How Does the Glacier Speak? Problematising ‘Listening’, Ecocentrism, and ‘Voice’ in a Rights of Nature Movement

Snæfellsjökul fyrir forseta (SFF) is a Rights of Nature collective originally formed to nominate the glacier Snæfellsjökull as a candidate for Iceland’s 2024 presidential election. Here, we reflect on the experiences of listening, in particular to and with a glacier. Although concepts like ‘voices of nature’ seek to advocate an ecocentric mindset, they assert an implicit anthropocentrism in assuming that entities need to be like humans to be worth listening to. We acknowledge that a glacier does not ‘speak’ – but it does make sounds, and these sounds carry meanings if there are agents who listen and interpret.