Te Awa Tupua: The River That Became a Legal Person

On 20 March 2017, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act, recognizing the 290-kilometre Whanganui River as Te Awa Tupua, an indivisible living whole 'from the mountains to the sea', with the same legal standing as a person. The settlement resolved claims first lodged by Whanganui iwi in 1873 and included an $80 million NZD Crown redress package. The river is represented in law by Te Pou Tupua, a two-person guardian office made up of one Crown appointee and one appointee of the Whanganui iwi, who can act and speak on the river's behalf, including in court. The Act enshrines Maori kaitiakitanga (guardianship) over the awa and has become an internationally cited model for the rights-of-nature movement, inspiring similar legal recognition for rivers in India, Colombia and beyond.