their livelihoods by supplying access to better technology’’. This does not mean completely eliminating mercury but rather using it more efficiently. A practical guide published by ASGM in 2011 on how to reduce mercury uses, UNEP recommends limiting mercury use with improved practices and moving towards mercury-free technologies that either boost or maintain miner income while protecting the health and the environment. The economic interests of the miners should also be safeguarded while protecting health and environment. Currently, the Government of Antioquia, Corantioquia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia and BioRedd are developing programs to help informal miners to improve their mining circuit and are introducing technologies that avoid mercury use in their process. They presented a proposed plant design that eliminates the use of mercury by replacing gravity concentration processes taking advantage of the characteristics of the treated material. Recently, many companies have started re-evaluating gravity systems as they are relatively simple and that they produce little environmental pollution and also due to the increased costs of flotation reagents. They proved to be effective as they significantly reduce mercury use. They are proving to miners that with technical support and using alternatives to mercury they are able to recover more valuable material than they do at present. Government response New environmental protection legislation was enacted in 1991, including the creation of specially protected zones, of which more than 200 were created in the early 1990s, mostly in forest areas and national parks. As a result of this charter, the Ministry of the Environment was established in 1993, merging with the housing and drinking water division of the Ministry of Economic Development, Housing, and Potable Water in 2003. As of April 5, 2018, Colombia's highest court has declared that the government of Colombia is responsible and must take urgent action to protect its Amazon Rainforest. This 4-3 ruling has also recognized the Amazon as an "entity subject of rights", which means the Amazon Rainforest has the same legal rights as a human being. The court ordered the local and national government, the environment and agriculture ministries and environmental authorities to come up with action plans within four months to combat deforestation in the Amazon. In 2019, however, the government spent 21% less on environmental protection than it had the previous year. This was one of the conclusions of a 333-page report, "Estado de los recursos naturales y del ambiente," released by the