The Effectiveness of Administrative Sanctioning Instruments and the Requirement for the Repair of Environmental Damage in Colombia

Colombia has a Constitution with an ecological tendency in which it is established that the State and individuals have specific duties in regard to environmental damage. Nevertheless, as a result of the economic necessities of the people and legal and political inaction, the natural heritage of the country is rapidly being destroyed. Thus, economic, social development and cultural processes are threatened. For this reason, it is important to examine the roles played by environmental authorities in the face of environmental damage and their manner of confronting the violators who cause the damage with the juridical tools available. Based on the foregoing, this article intends to call to the attention of society and the academy an investigation that took more than a year. It consolidated efforts of public organizations such as the Defensoría del Pueblo, different environmental authorities within the country and the Contraloría General de la República, so as to explain the effectiveness, weaknesses and strengths of the legal instruments so that the State, represented by the environmental authorities of the country, are able to sanction and demand the repair of the damage to the environment.