Implicaciones sociojurídicas y ambientales de los derechos de la naturaleza en la Jurisprudencia Constitucional: Caso Río Cutuchi en Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: This work primarily examines the existing gap between the constitutional recognition of the rights of nature and the difficulties for its practical application, in relation to the protection of the Cutuchi River, located in the city of Latacunga, Cotopaxi Province, as a subject of rights, the socio-legal and environmental implications of the rights of nature. Relevant jurisprudence issued by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador is analyzed. The Cutuchi RIver, which currently faces a situation of high contamination, highlighting the distance between the regulatory framework and the effective practice of the enshrined rights that are constitutionally guaranteed. The methodology used in this research is qualitative base don documentary and jurisprudential análisis. The research concludes that, despite the advances in the constitutional regulations regarding the protection of the environment and nature in Ecuador, institutional, legal and cultural limitations persist that do not allow the effective application of these rights by the competent entities in charge of the protection of rivers and wáter basins. by the competent entities in charge of the protection of rivers and water basins.