The 30 hectare 'forest that owns itself' is situated in the beautiful Jura mountains in France. It is a Natura2000 area from which you overlook the lake and city of Geneva, 'global capital of human rights'. This forest provides home to an enormous variety of animals, plants and trees. Why do we want a forest that owns itself?
First and foremost, we want this piece of forest to always remain a forest ecosystem: a rich biodiverse area, providing home to various animals, plants and trees and regenerating the soil and extracting carbondioxide from the air. It is one of the first examples in which nature owns itself.
This example will enable us to bring to life our vision that nature can be better protected and preserved for future generations by acknowledging its rights. As this forest is situated close to the global capital of human rights - Geneva - it can become an inspiring place to visit. A place where you can enjoy the beauty of nature and simultaneously learn about the philosophy behind Rights of Nature and how to apply this in practice.
We will engage young people, students and the local stakeholders to join us in exploring this new perspective on protecting nature by acknowledging its rights for the only purpose to protect its beauty for generations to come.
How you can help
To purchase the plot from the market we will need EUR 125.000. The (ANBI) foundation SUFYR will set up a foundation that buys the forest. Some boardmembers of SUFYR will also have a seat in the Board of this foundation, together with local stakeholders. Via the statutes of the foundation we can ensure that this forest plot will remain a wild forest forever.
We see this initiative as a pilot from which SUFYR can gain knowledge and experience in how to apply Rights of Nature in practice. We ultimately aim to develop a scalable approach and process for buying land which is owned by itself.
Will you help us buy free this forest? Please do and donate:
Stichting Stand Up For Your Rights
IBAN NL17 TRIO 0784 8646 59
please do mention FOREST2022 in your payment. Thank you!
As we are an ANBI (charitable tax registered foundation), Dutch people can deduct their donation from their income tax. Please inquire should you have more questions on that.