Colombian court recognizes environmental refugees April 24, 2024

Experts say droughts and floods, which are expected to worsen with climate change, threaten the natural wealth of Colombia, one of the world's most biodiverse countries (Raúl Arboleda)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Colombian court recognizes environmental refugees

A Colombian court has ruled that sudden or gradual environmental disasters can be legally considered a cause of forced displacement, obliging the state to protect and assist affected citizens.

The Constitutional Court found that people can be forcibly relocated due to "sudden environmental disasters or processes of gradual environmental degradation such as climate change, deforestation or ocean acidification", according to a statement released late on Monday.

In Colombia, there are already millions of people who have been displaced by six decades of armed conflict.

In a landmark case for Latin America, the court upheld the claim of a farming couple who said they had been displaced from their land because the Bojaba River in the eastern department of Arauca had repeatedly burst its banks.

Due to the damage caused, they were unable to return home, the couple claimed, stating that the authorities had provided "inadequate" assistance.

The court found that the state "had obligations before, during and after the displacement due to environmental factors".

These included organizing evacuation drills and providing spaces for the relocation of people affected by an environmental disaster.

The court ruled that the state must ensure the couple's fundamental rights, just as it does for the more than 8.6 million people displaced by armed conflict - many of whom fled the countryside for the cities.

According to experts, droughts and floods, which are likely to worsen as a result of climate change, threaten the natural wealth of Colombia, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world.

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