A small Quebec community has made Canadian history by formally recognizing trees as living beings with basic rights.
Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a municipality of roughly 2,000 residents located just west of Montreal, passed a resolution on June 9 to endorse the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights.
The declaration was introduced in 2018 amid growing concern over global deforestation and the long-standing view of trees as mere objects or resources for human use.
Its purpose, according to the text, is to ‘recognize the Tree as a sentient living being, a source of Life and a common good of humanity.’
A 2019 petition backing the declaration attracted nearly 88,000 signatures, while Terrasse-Vaudreuil’s decision makes it the first public entity in North America to formally adopt its principles.
Mayor Michel Bourdeau said in a French-language press release: ‘By adopting this resolution, Terrasse-Vaudreuil reaffirms its commitment to building a sustainable future.
‘This recognition will be accompanied by concrete programs aimed at protecting our tree canopy, planting trees, and raising public awareness of their importance.’
Bourdeau also told Canadian outlet CBC that, when it comes to confronting climate change, ‘our biggest ally is the trees.’
Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a small town in Quebec, Canada, has signed the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights
The town’s mayor said he is committed to protecting the canopy, raising awareness of the importance of trees and planting more of them. A sapling is pictured in the town
The Universal Declaration of Tree Rights was created in response to worldwide deforestation. A logger is pictured stepping over a felled tree
Terrasse-Vaudreuil Mayor Michel Bourdeau said that ‘our biggest ally is the trees’ when it comes to fighting climate change
Terrasse-Vaudreuil has promised to abide by the three fundamental principles of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights. The first principle states: ‘The Tree, a sentient living being and source of Life, is a common good of humanity.’
The second principle states: ‘Life on Earth depends upon the existence of the Tree.’
And the third states: ‘Human beings, endowed with reason and conscience, must act with the Tree in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity.’
According to the town’s press release, adopting the resolution was a citizen-led initiative inspired by the film Des arbres et des arts (Trees and the Arts), by Quebec filmmaker André Desrochers.
The film argues that trees are living beings that communicate with each other through underground fungal networks that interact symbiotically with roots.
The first article of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights, which claims trees are ‘sentient,’ makes a similar argument, though it also emphasizes a distinction between the rights of trees and those of humans.
‘The recognition of Tree Rights must not automatically be confused with the attribution of legal personhood,’ the declaration states.
‘In certain legal systems, legal personhood may constitute one mechanism for protecting a natural entity. It is, however, neither a necessary foundation nor the exclusive objective of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights.’
The Universal Declaration of Tree Rights aims to change the perception of trees as simply a resource to be extracted by humans. Swathes of deforestation are pictured in Canada
The town adopted the resolution after being inspired by a film that argues trees communicate through fungal networks connected by roots. A spruce tree forest in Quebec is pictured
The main idea behind recognizing trees as sentient beings is to stop people from viewing the plants ‘solely as an object, property, raw material or resource available exclusively for human benefit,’ according to the declaration.
Other natural bodies have been granted similar legal protections in North America on occasion.
Quebec’s Magpie River was given legal personhood in 2021 by the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and the regional municipal council of Minganie.
The protection granted the river nine rights, including freedom from pollution, the right to evolve naturally and a mandate to retain its natural biodiversity.
Lake Erie in Ohio was temporarily granted legal personhood similar to that of an individual or corporation through the 2019 Lake Erie Bill of Rights, but a federal judge ruled the measure unconstitutional in 2020.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Bourdeau, the mayor of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, for comment.
