Bang to Rights Workshop - Nottingham

In 2016 the Colombian Constitutional Court awared the communities of the Atrato River 'bio-cultural rights' in response to its destruction at the hands of illegal gold miners and loggers. The ruling made legal provision for the appointment of fourteen Guardians, drawn from riverine communities, as advocates for the Atrato river and its catchment - one of the most biodiverse places in the world. It is a pioneering decision that has brought the issue of environmental rights to the forefront in a remote region plagued by intersecting issues of illegal mining and logging, armed conflict and violence, corruption, displacement and poverty. But a gap is emerging between the rhetoric and ambition of the ruling and its implementation, in part because the ruling raises as many questions as it answers. Are bio-cultural rights the best vehicle for protecting and restoring the Atrato river system? How can these new rights be realised in the contexts of violence, intimidation, corruption and poverty? What is required to equip the Guardians to carry out their duties as effective advocates for the river? What is needed to make sure the Court ruling is enacted by the Colombian State? Despite an ambitous timeline, only limited progress has been made on protecting and restoring the Atrato River since 2016 and illegal mining continues unabated.

This workshop will provide a unique opportunity for the exchange of ideas and realities between the Atrato Guaridans, academics practitioners and members of the public with interests in bio-cultural and environmental rights. At its core will be the opportunity to learn from the lived realities of others through the structured exchange of experiences, ideas and expert vocabularies - so that the policies and practices shaping the bio-cultural and environmental rights of rivers can be informed and enriched.