I AM

Jessica den Outer

If companies can have rights, why can’t rivers, forests and mountains? And why should only humans have the right to life – doesn’t the rest of Nature also have the right to exist, to flourish and to evolve? I believe it’s time for a legal revolution for Nature. I plead with heart & soul for the Rights of Nature. 💚

About me

From a young age, I’ve had an immense love for everything that flies, crawls, and swims across this Earth, and I feel most at home in the forest. As a little girl, my grandfather introduced me to all the insects swarming through my garden. That’s where my deep love and passion for nature began. At the same time, since my teenage years I’ve been fascinated by law. My strong sense of justice naturally led me to study law. I chose not to follow the ‘traditional path’ and now use my legal knowledge and background to advocate for a new approach.

my background and experiences

My books

My books are my way of giving Nature a voice: turning legal breakthroughs and grassroots struggles into stories that inspire action. Storytelling is my most important instrument.

Coming Soon (Feb. 20 2026)

The Forest Fights Back

The book The Forest Fights Back by Jessica den Outer examines the global Rights of Nature movement, which challenges the tradition of treating nature as property. It highlights grassroots campaigns—from New Zealand’s Whanganui River to Spain’s Mar Menor lagoon—that fight for legal recognition of ecosystems’ rights to exist and thrive. More than a legal effort, it represents a broader cultural shift in how humanity relates to and defends nature.

Rechten voor de Natuur (NL)

This book introduces the fastest growing legal movement and tells how rivers, forests and mountains are being recognised as legal persons.

Das Meer Klagt An (GER)

Das Meer Klagt An offers a fresh lens on climate debates, highlighting law as a tool to protect the planet.

Compendium Rights of Nature

This Compendium shows how nature is increasingly recognised as a legal person worldwide. It highlights the worldviews and laws behind this shift.

Rights of Nature Foundation

After publishing my book Rights for Nature, I was flooded with questions: how do we bring Rights of Nature to the Netherlands? It stayed with me. I realized there was a huge need to explore together how we can give nature a voice here. That’s why I founded the Rights of Nature Foundation. With the foundation we are building a movement: from citizens standing up for their river or forest, to policymakers exploring new legal possibilities. By now we have become a recognizable platform where knowledge, inspiration and action come together. I see this as only the beginning. My dream is for the Netherlands to join the countries that have already recognized nature as a legal person, and for us to truly learn to live with nature instead of against it. That requires courage, creativity and cooperation — but above all the conviction that it is possible. That’s why I started this foundation, and I hope you’ll walk this path with us. 🌿

What are you waiting for?

Impactful

Speaking

Through keynotes, lectures, and workshops I want to inspire people to look at nature differently. Law plays an important role in this. Law is alive, and can be seen as a transformative tool. Norms and values in the law must evolve with the times. My mission is to introduce people, in an accessible and inspiring way, to the fastest-growing legal movement of the 21st century: Rights for Nature.

They’ve gone before you