This lecture focuses on the struggles for water and biodiversity in a typical Andean ecosystem, the páramo. Focused specifically on the páramo of Santurbán, this biotope in northern Colombia is mainly threatened by gold mining activities. Social movements in the region are waging a long legal, social, and environmental battle to protect this ecosystem. The last significant event took place in July 2025, when Santurbán was declared a subject of rights.

About the speaker: Dr. Nataly Botero is an associate professor in communication studies, mainly in semiotics and media discourse analysis. Her research mainly focuses on ecology (pesticides, air pollution, programmed obsolescence). Recently, she has recently been working on the rights of nature in Colombia.