City of Bucaramanga et al. v. Ministry of Environment et al. - Other

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In 2018, the City of Bucaramanga filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the National Authority on Environmental Licenses, and two regional environmental authorities (Corporación Autónoma Regional para la Defensa de la Meseta de Bucaramanga -CDMB and Corporación Autónoma Regional de Norte de Santander -CORPONOR) seeking the protection of the Páramo of Santurbán against mining activities. Later in 2020, citizen Antonio José Serrano Martínez filed a second lawsuit against the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the National Authority on Environmental Licenses, also seeking the protection of the same ecosystem against mining activities. Due to their similarities, the lawsuits were studied and decided together.
Páramos are high-altitude, tropical, montane ecosystems characterized by a cold, humid climate, herbaceous vegetation, and peat soil, and found primarily in the Andes Mountains. The Páramo of Santurbán’s importance relies on its functionality as a carbon capturer, water regulator, and biodiversity reservoir. As such, its protection presupposes the enjoyment of several human rights, including access to safe drinking water, a healthy environment, public health, food security, and sustainability.
On July 21, 2025, the Administrative Tribunal of Santander granted the status of subject of rights to the Páramo of Santurbán. Following the legal precedents set by the Constitutional Court (Atrato River) and the Supreme Court (Amazon region and Los Nevados National Natural Park), the Tribunal found there was sufficient evidence to declare the páramo ecosystem as a subject of rights.
Notably, the decision cites the recent Inter-American Court of Human Rights Advisory Opinion No. 32/25, which reaffirmed the interdependence of human rights and environmental protection, while also recognizing nature as a subject of rights in its own right. The Tribunal also recalled the Advisory Opinion’s recognition of a right to a healthy climate. It reiterated the need to provide comprehensive protection of the myriad ecosystems that coexist in the world. Furthermore, the Tribunal stated that climate change, along with other anthropogenic activities such as mining and agriculture, has contributed to the structural and persistent existential threat of the páramo ecosystem. The Tribunal concluded there was a real risk that could significantly harm the páramo, which called for an immediate and reinforced protection. Moreover, the Tribunal invoked intergenerational equity as a bedrock principle to support the recognition of rights of nature. The decision is under appeal.

City of Bucaramanga et al. v. Ministry of Environment et al.

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

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.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

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

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

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

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

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

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

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.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Energy derived from biological compounds that are renewable due to their short life cycle within the carbon dioxide cycle.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Financial actors and resources that are primarily directed towards climate change mitigation, adaptation and compensation.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for all, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity.

Actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience of societies and the economy to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

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

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

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

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Using laws and the legal system more broadly to protect vulnerable entities

Direct investments by the governments using public funds. This can be to support climate initiatives or integrate climate into other projects.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

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.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

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.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

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

A company that is owned wholly or partially by the state, typically operating in key sectors.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

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

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

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.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

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.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

City of Bucaramanga et al. v. Ministry of Environment et al. - Other

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance