From April 27 to 29, 2025, advocates from across the Asia-Pacific region came together at the beautiful Mount Purro Nature Reserve in Rizal, Philippines, for the first-ever in-person gathering of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) Asia-Pacific Hub under the theme “Interconnected for Nature: Igniting the Rights of Nature Movement in the Asia-Pacific”.

With delegates, including environmental leaders, legal experts, academics, and indigenous advocates from ten countries – Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Japan (via online) –  the gathering served as a powerful moment of connection, strategy-building, and commitment to advancing the Rights of Nature across the region.

✨ Launch of the Asia-Pacific Hub

First envisioned at the GARN Global Gathering in Siena, Italy (2022), the Asia-Pacific Hub was officially launched during this in-person meeting. The Hub is dedicated to promoting the legal recognition of the Rights of Nature, grounded in Indigenous knowledge, ecological science, and regional collaboration.

Opened with Earth-honoring rituals, advocates engaged in:

• Presentations and interactive discussions on each country’s journey with the Rights of Nature
• Dialogues on the governance structure and strategy of the regional Hub
• Collective planning sessions for joint actions and advocacy
• A cultural “Solidarity Night” showcasing traditional stories and performances

🏞 Community Visit to the Sierra Madre Mountain

As part of the program, participants also visited the Dumagat-Remontados Indigenous communities living around the Mt. Daraitan and the Tinipak River – part of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, the longest mountain range in the country, located in Tanay, Rizal. This area is one of the Philippines’ most vital ecological corridors and serves as a natural fortress against powerful storms. However, it is currently under serious threat from deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, flooding and landslides due to the construction of the Kaliwa Dam.

The China-backed mega dam project has been criticised for violating the Indigenous People’s Rights Act, while moving forward without a genuine and inclusive Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process from the affected communities. These communities are at risk of being displaced without any official relocation plan, and of losing their ancestral lands and waters, burial grounds, livelihoods, collective memories and way of life that have been sustained for generations.

This community and site visit highlighted the lived experiences and struggles of local Indigenous peoples as environmental defenders, underscoring the urgent need to protect ecosystems and their sacred sites through the recognition of the Rights of Nature – such as those of the Sierra Madre Mountain range. The exchange reaffirmed the importance of standing in solidarity with frontline communities and ensuring their voices are central to the Rights of Nature movement.

📜 The Mount Purro Declaration

The gathering culminated in the adoption of the Mount Purro Declaration (April 2025), a powerful commitment to defend Mother Earth and advance the Rights of Nature through a unified, regional approach across the Asia-Pacific region. The Declaration formalizes the Asia-Pacific Hub’s launch and aligns it with the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth and GARN’s global charter, outlining shared commitments:

• To honor Mother Earth and uphold the sanctity of the Rights of Nature;
• To create a culturally vibrant and collaborative regional network;
• To collaborate with communities, institutions, civic movements and individuals aligned with the Rights of Nature;
• To strengthen regional solidarity through evidence-based campaigns and actions;
• To expand the movement through outreach, advocacy, and member engagement across Asia and the Pacific.

This historic document was signed by representatives from leading organizations and institutions in each participating country, marking a milestone in regional coordination for ecological justice.

✊ Standing United

This gathering showed the strength of grassroots leadership and the deep wisdom embedded in local cultures and ecosystems.

We thank everyone who joined us for this historic event. Together, we are sowing seeds of systemic change rooted in resilience, collective action and Rights for Nature.

In March 2023, Facilitator Somabha Bandopadhay visited Nepal and met the organizations and youth organizations working on RoN as a part of the Outreach programme and project of the Youth Hub. This was the first in-person outreach programme organized by the Hub. In this, she met Richa and Prajwol Bikramjit Rana from World Youth for Climate Justice, Acharya Law Associates (legal team advocating RoN in Nepal), Gopal Lamichhane, Special Government Attorney and Shrawan Sharma, Associate, Centre for Democratic and Environmental Rights. With the discussions on spearheading the RoN movement through these organizations and advocating through campaigns with youth organizations, the deliberations were of extreme importance since that shall provide a pathway to a framework of how the RoN movement can be taken forward by GARN in South Asia. Several newer connections have been established from around the region which shall be explored further. The discussions gave newer perspectives and possibilities with several newer collaborations that can be explored and worked on in this year. Several projects and initiatives have been proposed by all these organizations that include grassroots level initiatives, legal interventions, research endeavors and placing RoN and GARN in major discussions and projects concerning the environment at large.

On 24th July 2023 the Youth Hub and the Asia-Pacific Hub organized the Environmental Human Rights Defenders(YEHRD) training on security and protection with the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change established by the Youth Empowerment in Climate Action Platform (YECAP) to be held in the Asia-Pacific region. The YEHRD Training consisted of a series of activities such as facilitated group and plenary discussions, self-reflection exercises, simulations, and short presentations. It also came with curated pre and post-workshop resources to get participants more engaged with environmental human rights.

On the 2nd December 2023, the GARN Asia-Pacific Hub conducted its outreach programme in collaboration with Global Peace Foundation, Nepal. The objective was to introduce the Rights of Nature discourse, GARN and GARN Asia-Pacific Hub in the country. With about 100 participants the National Programme on Rights of Nature in South Asia saw participants from various backgrounds and various age groups. There were practising advocates, professors of law, sociologists, environmental science, biotechnology, students of law, environmental scientists, activists, Nature rights enthusiasts and former Minister of Environment of Nepal. The petitioning advocates for the two most significant Rights of Nature cases in Nepal- the Karnali River case and the Nijgadh International Airport case were also present.