[Review of the book Understanding the rights of nature: A critical introduction, by M. Tănăsescu]

Granting rights to nature has become increasingly common in disparate parts of the world: from the rights of nature (RoN) provisions written into the Ecuadorian Constitution to the legal entity status granted to Te Urewera in Aotearoa/New Zealand and, for example, the rights recently accorded to Mar Menor in Spain. They have been promoted not only by specialized networks such as the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) but also by judges and, for instance, religious leaders like Pope Francis. As RoN are becoming a “go-to tool of emancipatory politics” (p. 14), Understanding the Rights of Nature provides a welcome reflection on the fundamental questions “what the rights of nature mean” and “how and why they are used” (p. 15).