Abstract

In 2023, Antarctic Rights released the Declaration on the Rights of Antarctica. It is the first time rights of nature reach the Antarctic. However, rights of nature have been developed and implemented in very different contexts, within States and often in collaboration with local communities. While the Declaration provides novel ideas regarding the governance of global commons and the inclusion of Antarctic non-humans, there are also significant challenges. Can the law account for rapid changes in Antarctica? Who would implement the Declaration? And who gets to represent Antarctica? The Declaration invites further reflections on the role of humans in Antarctic governance, and whether human absence, rather than presence, should be at the heart of ecocentric governance in the region.