For decades, the Yaigojé Apaporis Indigenous People in Colombia’s lower Apaporis River Basin worked to get their traditional lands formally recognized by the government and secured from outside threats. Initially protected as the Yaigojé Apaporis Reserve, it was also declared an Indigenous territory in 1988. But in 2007, Cosigo Resources, a Canadian mining company, requested from the government a gold mining concession within the Yaigojé Apaporis Reserve. The Yaigojé Apaporis were alarmed, but unlike other Indigenous groups around the world, they had some legal options. Laws in Colombia recognize Indigenous Peoples’ right of consultation, although not consent. They also provide Indigenous communities with the right of first refusal, meaning they are first offered the mineral rights before the government can grant a mining concession to a third party. And while national laws allow mining on Indigenous lands, it is not permitted in national parks. The Yaigojé Apaporis responded to this threat by asking the government to establish their reserve as a national park and, in 2009, the Yaigojé Apaporis National Natural Park was created. The national authority and Yaigojé Apaporis leaders agreed on joint coordination for the use and monitoring of the parkland and resources. Regrettably, two days after the park’s creation, the government mining authority granted a concession to Cosigo anyway. While it was quickly cancelled, Cosigo sued the government. Colombia’s courts ruled in favor of the Yaigojé Apaporis, but the matter is now pending international arbitration.
