Austria in Motion: The First Rights of Nature Day in Vienna and a Declaration of Dependence

This article was originally published in German.

On 23 September 2026, something is set in motion in Vienna: people from academia, civil society, and the international Rights of Nature movement will come together to mark the first Rights of Nature Day for Environmental Justice and to present the Declaration of Dependence, a declaration of humanity’s dependence on nature.

The day will begin in the afternoon with lectures, welcoming remarks, activities along the Danube, and conversations at the Orangerie Kagran.

Thomas Wallentin will speak about the current state of the Rights of Nature in Europe and about the European Citizens’ Initiative due to launch in the autumn.

The focus will be on the Rights of Nature, their development internationally, and the changes currently taking place in Austria and across Europe. This year, particular attention will be given to Bolivia, a country where an understanding of the interconnectedness of all life is deeply rooted in Indigenous cultures and where the rights of Mother Earth have already been incorporated into national legislation.

In the evening, the first Rights of Nature Day will be celebrated together on the shores of the Old Danube. The date has been chosen deliberately: around 23 September, the Sun is positioned above the equator. Spring begins in the Southern Hemisphere, while autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a moment of global transition and a powerful symbol of the interconnectedness of life across countries, cultures, and hemispheres.

What is Rights of Nature Day?

1. Rights of Nature Day for Environmental Justice is intended to be observed every September in many places around the world. It is a day of remembrance, encounter, and collective action.
2. It reminds us that rivers, forests, oceans, animals, plants, and ecosystems are not merely resources for human use. They possess intrinsic value and have a right to exist, regenerate, and sustain their natural life processes.
3. Rights of Nature Day seeks to make visible what is already happening around the world: people are working towards a new relationship with nature and towards legal systems that protect not only human beings, but the community of all life.

What is the Declaration of Dependence?

The Declaration of Dependence, a declaration of humanity’s dependence on nature, confronts a consequential illusion with a simple truth: no human being, no society, and no economy is independent of nature.

We depend on living soils, clean water, fertile landscapes, a stable climate, biodiversity, and the natural cycles that sustain life. We are embedded in the laws of physics and biology. This dependence is not a weakness. It is the foundation of our existence.

The declaration invites us to acknowledge this reality and to allow a sense of responsibility to emerge from it. It presents an alternative to a culture that primarily regards nature as material available for human use. From the recognition of our dependence, a new relationship can grow, one shaped by respect, reciprocity, care, and a commitment to preserving life’s capacity for regeneration.

Who is behind the initiative?

The Vienna event is initiated and organised by Norbert Mayr and the Forum ökosoziale Transformationen. The Netzwerk Rechte der Natur supports the initiative and contributes to its international networking. It is also supported by organisations and activists from the Austrian and international Rights of Nature movement, including GYBN Austria and Wild Legal.

The event in Vienna is intended to be more than a one-off occasion. It is conceived as the starting point for a growing international movement: people and initiatives in many countries are invited to mark Rights of Nature Day in the future through their own events, activities, conversations, and “Good Messages for the Earth”.

A dedicated website featuring the Declaration of Dependence, the full Vienna programme, the participating organisations, and information on how to get involved will go online in mid-September 2026.