Isaac Davison: A First -- A River is Given Legal Status→

New Zealand Herald:

Whanganui River

“Whanganui River now has the legal status of a person under a unique Treaty settlement passed into law today. The settlement means the river, the third-longest in the country, has all the rights, duties and liabilities that come with personhood.

Among other things, the river could now be represented in court proceedings, Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said. “I know the initial inclination of some people will say it’s pretty strange to give a natural resource a legal personality. But it’s no stranger than family trusts, or companies or incorporated societies.””

Riparian restoration mitigates impacts of climate change→

Chrystal Mantyka-Pringle, writing for the Conservation Decisions Team:

“Freshwater habitats occupy less than one percent of the Earth’s surface, yet they contribute disproportionately to global biodiversity, supporting approximately ten percent of all known species, and one third of all vertebrates....

By identifying the mechanisms behind predicted biodiversity loss, Mantyka-Pringle et al. (2014) were able to identify management strategies that can simultaneously tackle both climate change and land-use change. The good news story that came out of this study was that they identified riparian vegetation restoration as an important adaptation tool that can mitigate the negative effects of climate change and land-use change on freshwater biota. ”

Around the survivors a perimeter create.

About a third of US rivers contaminated with agricultural runoff→

Scott K. Johnson, reporting for Ars Technica:

“A new survey of streams and rivers, performed by the EPA, provides a greater sense of the scale of the challenge. While industrial pollution, like mercury, remains a concern, agricultural runoff, in the form of sediment and fertilizers, is now far more widespread.”

This use of land as large unintended consequences.