AMA Colombia
Twenty-five young people from seventeen cities and municipalities in Colombia, with the support of the Center for Studies on Law, Justice and Society (Dejusticia), filed a tutela action against the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia; the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development; the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Regional Autonomous Corporations with jurisdiction in the Amazon; and fourteen municipalities in the Amazon that concentrate the highest percentage of deforestation in this region, to stop deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and for omissions in the fulfillment of their duty of environmental protection that has led to an increase in the rate of deforestation, the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions, which in turn is the main cause of climate change. The plaintiffs argued that the increase in greenhouse gas emissions associated with deforestation violated their right to enjoy a healthy environment and created a threat to their rights to life, water, health and food as a future generation that will live through the first climate change scenario 2040-2070.
Among the commitments not fulfilled by the Colombian government are: the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, contained in the Paris Agreement ratified by Colombia, and the reduction of the deforestation rate to zero in the Colombian Amazon by 2020, contained in a Joint Statement signed by Colombia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway, and confirmed in the Colombian Constitution and the National Development Plan 2014-2018.
The case was heard by a lower court, which dismissed the lawsuit. The plaintiffs appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Justice, which overturned it and recognized the Colombian Amazon as an entity with rights. It also ordered the creation of an Action Plan to reduce deforestation and an Intergenerational Pact for the Life of the Colombian Amazon (PIVAC).
On April 5, 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice issued its ruling.
Colombia's Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs by a four-to-three majority, considering that their fundamental rights and those of future generations were threatened by biodiversity loss and climate change, and ordered the Colombian government to stop deforestation by 2022, which it failed to do.
Implementation
Following the ruling, two follow-up reports on the case were submitted, one on April 5, 2019, and another on October 20; and between October and November 2019, a series of hearings were held to verify progress in complying with the ruling. The reports concluded that, to date, none of the orders in the ruling have been fully implemented.
As part of the process of monitoring compliance with the judgment, on December 18, 2020, the Superior Court of Bogotá, among other provisions, ordered the creation of two technical working groups: the first for the execution of the judgment, and the second to support the monitoring of its implementation. It also ordered that the entities responsible for leading the newly formed working groups, with the participation of the plaintiffs, the National Planning Department, and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, adopt a strategy within five months to guarantee the economic sustainability of the judgment's implementation. Furthermore, it urges the community to submit requests to the technical working group supporting the monitoring process and requests that communication channels be enabled for this purpose in order to broaden the participatory process. Finally, provisions were made to expedite the monitoring process.
In addition to these broad resolutions, the decision presented at least three noteworthy aspects: First, the Court recognized the Amazon as a “subject of rights,” marking only the second time such a designation has been granted to a natural entity in Colombia. Second, the Court referenced Colombia’s international commitments—for example, under the 2015 Paris Agreement—in its legal and scientific conclusions, thus “domesticating” international law and policy. Finally, the Court—far from being a bastion of progressive jurisprudence—recognized that maintaining a healthy environment is a fundamental requirement for the application of all other civil and social rights, and even for the very functioning of society.
The plaintiffs are seeking protection of their right to a healthy environment, citing increased deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions in the context of climate change. They assert that climate change has negative consequences not only in the region but also for the country's ecosystems, negatively impacting the water cycle, the soil's capacity to capture and absorb rainwater, and the water supplies reaching the high-altitude wetlands (páramos) and, in turn, the cities. They also argue that it affects food production, contributes to coastal erosion, increases the likelihood of vector-borne diseases, and alters the plaintiffs' urban lives and way of life. In response, the Supreme Court ordered the creation of action plans to counteract the rate of deforestation and address climate change, as well as the updating of the Territorial Planning Plans of Amazonian municipalities to incorporate a climate change adaptation approach.
The plaintiffs are acting collectively because they are the generation that will face the greatest consequences of climate change.
The Supreme Court of Justice emphasized Colombia's commitment to achieving the reduction of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, adopted within the framework of the Paris Agreement.
The decision mandates addressing deforestation within the context of climate change through a plan to mitigate early warnings of deforestation. It also orders the Regional Autonomous Corporations to create action plans to reduce deforestation, with measurable preventive, mandatory, corrective, and educational strategies aimed at climate change adaptation.
- Young people aged between 7 and 25 living in 17 cities and municipalities highly vulnerable to climate change, with the support of Dejusticia.
- Presidency of the Republic.
- Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
- Special Administrative Unit of National Natural Parks.
- Governorates of Amazonas, Caquetá, Guainía, Guaviare, Putumayo and Vaupés.
- Corpoamazonía.
- CDA.
- Cormacarena.
- 14 municipalities in the Colombian Amazon where Early Warnings of Deforestation are concentrated.
The Colombian Amazon is the region with the highest rate of deforestation in the country. Under the Paris Agreement, in Law 1753 of 2015 (National Development Plan 2014-2018), the Colombian government committed to reducing deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation decreased between 2017 and 2018, and again between 2018 and 2019, but in 2020 all indications suggest that deforestation has increased.
Between 2017 and 2018, the level of deforestation decreased nationally, from 219,973 hectares to 197,159 hectares (ha) deforested (a 10% reduction), and in the Amazon, it decreased from 144,147 ha to 138,176 ha deforested (a 5% reduction); however, during this period, the proportion of deforestation in the Amazon relative to the national total increased (from 65.5% to 70.1% of national deforestation).
Between 2018 and 2019, the level of deforestation decreased nationally, from 197,159 hectares to 158,894 hectares (a 19% reduction), and in the Amazon, it decreased from 138,176 hectares to 98,256 hectares (a 28.89% reduction). Additionally, the proportion of deforestation in the Amazon relative to the national total decreased (from 70.1% to 62% of national deforestation).
Between the first quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, the Colombian Amazon went from concentrating 57.75% of national deforestation to 68.39%, and in the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020, the Colombian Amazon went from concentrating 11.39% of national deforestation to 40.75%.
Rules:
- Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment
- United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Environmental Modification Techniques for Military Purposes
- Geneva Convention
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Paris Agreement
- Political Constitution
Beginning:
- Caution
- Intergenerational Equity
- Solidarity
- Stake
- Children's interest