Wild Law Institute

15/06/2026

Join us for the first public engagement on the Draft Antarctica Declaration.

As part of London Climate Action Week, we are convening the first collaborative consultation to review and strengthen the draft Antarctica Declaration.

The Declaration seeks to advance new legal, ethical and governance approaches for the protection of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. This engagement marks the beginning of an international consultation process bringing together Antarctic experts, environmental lawyers, Indigenous representatives, scientists and others to have their say on the Declaration.

The event will be on the22nd of June 2026 in London am

The Declaration will be refined through this global consultation process, with the aim of being formally signed during Antarctica Week in Cape Town in December 2026.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP at [email protected].

We look forward to welcoming everyone interested in contributing to this important initiative.

22/04/2026

We are one with Mother Earth; every decision proves it.
22 April - Mother Earth Day

A reminder that the planet sustaining all life is under extraordinary pressure from climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, pollution, and wildlife trade. More than a celebration, it is a call to shift how we relate to the natural world, from extraction to reciprocity and respect. It asks us to remember that we are not separate from Nature, we are Nature.

Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature - GARN
GARN African Hub
Earth Law Center

16/02/2026

Long before borders were drawn or laws were written, whales were already holding the memory of the oceans.

Travelling ancient routes across entire hemispheres, carrying stories in sound. Each migration traces a living map of the planet as it once was, and as it still might be.

To encounter a whale is to meet an elder of the Earth community.
And yet today, their pathways are fractured. Their songs are interrupted by noise, their bodies entangled in our systems, their futures negotiated without their consent.

World Whale Day is an invitation to listen differently.

To recognise whales not as symbols or spectacles, but as living beings with their own right to exist, to migrate, to communicate, and to flourish.

The question is whether our laws, our economies, and our ways of living are willing to listen and to respond with care.

30/01/2026

Looking back on five powerful months of dialogue, advocacy and movement-building

Over the past quarter, the Wild Law Institute has been present in key spaces where Earth Jurisprudence and Rights of Nature are shaping new legal and cultural imaginaries. From the NWU Colloquium, where interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners explored innovative legal frameworks (including legal personhood for natural entities and African Indigenous approaches to conservation) to Nature and Circularity Week in the Western Cape, where Cormac Cullinan spoke on Rights of Nature and Earth-centred law as pathways toward ecological justice.

On the global stage, we joined movements converging around COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where the 6th International Rights of Nature Tribunal issued a clear call for systemic transformation through its declaration, "A New Pledge for Mother Nature". Together, these moments reflect a growing momentum to move beyond extractive models and place respect for Earth at the heart of governance, law and climate justice.

Head to our website to read more: https://www.wildlaw.net/news

06/12/2025

The true causes behind the collapse of penguin populations are becoming increasingly clear.
It’s unfortunate that the authorities seem more interested in assigning blame in all convenient directions than in confronting the underlying issues that truly drive this decline.
And while the finger-pointing continues, the penguins keep dying.

Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research finds

02/12/2025

Our gratitude to SbonDaba Dance Company for their extraordinary performance on 1 December, Antarctica Day, a piece that embodied the wind of Antarctica, the living current that moves across the continent carrying stories of ice, resilience, and life itself.
This breathtaking performance at 5h30 am sunrise, was Cape Town’s powerful offering and the opening for the multi-location global launch of the Antarctic Rights Alliance, and it captured the spirit of the moment beautifully.

Thank you for giving movement to the winds that connect us all.



Film Credit: Earth Agency

02/12/2025

Thank you, Extiction Rebellion

On 1 December,Antarctica Day, Extiction Rebellion offered an absolutely breathtaking performance, embodying the fierce, untamed wind of Antarctica. This was Cape Town’s artistic contribution and the opening event for the multi-location global launch of the Antarctic Rights Alliance, and it could not have been more powerful.

You gave us the spirit of the Ice and Wind from Antarctica, reminding us why protection, rights, and reverence for Antarctica are urgently needed.

30/11/2025

Access the Press Resource Kit here!

30/11/2025

Acknowlegement of the species we have already lost.

Thank you

30/11/2025

Wild animals belong in the wild.


City of Cape Town

Jorge the loggerhead sea turtle just proved that instincts never die. After more than four decades stuck in a tiny tank in Argentina, the 60 year old legend finally got a second shot at the wild.

Researchers spent three years toughening him up again with saltwater, live prey, strong currents, and everything he needed to remember how to survive on his own. When they released him into the Atlantic in 2025, nobody knew if he would make it.

He did more than make it. He took off.

Within his first 70 days of freedom, Jorge swam more than 1700 miles toward Brazil. He is now cruising off the coast of Santa Catarina, living like he should have all along.

A reminder that grit runs deep, even in the animal world. Freedom hits different when you fight to get it back.