Representation of the rights of nature and the Mar Menor law

Abstract

In 2022, the Spanish Mar Menor, a coastal saltwater lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula, became the first natural entity in Europe to be granted legal personhood. This article examines the Mar Menor law and its institutions in the context of the debate on the rights of nature. Bringing together research on rights of nature and political representation, it explores the potential of the Mar Menor law and its institutions to bridge the gap in the human-nature relationship and address challenges arising from the political representation of nature. The article proposes a formal and a constructivist approach to nature representation. While the formal approach focuses on integrating natural entities into the existing political system through human representatives, the constructivist approach emphasizes the creative process of political claims-making that brings nature as a subject into the political sphere. This approach aims to transform the human-nature relationship by challenging existing power structures and fostering a more interconnected and egalitarian understanding. Applying these approaches to the case of the Mar Menor, the article examines the scope, institutionalization, representative inclusion, and strategies of legitimization of the Mar Menor law. It shows how, through political representation, the law and its institutions aim to establish the rights of the Mar Menor as a focal point of the political discourse, thus working toward a more ecocentric perspective.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Sustainability Science Practice and Policy, 2026 · DOI ↗