Summary
Representatives of different local and indigenous communities in the Sucumbíos province, Putumayo canton, El Carmen de Putumayo, Palma Roja, and Santa Elena parishes filed a public action of unconstitutionality for the violation of the constitutional rights of their communities and nature. This case refers to the unconstitutionality of articles 1 to 8 of Agreement No. 080 of the Ministry of the Environment, which declare as Forest and Protective Vegetation the area called Cuembí Triangle within the province. The Agreement implied the militarization of the territory ancestrally occupied by communities of Kichwa nationality and the prohibition of the ruling of lands to possessors settled in the area. The court declared the agreement unconstitutional. It said the agreement could serve a legitimate purpose, but a consultation process is imperative. The Court declared that although environmental conservation and the protection of the rights of nature a noble goal, it cannot be achieved at the cost of the denial of the rights of peoples, communities and nationalities. Instead, it must be acheived in harmony with these rights.