Photo: Fedepesan president Yuli Velásquez commenting on, as Credhos notes, this achievement for the historic struggle of artisanal fishing communities.
This past Saturday May 9, Los Informantes reported: “Yuli Velásquez’s fight against pollution in the San Silvestre Marsh in Barrancabermeja culminated in a landmark ruling in favor of the fishermen and endangered species that inhabit these waters. Tune in this Sunday to #LosInformantes to meet a leader who faced threats for defending the water that sustains hundreds of families.”
A portion of that Los Informantes video report can be seen here. The full video cannot be seen in Canada, but for others here is the link.
The Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (Credhos) has also highlighted on social media: “This [court ruling] undoubtedly represents an achievement for the historic struggle of artisanal fishing communities, who defend the water, their enterprise, their habitat for subsistence and permanence on the territory.”
Credhos also notes: “Since the year 2022 CREDHOS together with Fedepesan have begun research work, compiling the evidence that Fedepesan has been collecting since its inception on environmental impacts through the Environmental and Community Monitoring in Caño Rosario and Caño San Silvestre.”
The court ruling
On May 6, 2026, Enlace Television reported: “The Administrative Court of Santander issued a ruling that warns of a serious threat to collective environmental rights due to the contamination of Caño Rosario, a key tributary that directly impacts the San Silvestre swamp, a strategic ecosystem in the Barrancabermeja region. According to the ruling, the environmental problem has been intensified by multiple factors, including wastewater discharges, the presence of hydrocarbons and other chemical contaminants that have significantly deteriorated the quality of the water.”
The article continues: “The court ruling mandates the implementation of an environmental monitoring process that includes physicochemical testing of the water, sludge analysis, and detailed studies of ecosystem conditions. These tests must be carried out in certified laboratories to guarantee reliable results. In addition, a period of six months was established from the notification of the sentence to initiate the necessary actions in the Caño Rosario and the San Silvestre swamp, in order to evaluate and mitigate the environmental damage.”
The article also highlights: “The communities see this decision as an important step towards the environmental recovery of Caño Rosario, with the expectation of achieving the cleaning of the tributary and the protection of the natural resources that sustain their economy and way of life.”
Vanguardia further reports: “The Administrative Court of Santander confirmed in second instance the ruling of the popular action filed by the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen, Environmentalists and Tourists (Fedepesan) for the alleged contamination of the El Rosario channel in Barrancabermeja.”
That article notes that the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (Credhos) accompanied the popular action.
The Vanguardia article also quotes Yuli Andrea Velasquez, the president of Fedepesan, who says following this court ruling: “As fishing communities we have always been concerned about the state of the water of the El Rosario channel, about all the species that have died day by day in large quantities. Our concern was always that water and sludge tests could be carried out to find out what the fishing communities and the community in general of Barrancabermeja were consuming.”
PBI-Canada visits the Rosario channel
On the morning of Thursday June 30, 2022, PBI-Canada joined with PBI-Colombia as they accompanied Fedepesan and Credhos on a visit by boat on the San Silvestre wetland ecosystem in Barrancabermeja and were shown the impacts on water, wildlife and livelihoods of artisanal fishers.
Then on December 7, 2022, we hosted this webinar with Credhos and Fedepesan to further amplify their concerns about the San Silvestre wetlands.
From Canada we continue to follow the work of Fedepesan and Credhos with great interest and congratulate them on this landmark court ruling.
