In 2025, the International Rights of Nature Tribunal (IRoNT) consolidated its role as a moral, ethical, and legal authority defending Nature and affected communities worldwide. Through local and international hearings across four continents, the Tribunal exposed systemic violations driven by extractivism, fossil fuel expansion, and false solutions, while advancing concrete pathways toward justice, repair, and a post-extractivist future.

February | Ecuador: Canadian Mining on Trial

In Quito, Ecuador, the Tribunal held the 15th Local Rights of Nature Tribunal on Canadian Mining, examining six emblematic cases, Las Naves, Kimsacocha, Warintza, Nabón, Fierro Urco, and Palo Quemado/Las Pampas. These cases revealed grave violations against fragile ecosystems and the rights of affected communities, particularly water sources, páramos, forests, and Indigenous and campesino territories. The Tribunal underscored how Canadian-led extractive projects have fueled environmental destruction, social conflict, and territorial dispossession, while also strengthening community resistance and sovereignty. More information.

February | Canada: Historic Verdict on Canadian Mining

Later that month, the second session of the 6th International Rights of Nature Tribunal convened at the University of Toronto, strategically coinciding with the PDAC Conference, the global mining industry’s flagship event. Under the theme “The Impacts of Mining and the Post-Extractivism Era,” the Tribunal heard cases from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Serbia, and Canada. Judges delivered a historic oral verdict, finding Canadian mining companies guilty of violating the Rights of Nature, Indigenous rights, and human rights across continents. More information here and here.

March | Chile: Biobío Forestry Model Declared Ecocidal

In Chile, the Tribunal launched its judgment on the Biobío case, declaring the industrial forestry model ecocidal. The ruling highlighted how recurrent forest fires and monoculture plantations have devastated watersheds, wetlands, forests, biodiversity, and local livelihoods. More information here.

September | Climate Week Rulings

During New York Climate Week, the Tribunal issued landmark decisions addressing fossil fuel infrastructure and megaprojects. At the People’s Forum, the Tribunal launched its verdict on the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Southgate Extension, following the first fully Indigenous-led tribunal. Judges found the project in violation of the Rights of Nature, Indigenous sovereignty, and human rights, calling for its immediate cancellation, the recognition of rivers as legal subjects, and a moratorium on new fossil fuel infrastructure in the U.S. Southeast. More information.

The Tribunal also officially delivered its judgment on Mexico’s Tren Maya megaproject to President Claudia Sheinbaum, reaffirming findings of ecocide and ethnocide, ordering suspension, demilitarization of territories, recognition of cenotes as subjects of rights, and full ecosystem restoration. Based on new evidence and a 2025 observation mission, the Tribunal confirmed the worsening impacts and expanded its resolution to include mega pig farms in Yucatán, calling for moratoria, dismantling of facilities in the Ring of Cenotes, and constitutional recognition of the Rights of Nature. Read more.

November | Brazil: A New Pledge for Mother Nature

The Tribunal concluded its 6th international session in Belém, Brazil, on the eve of COP30, with the launch of A New Pledge for Mother Nature. This closing declaration synthesizes over a decade of testimony, judgments, and community struggles, calling for a deep civilizational shift. Among its core demands are the recognition of the Amazon as a subject of rights, an indefinite moratorium on fossil fuel expansion in the Amazon, protection of Earth Defenders, climate justice beyond market mechanisms, and reparations addressing the root causes of ecological destruction. As the Pledge affirms: “We are all part of the Earth, an indivisible and living community of interrelated and interdependent beings.” More information.

In 2025, the International Rights of Nature Tribunal did not merely document harm: it strengthened a global movement for justice, accountability, and the defense of life itself. Thank you for joining us in this journey.