DC Colombia
A group of Colombian citizens filed a Public Action of Unconstitutionality (API) with the Constitutional Court, motivated by the national government's persistent failure to fulfill its duties regarding the delimitation, zoning, and environmental management of the territory, particularly the country's most vulnerable and important ecosystems, such as the páramos (high-altitude Andean ecosystems). Specifically, they filed an API against Law 1450 of 2011 and Law 1753 of June 9, 2015, which approves and enacts, respectively, the 2014-2018 National Development Plan (PND).
The plaintiffs argued that while the 2014-2018 National Development Plan prohibits receiving new proposals and signing new mining concession contracts on areas that may eventually be declared as reserved, it allows the strategic mining reserve areas created under the previous National Development Plan to remain in effect, meaning that mining activity will continue to operate through the 347 licenses granted in ecosystems that are especially vulnerable and deserving of special constitutional protection, such as the páramos (high-altitude Andean ecosystems).
In that regard, the plaintiffs referred to the State's obligation to guarantee the preservation of natural resources and biological diversity, which means that no mining exploration or exploitation project can be carried out in the moorland ecosystems.
In its ruling C-035-06, the Constitutional Court established that "the State must fulfill a series of duties to realize its obligation to protect the environment," including the duty to conserve areas of special ecological importance, such as the páramos (high-altitude Andean ecosystems). It also considered that "the sacrifice of legally protected assets, such as the quality, continuity, and accessibility of water, and the other environmental services provided by the páramos, is disproportionate to the potential benefits derived from the extraction of non-renewable resources." In this regard, the Court declared several articles of the National Development Plan (PND) unconstitutional, ordered the immediate cessation of all mining, and prohibited all future mining activity in the region. It also ordered the restitution of lands exploited under Projects of National Strategic Interest (PINES).
The Court's ruling contains some arguments regarding climate change. It refers to the environmental service provided by the páramos as a carbon capture system as follows: “The high content of organic matter, along with the volcanic material present in the soil of the páramos, forms organo-mineral complexes, [which] contribute to increasing the capacity for water retention and regulation and carbon storage. To this extent, the páramos play an important role in mitigating climate change, as they are natural carbon sinks.”
It also refers to the impacts of climate change on the páramos, namely: "in the high mountains of the Central Cordillera of Colombia, a temperature increase of 1.3°C per decade has been recorded (Ruiz et al. 2008) accompanied by a reduction in humidity on sunny days."
In the ruling, the Court indicated that "the páramos play an important role in mitigating climate change as they are natural carbon deposits, since "(...) the characteristics of the soil and its vegetation allow the páramo to make large captures and accumulations of carbon dioxide which, as a result of industrial processes, is present in the atmosphere and causes damage to the ozone layer and negatively influences global climate change."
Furthermore, I indicate that "empirical evidence demonstrates that páramo ecosystems are especially vulnerable and difficult to recover. Thus, for example, although it could be argued that underground mining is less harmful to the soil, air, and vegetation, the truth is that it significantly affects underground water flows, blocking the population's access to this resource. Once the underground channels through which water flows from the páramo to the forest ecosystem and populated centers are blocked, it is practically impossible to recover them, which, as already explained, leads to the water flowing across the surface at an accelerated rate, damaging the páramo's particularly fragile vegetation layer and facilitating erosion."
Congressmen from the Alternative Democratic Pole:
- Alberto Castilla Salazar.
- Alirio Uribe Muñoz.
- Iván Cepeda Castro.
- Victor Javier Correa Velez.
- Others.
- Claim of unconstitutionality.
Mining activities in moorlands primarily affect the rural population and members of indigenous communities, since these ecosystems play a fundamental role in supplying water to the communities, as they absorb water during the rainy season and provide the resource during the dry season.
The National Development Plan (PND) was unaware of the powers of territorial bodies to modify land use, since PINES projects must be in accordance with decentralization and territorial autonomy, and declaring said projects as being of public utility and social interest violates due process and the principles enshrined in the Political Charter.
Standards
- Political Constitution of Colombia.
- Law 1450 of 2011.
- Law 1753 of 2015.
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- Ramsar Convention.
- Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
Beginning
- Equality.
- Caution.