LA PESCA ARTESANAL MARINO-COSTERA Y LOS DERECHOS CULTURALES DE LAS COMUNIDADES ÉTNICAS EN COLOMBIA

Abstract

Different ethnic communities in Colombia practice artisanal fishing in coastal marine areas. The relationship of these communities with the sea and fishing configure dynamics that are embraced by the legal notion of territory. The sea, however, is a public good under the domain of the state, and as such cannot be affected by any kind of property rights.  Counting with no recognition for their territorial rights in those areas, the communities are prevented from exercise any kind of control over the areas where they traditionally fish, and thus their ways of life are frequently disturbed by extractive activities, tourism development and even the creation of preservation areas such as national parks. This text reviews on how Colombian law and Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence deal with ethnic communities’ cultural rights when their territories embrace portions of coastal marine areas.