The Declaration of the Rights of the Venice Lagoon

Garphic Design: Louis Charron; Photo: Pietro Consolandi

The Venice Lagoon is a unique, multispecies ecosystem, co-evolved by nature and the human communities that have inhabited it for millennia. The Declaration of the Rights of the Venice Lagoon is a citizen initiative that demands legal personhood for the lagoon, thereby recognising its rights.

Drafted collaboratively in 2025, it unites associations, institutional partners, and individual supporters. The initiative extends regionally as IDRA (Iniziativa per i Diritti delle Reti d’Acqua), connecting water networks across North-East Italy.

The Declaration was developed locally, emerging from the history and life of the lagoon itself. It also draws inspiration from and participates in the global movement for Rights of Nature, gaining significant momentum after the Confluence of European Water Bodies of 2024, where local activists met and shared knowledge with a delegation from the Mar Menor.

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE VENICE LAGOON | EN

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE VENICE LAGOON | IT

PREAMBLE | IT

CONTACT FORM

READ THE DECLARATION

Access the Declaration document, the full text and the list of drafters and first signatories following this link.

EDITORIAL TEAM

Associazione Amici del Parco di San Giuliano (Anna Forte)

Eleonora Anghileri

Silvia Bagni

Barena Bianca

Amina Chouairi

Paolo Comandini

Comitato per la Tutela delle Grave di Ciano (Guido Andolfato)

Pietro Consolandi

Luca Cosentino

Mattia Favaretto

Francesca Guarnotta

IDRA – Iniziativa per i Diritti delle Reti d’Acqua

Elena Longhin

NICHE – THE NEW INSTITUTE Centre for Environmental Humanities, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Ocean Space

OCIO Osservatorio Civico Indipendente sulla Casa e sulla Residenzialità

Tito Pamio

Poveglia per Tutti

Alex Putzer

I Quaderni della Decrescita (Paolo Cacciari)

Valentina Rizzi

Amalia Rossi

Katja Schechtner

TBA21–Academy

Maria Chiara Tosi

Francesco Vallerani

Wetlands Books