This Indian Court Declared Glaciers People In Order To Fight Global Warming

A court in the Indian state of Uttarakhand declared that Himalayan glaciers constitute “legal persons” under Indian law following a public interest suit filed by environmentalists. The two judges on the court stated that it was important that the law gave glaciers the status of a “legal entity” in order to prevent the glaciers from melting. According to the ruling, “The rights of these entities shall be equivalent to the rights of human beings and any injury or harm caused to these bodies shall be treated as injury or harm caused to human beings.”

Not only did the court determine that the Himalayan glaciers had legal person status, but it also declared that all water bodies next to jungles and forests are legal persons according to the laws in the state of Uttarakhand. Environmentalists praised the ruling, hoping that this will start the process of creating concrete policy to prevent climate change.