Are the rights of nature the only way to save Lough Neagh?

Northern Ireland's Lough Neagh – the UK and Ireland's largest freshwater lake – recently hit the headlines owing to an ecological crisis caused by the level of pollutants entering its waters. With political attention drawn to the lough, an emerging idea amongst environmental activists – inspired by the global ‘rights of nature’ (RoN) movement – is that it should be granted legally enforceable rights and brought into public ownership. In this article, we assess the prospects of an RoN approach being adopted in Northern Ireland. We highlight how the indigenous and decolonial origins of RoN ideas, alongside links between agricultural interests and political unionism, might prove a barrier to cross-community consensus on granting rights to Lough Neagh. We propose that thinking about the lough through the lens of the rights of future generations – particularly to fresh drinking water – might offer a more politically palatable approach. We suggest that the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales offers a relevant institutional precedent.