The Confluence of European Water Bodies
A pan-European, artist-led, grassroots advocacy initiative developing new strategies for European ecosystem representation across culture, law, and policy
The Confluence is a growing pan-European network of water bodies and their communities, working across art, ecology, law, activism, research, and public engagement. Launched in 2023 by the Embassy of the North Sea, TBA21–Academy, and ILP Mar Menor at the shores of the Spanish saltwater lagoon, the first ecosystem in Europe with legal personhood, it calls for the legal and cultural recognition of water bodies as living entities with rights, intrinsic value, and agency. Acting as a campaign, research network, and community of practice, the Confluence explores what forms of democracy, governance, and stewardship might emerge when ecosystems are recognized as political and legal actors alongside humans.
The Rights of Nature framework is a legal theory in environmental law and a global movement that pursues legal personhood for natural entities. Rather than treating nature as property under the law, the rights of nature movement acknowledges that nature in all its life forms has the right to exist, persist, maintain, and regenerate its vital cycles, building on an intersectional foundation of Indigenous knowledge systems, deep ecology, and contemporary environmental law.
While Europe has lagged behind other continents, momentum is building. The Mar Menor lagoon made history in 2022 by gaining legal personhood and defending its rights internationally. This victory has inspired communities across Europe, sparking dozens of new cases at local, national, and international levels.
The Confluence of European Water Bodies was created in response to the growing need for water democracy worldwide, aiming to deepen the understanding of the ‘Rights of Nature’ in Europe from a cultural perspective. The network underscores the vital role of artists and creatives, who are emerging as central figures in citizen movements.
In 2023–2025, each of the founding partners hosted an annual Confluence event, where the network gathered for applied knowledge exchange and long-term strategic planning, as well as for programming open to the wider public. From 2026 onwards, the yearly Confluence gathering is hosted by a different network member and organized locally with the support of the Stream, a cross-institutional facilitating body composed of the founding organizations. The Stream is not a decision-making body, but a support structure: a bureau between the Embassy of the North Sea, TBA21–Academy, and the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature’s European hub that works to facilitate the community and advance the network’s goal of local and international ecosystem representation and cultural diplomacy.
In line with TBA21–Academy’s research line on the Rights of Nature, as well as the broader institutional commitment of TBA21 towards a cultural response to shaping public policy, the Confluence of European Water Bodies is a pioneering project in artist-led environmental advocacy. By forming and steering the Stream as an ongoing support body dedicated to ensuring the longevity and success of the network’s initiatives, TBA21 aims to co-create policy frameworks that are regenerative for both human and non-human communities.
The Confluence network is an essential contributor to the research project Nature Speaks. Listening for the Rights of Nature in Venice and Europe, taking place at Ocean Space under the curation of Pietro Consolandi and Amalia Rossi, and developed in collaboration with NICHE Centre for Environmental Humanities, mapping the rising Rights of Nature movement through visual inquiry, campaign building, and calls to action.
