On September 15, 2021, Mariluz Canaquiri Murayari and other Kukama Indigenous women, associated with the Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana Federation, filed a constitutional amparo action against Petróleos del Perú – Petroperú S.A. and several Peruvian national and regional government authorities. Plaintiffs alleged that recurrent oil spills from the Norperuvian Oil Pipeline and deficiencies in its maintenance and environmental management threatened the Marañón River, surrounding ecosystems, and the fundamental and collective rights of Kukama communities that depend on and maintain cultural and spiritual relationships with the river.
Plaintiffs sought recognition of the Marañón River and its tributaries as rights-holders; recognition of Indigenous organizations and state authorities as guardians, defenders, and representatives of the river; Indigenous participation with decision-making capacity in river-basin governance; effective maintenance of the Norperuvian Oil Pipeline; and an updated environmental management instrument. 

In supporting an ecocentric interpretation of the right to a healthy environment and the recognition of Rights of Nature, Plaintiffs relied on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights's OC-23/17 concerning the relationship between environmental degradation, the adverse effects of climate change, and the effective enjoyment of human rights. They also referred to comparative Rights of Nature developments, including recognition of a right to a healthy climate in the U.S.

On March 8, 2024, Judge Armas Chapiama Corley of the Mixed Court of Nauta partially granted the action. The court recognized the Marañón River and its tributaries as rights-holders and ordered measures concerning their guardianship and representation, Indigenous participation in river-basin governance, and the updating of Petroperú's environmental management instrument. In interpreting the right to a healthy environment and the intrinsic value of nature as a component of that right, the court relied on Inter-American human rights jurisprudence, including Advisory Opinion OC-23/17 and Lhaka Honhat v. Argentina. In particular, it drew on the relationship between environmental degradation, the adverse effects of climate change, and the enjoyment of human rights, as well as the autonomous protection of the environment. However, the court rejected Plaintiffs' request for an order requiring maintenance of the Norperuvian Oil Pipeline.

The first-instance judgment was appealed by the plaintiffs, Petroperú, and government defendants, who challenged different aspects of the ruling. Among other issues, Plaintiffs challenged the court's rejection of their request for an order requiring maintenance of the Norperuvian Oil Pipeline, while Defendants challenged aspects of the orders concerning the river's guardianship and representation, river-basin governance, and Petroperú's environmental management obligations. 

On August 29, 2024, the Civil Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Loreto issued its appellate decision, confirming the principal elements of the first-instance judgment. The appellate court further developed the environmental and climate-related reasoning, describing the right to a healthy environment as encompassing clean air, a stable climate, thriving biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems. It also referred to the Paris Agreement, Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si', and Peru's National Environmental Policy to 2030, including its objectives of reducing vulnerability to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. The court confirmed the recognition of the Marañón River and its tributaries as rights-holders, specifying that their recognized rights concern their protection, conservation, maintenance, and sustainable use.

Canaquiri Murayari et al. v. Petroperú S.A. et al. (Marañón River Case)

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Canaquiri Murayari et al. v. Petroperú S.A. et al. (Marañón River Case) - complaint

Filed

Peru

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Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

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Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

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Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

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The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

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Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

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Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

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Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

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Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

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woman and genders outside of the gender binary

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

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This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

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Canaquiri Murayari et al. v. Petroperú S.A. et al. (Marañón River Case) - complaint

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance