Oil Extractivism, Environmental Degradation, and Community Resistance: The Defense of the Rosario and San Silvestre Wetlands in Barrancabermeja, Middle Magdalena Region of Colombia

Abstract

At the beginning of the 20th century, Barrancabermeja was established as a municipality in the department of Santander in alignment with the imperial interests of the Standard Oil Company monopoly. It became the epicenter of oil extractivism in the Middle Magdalena region, marked by extensive and intensive exploitation of nature. The dispossession and environmental degradation inherent to extractivist practices gave rise to conflicts with community-based forms of organization and production, which responded through collective action in defense of their natural resources. This article aims to describe the environmental pressures exerted on the Rosario and San Silvestre wetlands in the municipality of Barrancabermeja, linked to oil extractivism, as well as the mechanisms of community resistance led by the Federation of Artisanal, Environmentalist, and Tourism Fishers of the Department of Santander (Fedepesan) in defense of these vital water bodies. Fedepesan’s collective struggle for environmental justice and the protection of their livelihoods unfolds within a broader context of escalating violence in the region, which also threatens the lives and safety of its members.