Summary
On March 5, 2024, a bill to recognize Colombia’s Sumapaz River as an entity with rights was filed in the House of Representatives. The purpose of this Law is “to recognize the Sumapaz River, its basin, and its tributaries as a subject of rights, in order to guarantee its protection, conservation, maintenance, and restoration by the State, the ethnic communities, and the farmers living in the area of influence.” The Sumapaz river originates in the Sumapaz páramo, the largest páramo in the world. Its watershed extends through Cundinamarca (68%), Tolima (18%), and the San Juan district in rural Bogotá (14%).
If the law is approved, three legal delegates from the area’s ethnic and rural communities would be elected, who would be responsible for safeguarding and guaranteeing the river’s rights recognized by law. Additionally, the Sumapaz River Guardians Commission would be created, which would be composed of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cundinamarca (CAR), the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Tolima (Cortolima), representatives from the governorships of Cundinamarca and Tolima, public and private entities, universities, academic and natural resource research centers, and environmental and community organizations.
Furthermore, to ensure protection, a protection plan will also be developed with measures for the decontamination, conservation, and protection of waters and riparian territories, the recovery of ecosystems, the reforestation of affected areas, as well as the prevention of further damage in the region. This plan must contain short, medium, and long-term measures.
The idea of the bill was to imitate Colombia’s 2016 Constitutional Court ruling, which recognized the rights of the Atrato river. Importantly, the Sumapaz River is a key tributary of the Magdalena River, which in 2019, the First Criminal Court of Neiva, Huila in Colombia also recognized as an entity subject to rights.
Related Initiatives
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/colombia-law-on-the-rights-of-the-sumapaz-river/.
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