At Italy's largest lake, a movement is taking shape that aims to redefine the relationship between humanity and nature. Citizens, scientists, and environmental organizations are calling for the Gardasee to be given a voice of its own, to be regarded no longer merely as a landscape or a resource, but as a living system with rights of its own. What until recently sounded like a legal utopia has now taken concrete form: the Dichiarazione dei Diritti del Lago di Garda – the Declaration of the Rights of Lake Garda. It was presented in September 2024 in Desenzano and is conceived as a first step toward a national legislative initiative. The project is backed by the Federazione per il riconoscimento dei diritti del Lago di Garda, a coalition of several environmental organizations, including Legambiente, Gaia animali & ambiente, and the Tavolo Ambiente Garda.
A charter without legal force – for now
The so-called charter consists of five articles. Among other things, it establishes that the lake "has a right to the preservation of its ecosystem" and that the residents of the lakeshore communities are obligated to maintain this balance. The document also provides for the creation of a "Consiglio generale del Lago e degli abitanti rivieraschi," an advisory council intended to represent the interests of the lake. The document currently carries no legal force. "The charter has no legal value; it is a cultural and political signal," writes the Giornale di Brescia. The goal of the initiators is to transform the text into a national legislative draft. "We want to turn the declaration into a disegno di legge," states the website of the LUMEN project, which provides the federation with scientific support.
The movement gains academic backing
The movement is supported by legal scholars such as Pasquale Viola, professor of environmental law at the University of Trieste, and geographer Francesco Visentin of the University of Venice. In an interview with Il Bo Live, they explained that the initiative is not meant to remain purely symbolic: "If an ecosystem has rights, it can be defended in the name of the public good, including in court."
Viola points to the example of the Spanish Mar Menor, which in 2022 became the first European natural area to receive rights of its own. He acknowledges that Italian law does not yet recognize such a category. Nevertheless, the initiative could "open a necessary discussion " – one that goes beyond the limits of current environmental law.
Lake Garda: overuse, tourism, climate change
The call for new protective mechanisms does not come out of nowhere. According to Vita, approximately 26.5 million tourists visit Lake Garda each year – with a permanent population of only around 190,000 people. The region is grappling with increasing urban sprawl, water pollution, and biodiversity loss. For the initiators, recognizing the "rights of the lake" is a way to address this pressure through legal means. "The existing tools of environmental law are no longer sufficient," the federation states in one of its declarations. "We need to rethink the relationship between humanity and nature."
Lombardy: cautious optimism in politics
The issue is also gaining attention at the institutional level. Giorgio Maione, Lombardy's councilor for the environment and climate, stated in an interview with the Giornale di Brescia that the idea should not be "categorically ruled out." However, it would be necessary to examine how such a regulation could be reconciled with existing administrative and property structures. Maione cautioned against "dual roles" and legal gray areas, but indicated openness to further debate. So far, no formally introduced legislative draft exists in the parliament in Rome. Neither the Camera dei Deputati nor the Senato della Repubblica has a corresponding dossier on file. The project remains a civil society initiative, sustained by symbolic momentum and growing public interest.
Between vision and reality
Whether the Gardasee will one day actually receive legal personhood remains an open question. Yet the movement has already accomplished something: it is compelling Italyto reconsider the relationship between law and nature. "It's not just about the lake," says Viola. "It's about whether we as a society are prepared to recognize nature as a bearer of rights in its own right."