--- description: In what's believed to be a world first, New Zealand's government has granted a river the same rights as a living person title: New Zealand Recognizes Whanganui River as 'Living Person' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf07538eaa8c7354e/6988be9c8fd2eef4c135629e/img_5144.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New Zealand's Whanganui River Has Been Granted the Same Legal Rights as a Person by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 16, 2017 6:10 AM CUT  New Zealand's Whanganui River, seen through morning mist from the Aramoana Viewpoint, on May 30, 2016 New Zealand's Whanganui River, seen through morning mist from the Aramoana Viewpoint, on May 30, 2016Liam Fitzpatrick by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 16, 2017 6:10 AM CUT In what’s believed to be a world first, New Zealand’s government has granted a river the same rights as a living person. The Whanganui River, considered part of the living landscape by the indigenous Whanganui Iwi people associated with it, has been granted legal personhood under a parliamentary bill, [reports](http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/03/whanganui-river-the-first-in-the-world-to-be-given-legal-status-as-a-person.html "undefined") local news service Newshub. Two representatives from the local indigenous community — one appointed by the government, another elected by the community — will be entrusted with acting in the river’s interests. The Whanganui Iwi have fought for this day for over 160 years, an indigenous MP [told](http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/326689/whanganui-river-to-gain-legal-personhood "undefined") Radio New Zealand. “From a Whanganui viewpoint the wellbeing of the river is directly linked to the well-being of the people,” said Adtian Rurawhe, “and so it is really important that’s recognized as its own identity” “I know some people will say it’s pretty strange to give a natural resource a legal personality,” Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said, according to Newshub. “But it’s no stranger than family trusts, or companies, or incorporated societies.” In the precolonial era, the Whanganui River was a vital communication route for Maori people and it navigability attracted large-scale settlement in the Whanganui River valley. When colonists arrived, it was the most densely populated part of what is today called the North Island. For these reasons, the area is rich in Maori history and culture. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4703251/new-zealand-whanganui-river-wanganui-rights/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4703251/new-zealand-whanganui-river-wanganui-rights/"},"headline":"New Zealand's Whanganui River Has Been Granted the Same Legal Rights as a Person","datePublished":"2017-03-16T06:10:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:06:13.560Z","description":"It's believed to be the first such case in the world","url":"https://time.com/4703251/new-zealand-whanganui-river-wanganui-rights/","keywords":["Newsfeed","New Zealand","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf07538eaa8c7354e/6988be9c8fd2eef4c135629e/img_5144.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf07538eaa8c7354e/6988be9c8fd2eef4c135629e/img_5144.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Whanganui River","caption":"New Zealand's Whanganui River, seen through morning mist from the Aramoana Viewpoint, on May 30, 2016","creditText":"Liam Fitzpatrick","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4703251/new-zealand-whanganui-river-wanganui-rights/","name":"New Zealand's Whanganui River Has Been Granted the Same Legal Rights as a Person"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Apparently New Zealand Might Be Part of a Lost Underwater Continent","description":"A group of geologists believes New Zealand and several surrounding islands, including New Caledonia, should be reclassified as part of an eighth continent called Zealandia","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/tbhwm7we/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-02-17T15:41:36.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tbhwm7we.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4703251/new-zealand-whanganui-river-wanganui-rights/","duration":"PT36S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4703251/new-zealand-whanganui-river-wanganui-rights/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```