Kukama women fight for rights for the vital Marañón River!

Kukama women fight for rights for the vital Marañón River!

On April 29, 2025, Celia Fasabi Pizango, a board member of the Kukama women's organization from Peru, visited the University of Passau. She was accompanied by Miriam Torres López from the NGO Forum Solidaridad Perú. The visit and the associated panel discussions served to exchange ideas about the “Rights of Nature”, a topic that is becoming increasingly important in the current environmental discussion worldwide. On this occasion, Fasabi reported on the central role of the Marañón River for the Kukama community, which sees it as a living being that provides not only drinking water but also food.

Unfortunately, the Marañón is threatened by numerous oil spills and pollution. This has not only led to a decline in fish stocks but has also caused serious health problems in the Kukama community. In this context, the Kukama women fought for legal recognition of the Río Marañón as a legal entity before the provincial court in Nauta. The ruling was seen as a significant step in protecting the river and the surrounding rainforest, which Fasabi highlighted.

Legal breakthrough for the Marañón

In March 2023, the Nauta Provincial Court decided to declare the river and its tributaries a legal entity. This was the first time in Peru that a river was recognized as a legal entity. The lawsuit was filed by the Kukama women's organization Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana and received support from various organizations, including Forum Solidaridad Perú and International Rivers. On appeal, the court upheld the first instance ruling and ordered Petroperu to immediately maintain the oil pipeline that was responsible for the environmental disasters.

Judge Roxana Carrión Ramírez recognized the importance of the Kukama's cosmovision and the need to protect the rights of the Marañón. This decision makes it possible to legally challenge extractivist activities that endanger the rights of the river. The regional government of Loreto is urged to establish river advisory councils in which indigenous representatives must also be included. This underlines the increasing social and legal recognition of the environment as an asset worthy of protection.

Global perspectives and influences

The case of the Marañón is not isolated, but fits into a global context in which more and more countries recognize the rights of nature. Ecuador, for example, has been celebrating 15 years of success after enshrining the rights of nature in its constitution in 2008. The Machángara River was also recognized as a legal entity there. It is evident that indigenous organizations are increasingly allowed to act as “guardians, defenders and representatives” of natural resources.

These global movements can serve as models for other nations. In Mexico, the rights of nature have been part of the national constitution since 2019 and are actively discussed in political discussions. In the Philippines there are also numerous initiatives to strengthen the rights of ecosystems with the “Save Lakes, Rivers and Oceans” campaign by Rights of Nature PH.

Fasabi and her colleagues represent the optimism of an entire movement that is fighting for the rights of nature to be incorporated into legislation. The Marañón ruling could be seen not only as a success for the Amazon, but also as a significant sign of global support for such initiatives.