The Constitution: An Indispensable Tool for Environmental Protection

The Constitution: An Indispensable Tool for Environmental Protection

By: Yeshu Hernández Barrera


The renowned biologist Rachel Carson warned in the last century: «if we do not take care of the environment, we will not have a place to live.» Today, the main way of environmental protection in Mexico is constitutional.

According to the United Nations, the word environment is used to refer to “Nature,” or the sum of the living and abiotic components that surround an organism, or group of organisms, physical factors (air, temperature, relief, soil and water) or living beings (plants, animals and microorganisms); however, the “built environment” is also part of the definition, which includes the elements and processes made by humans (cities, monuments, buildings, industries, parks, gardens).

In this sense, the human right to a healthy environment is recognized by our Constitution, in order to guarantee the full development and well-being of people, in addition to ordering the Government to promote the development of sustainable activities and create protected areas or areas intended for conservation. Since 2011 and based on the Supreme Court (C.T. 293/2011), the Constitution must be understood as a block and not just as a book with 136 articles, since it is made up of human rights treaties adopted by Mexico, such as article 26 of the American Convention on Human Rights, the Convention on Biological Diversity or the Escazú Agreement.

Therefore, the question arises: How is this reflected in people’s daily lives?

  1. Neighbors and people who enjoy environmental services (water, air, temperature and noise regulation, landscape services) and who are affected by projects that do not have prior environmental impact assessments and authorizations (EIA), have achieved their cancellation, invoking constitutional protection, as in the case of the Centenario Ecological Theme Park, in which the Laguna del Carpintero was being affected, in Tamaulipas (Supreme Court. A.R. 307/2016);
  2. Projects that have EIAs, but their evaluation was not holistic and comprehensive, considering the cumulative, synergistic or residual impacts, significant or relevant, likely to cause the destruction or fragmentation of ecosystems, as in the expansion of the Port of Veracruz, have been cancelled through injunctions, for not considering the damages to the Veracruz Reef System (Supreme Court. A.R. 54/2021);
  3. People who live in adjacent areas of green areas have managed to get the authorities to reforest and carry out early restitution actions during injunction trials, as in the case of the felling of trees from a median strip in Durango, to build a bridge (Supreme Court. R.R. in suspension incident 01/2022); or in the Rosaleda 25 real estate development in Mexico City, where the authorities and the owner of the property violated the suspension and cut down trees in Chapultepec Forest (24 TCC. Q.A. 205/2024), in both cases invoking the Escazú Agreement;
  4. Private companies, subject to inspections, have managed to eliminate environmental compensation programs wrongly imposed by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection that imposed excessive burdens on them (10 TCC. D.A. 588/2023).

At B + F we know how important the constitutional protection of the environment is, which is why we can support you by submitting your project to an environmental impact assessment or regularizing it, as well as challenging sanctions and accompanying you in the defense of your processes.

 


 

Yeshu holds a degree in Law from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Minority Rights from the Université Strasbourg (France), and a Diploma in Amparo Trials and a Diploma in the Environment, Climate Change and Human Rights, both taught by the Supreme Court.

He has collaborated in the preparation of various Amicus Curiae for the defense of the environment before the Inter-American Court, the Supreme Court and Collegiate Courts, with organizations such as the World’s Youth for Climate Justice, the Mexican Center for Environmental Law. He has contributed to the Sabin Center of Columbia University in the publication “Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: Summary of Written Observations Submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.”

At B + F Yeshu is part of the team of partner Daniel Gómez Ramírez, where he specializes in administrative and constitutional litigation, obtaining favorable rulings for our clients and innovative criteria in environmental and energy matters. He also provides preventive consulting and environmental regularization. He handles various pro bono cases in defense of Chapultepec Forest and urban development in Mexico City.