Santurbán paramo’s social-environmental conflict. Applicable legal frame to water Human Right protection in highlands ecosystems versus transnational extractive mining activity in Colombia.

Identifier:  TFM:983

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFM983

Authors:  Durán Castellanos, María Alejandra

Abstract:
Colombia, the amphibious country, has one of the most diverse land in the planet, but it is also a place with the most social-environmental conflicts in the world. Santurbán paramo is an example of how, even against a passive administration who did not properly protected the unquestionable social and ecological value of a paramo, a sector from Santander and North Santander Departments civil society woke up and stood up against the risk of degradation of water resources and preservation of natural habitats. As a result of citizen mobilization process started in year 2010, Colombian Government and Courts started to take measures to protect this ecosystem and ensure socio-environmental interests within. Nevertheless this measures started new legal dilemmas still to solve, such as which is the mining limit in special value environmental zones, or how to weigh paramo’s population needs with transnational corporations frustrated legal expectations. This study is structured in four chapters and two blocs in order to represent Santurbán socialenvironmental conflict in light of international regulations and its reflect in Colombian legal system. Using a legal-explorative research method and approaching the legal- environmental context, this study looks to establish the starting point state of the matter in order to reveal Colombia legal system efficiency to protect the environment, specially paramo ecosystem. From the frame obtained, this study also intends to point out some legal proposals which could be useful to solve said legal dilemmas, revealing ways to new environmental protection legal tools.