Chapter VI. Peasant influence on the demarcation of the Páramo de Sumapaz: Judicial compliance and territorial governance

The demarcation of the Sumapaz–Cruz Verde moorland is one of the main environmental challenges facing the Sumapaz region. This issue requires a regulatory process that takes into account the rights of the farmers who have inhabited the area for years. Based on Constitutional Protection Ruling 110013337040-2019-00257-00 issued by Bogotá’s 40th Administrative Court of Oral Proceedings, a request was made to mandate a demarcation process that ensures the effective, meaningful, and decisive participation of these communities, which must be considered subjects of special protection in environmental and social contexts. The study employed a participatory methodology with a qualitative approach, involving a review of documents, regulatory analysis, and interviews with community and institutional leaders. This research highlights the existence of long-standing tensions that reveal the distrust residents have felt toward the State and processes carried out without prior consultation. Based on the evidence, peasant participation is key to legitimizing decisions, preventing socio-environmental conflicts, and building governance models that integrate environmental sustainability, social justice, and cultural recognition of the population.  In addition to these considerations, the project gains legitimacy by taking traditional knowledge into account; compensation measures and economic restructuring must also be considered so that the work carried out by the government serves to recognize the rights of the people who have inhabited the Páramo for generations.