César Rodríguez-Garavito is an Earth rights scholar, field lawyer, and founding director of the MOTH (More-Than-Human Life) Program at New York University.
He is a Professor of Law and founding director of COMPASS (Commons on Machines, Policy, Automation & Society) at NYU. His work has advanced new ideas and legal actions worldwide on issues such as climate justice, Indigenous rights, AI governance, and what he calls "more-than-human rights" (rights of nature). His contributions to Earth rights have been recognized with a More-Than-Human Fellowship from the London Design Museum and a place on the UN Museum's Top 10 Culture for Impact 2024 list. His ongoing initiatives include a pioneering ethical and legal framework for AI-assisted animal communication studies, a partnership with Project CETI on the legal implications of AI-assisted whale language translation, collaborations with Indigenous leaders and communities of the Amazon and Pacific Island nations to protect forest and ocean beings, and work with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks on legal pathways to protect the fungal kingdom of life.