Angela Maria Mejía

Colombian environmental lawyer instrumental in protecting Amazon rainforest communities

Angela María Mejía is a Colombian attorney and environmental advocate who has dedicated her career to protecting indigenous rights in the Amazon Basin. As founder of the Rights of Nature legal collective (2013), she pioneered legal strategies to recognize ecosystems as rights-bearing entities. Her landmark 2016 case Amazonía vs. Colombia led to a historic court ruling granting legal personhood to the Colombian Amazon, making it the second largest protected area after New Zealand's Whanganui River.

Mejía's work focuses on bridging indigenous knowledge with modern environmental law. She developed the Guardianship Model, which empowers local communities to co-manage protected areas. This approach was implemented in 14 Amazonian reserves by 2019, reducing deforestation rates by 28% in those regions according to a WWF study. Her team's legal framework was adopted by Ecuador and Peru, influencing regional environmental policies.

Her 2018 project Amazon Watchdogs trained over 300 indigenous leaders in legal advocacy, enabling them to document illegal logging activities through satellite mapping and drone technology. This initiative was featured in the BBC documentary series Frontline Earth, raising global awareness of Amazonian conservation challenges.

Mejía's transnational collaboration with Brazilian activists led to the 2019 creation of the Amazon Basin Accord, an unprecedented agreement among 8 countries to synchronize environmental protection efforts. Her TED Talk "The Amazon's Legal Argument for Survival" has become a cornerstone of modern environmental law discourse.