Council Chamber Programme
Rights of Nature Workshop
Bringing Nature into Public Decision Making: Rights of Nature in Practice
11.45am-12.40pm
Brontie Ansell, Lawyers for Nature, and Emma Montlake, Environmental Law Foundation, explore together how the Rights of Nature movement is reshaping public decision making and what it means for policymakers and elected representatives.
As the pressure on Nature grows every year, public bodies have an opportunity to place Nature at the heart of governance as a stakeholder in its own right. This session will examine how Rights of Nature/ Rights of Rivers principles can inform policy, strengthen decision making, and support healthier communities alongside thriving ecosystems. Through practical examples and discussion, participants will gain insight into how these emerging approaches can be applied within local and national government.
Emma Montlake, Environmental Law Foundation
Emma joined the Environmental Law Foundation as an intern; she is now head of Casework. She is passionate about nature and assisting ELF's grassroot communities to protect the nature they love . Emma is a director at Love Our Ouse (LOO) and sees synergies between the work she does at ELF and LOO especially with the rights of nature movement in the UK. She is also a founder member of Green United. Helping school children in her hometown of Lewes to take environmental action, supported by the local community.
Brontie Ansell, Lawyers for Nature
Brontie is a leading Rights of Nature lawyer and was listed by Vogue as one of their top 100 sustainability innovators of 2024. As Managing Director of Lawyers for Nature and an architect of the pioneering Nature on the Board movement, she works on systemic legal change for the benefit of Nature and non-human communities. Brontie is also a trustee of Treesisters and sits on the advisory board of Common.
From The Farm with Hope
River Action panel looking at practical and positive examples of farming and river restoration working hand in hand
Water Efficiency Campaign Update
International Perspectives

