firm, he was chosen to guide a US military expedition to explore and survey the proposed project in Colombia. In 1901, the United States government's Isthmian Canal Commission determined that the Atrato River was not suitable for a canal, due to the length of the route (over 100 miles) and the large amount of silt carried by the river, and recommended Nicaragua and Panama as preferable sites. In November 2016, the Constitutional Court of Colombia declared the legal personhood of the Atrato River possessing the rights to ‘’protection, conservation, maintenance, and restoration.'' While the Colombian Constitution does not explicitly recognize Rights of Nature [RoN], Judge Jorge Iván Palacio ruled that it is a set of ‘’biocultural rights’’ that can be inferred from guarantees in the constitution for biodiversity, cultural, and humanitarian protections. The ‘biocultural rights’’ claim emphasized that the cultural rights of Colombian Indigenous and Afro-Colombian citizens, and the biological rights of the Atrato River are inextricably linked. As a result, Judge Palacio ruled that the biocultural rights should support the conservation, restoration, and sustainable development of the Atrato River The ruling transpired from the degradation of the river basin from large-scale mining and illegal logging practices, which severely impacted the traditional ways of life for Afro-Colombians and Indigenous people. Illegal logging changed the flow of the river, and illicit mining increased the level of toxic chemicals [i.e., mercury and cyanide] entering the river system, causing a threat to the biodiversity of the area, and adversely impacting the health of the vulnerable people of these societies, including children The court referred to New Zealand’s Te Awa Tupua Act and cited New Zealand’s recognition of the Whanganui River’s legal personhood as precedent. Following that example, the court ordered the creation of a guardian body – the Commission of the Guardians of Atrato River, to represent the interests of the river, and manage the river’s resources in a sustainable way that is consistent with the river’s legal personhood status. Initially, the commission would include government representatives and one community representative. However, civil society rejected the idea of just one community and instead made a request for fourteen council members to serve on the council. The request was approved, and the council was formed in May 2018. Fauna Fish Andinoacara biseriatus - A Cichlid. References Environmental personhood Protected areas of Colombia Rivers of Colombia