting of the legislative proposal, which led to amendments in the Municipal Organic Law and the drafting of a specific law. The proposed changes were approved by the Guajará-Mirim City Council in 2023, recognizing the Rights of Nature and of the Komin-Memé River as a legal rights-bearing entity. As a result of this institutional innovation, the Guardian Committee was legally established as the River’s spokesperson, participating in all public decision-making processes related to the river. Since 2024, the Guardian Committee has been active, with representatives elected by the communities.

Another landmark case was the one of Pico do Itambé, a mountainous region in the state of Minas Gerais, known for its breathtaking landscapes, high-altitude fields, and unique biodiversity. As part of the Espinhaço Range, a UNESCO-recognized Biosphere Reserve, the Serra do Itambé is home to rare and endemic species, as well as important water sources that sustain both local communities and surrounding ecosystems. Despite its ecological significance, the region has faced growing threats from unsustainable land use, mining interests, and infrastructure projects that jeopardize its fragile environment. In response, MAPAS has been actively working to protect the Serra do Itambé, advocating for the recognition of its Rights of Nature. These efforts culminated in a historic achievement: in 2023, the Pico do Itambé State Park, which is part of the mountainous region, was officially recognized as a subject of rights, marking an important legal precedent in Brazil.

Moreover, MAPAS played a crucial role in the recognition of the right of the Wave of the mouth of the Doce River, an initiative that emerged in response to the devastating socio-environmental disaster caused by the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais. This disaster, one of the worst in Brazil’s history, severely impacted the Doce River, its ecosystems, and the communities that depend on it. A groundbreaking aspect of this initiative was the recognition of a wave as a rights-bearing entity.

Inspired by global advances in the Rights of Nature, this recognition challenges traditional legal frameworks by acknowledging that not only rivers, forests, or mountains, but even natural phenomena like waves hold intrinsic value and deserve legal protection. This perspective reinforces a more holistic approach to environmental justice, one that moves beyond human-centered compensation and embraces the interconnectedness of ecological systems. By advocating for this legal innovation, MAPAS has contributed to expanding the discourse on water governance in Brazil and strengthening the Rights of Nature movement. The waves of the mouth of the Doce River now stand as a precedent for rethinking the way societies interact with and protect natural entities, demonstrating that legal frameworks must evolve to reflect the dynamic and relational nature of ecosystems.

Besides all these initiatives at the municipal level, MAPAS is also an active organization at the national level as a member of the Articulação Nacional pelos Direitos da Natureza, a coalition dedicated to promoting the recognition and implementation of the Rights of Nature across Brazil. MAPAS is also iinvolved in the Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) for the Rights of Nature, which seeks to incorporate these principles into the Brazilian Constitution. Through these efforts, MAPAS has been actively involved in discussions to incorporate the Rights of Nature into broader legislative agendas in the country, aiming to address ecological crises and promote harmonious living with Nature at national level.

Global impact & future vision

Ultimately, the work that has been developed by MAPAS also directly contributes to the global movement by helping to expand and strengthen the recognition of the Rights of Nature through an active engagement with international platforms, including GARN and the UN’s Harmony with Nature program.

In that regard, MAPAS has participated in events promoted by GARN, such as the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the approval of Ecuador’s Constitution, held at the Assembly in Siena, Italy. They have also collaborated in the organization of the 2nd International Forum for the Rights of Nature, the 1st Brazilian Forum, and will be involved in GARN’s events at COP 30 to be held in Brazil in 2025. Additionally, MAPAS was one of the organizations that led the preparation of the 2nd Brazilian Forum for the Rights of Nature.

Nominate the Next GARN Outstanding Member!

This program exists to uplift leaders in the Rights of Nature movement—and we need your help to spotlight them! Do you know an inspiring individual or organization working to protect Nature’s rights? Nominate them—or yourself—for the next GARN Outstanding Member of the Month!

➡️ Become a GARN member for free and receive the application link straight to your inbox: garn.org/get-involved

Let’s celebrate and support those driving real change for Nature and future generations. 🌱💚