A SCOTTISH university is to work with Colombian community leaders fighting to protect a river being devastated by illegal gold mining.

Dr Mo Hume of the University of Glasgow is to lead a new cross Atlantic project aimed at helping the indigenous people to enforce the “rights” of the Rio Atrato.

The geographically isolated river, which runs through one of the country’s poorest areas, is recognised globally as a “biodiversity hotspot”.

However, its natural resources are being exploited by illegal mining despite a landmark ruling last year by the country’s constitutional court granted the river rights to protection, conservation, maintenance and restoration.

Funding has now been awarded to Hume’s team to see how the river’s “rights” can be protected.

The partnership project includes the universities of Glasgow, Portsmouth and Nottingham, along with Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó Diego Luis Córdoba in Colombia, as well as the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) and advocacy group ABColombia, both of which have been working in the area for many years.

Hume said the project, called Colombia River Stories, had grown out of SCIAF’s work in the area and was aimed at giving the local communities tools to protect it.

“Everything revolves around the river and their livelihoods depend on it,” she pointed out. “Without the river, they will have nothing.

“The river is being devastated by illegal mining and the displacement caused by the ongoing humanitarian crisis, despite both the peace process and the court ruling which grants the river rights and demands the state to protect and restore the river.

“But local people are fighting back. By getting the rights of the river legally recognised, they hope to stem the damage. The rights of local people and the rights of the river are intrinsically linked together.

“We will be working alongside the communities to develop the tools and robust data on the effects of mining and conflict to help the local people claim their own and the river’s rights. Together we will generate ‘River Stories’ through which both the people and the river can articulate their histories, identify major challenges and pathways to address these.”

Fragile peace and ongoing violence makes it particularly challenging to protect Colombia’s environment and the sustainable livelihoods of those living in the area.

“Chocó is one of the poorest regions of Colombia, and has long been affected by the country’s ongoing internal armed conflict,” said Mark Camburn, SCIAF’s programme officer for Colombia.

“The rights of the indigenous and afro-descendent communities in the region have been routinely ignored with families forced to move from their land to escape the conflict.

“Last year’s ruling and this new initiative will enable local people to properly articulate what the river means to them, the severe challenges they are facing and the long term and peaceful solutions that are needed to maintain the health of the river and local people who depend on it to survive.”

Project funding has come from the Economic and Social Research Council and Newton-Caldas Fund.