La justicia restaurativa en el delito de invasión de áreas de especial importancia ecológica: análisis de necesidad y conveniencia

Abstract

Environmental protection is an international concern that requires different measures. There are tools to regulate the sustainable use of natural resources through environmental licenses, controls for those who carry out activities potentially dangerous to the environment and the imposition of administrative sanctions for violators. In Colombia, as in other countries, there are punitive measures for their protection.

Complex discussions have been generated around the need to elevate these behaviors to the category of crime or, at least, if only some should be considered punishable. In the same sense, environmental criminal law and administrative sanctioning law should coexist to preserve the environment and natural resources. This article takes the position that it is necessary to criminalize these behaviors but highlights the importance of restorative justice for the solution of these social problems. Particularly in the crime of invasion of areas of special ecological importance, restorative justice must play a leading role, which can be achieved through the principle of opportunity in cases where reparation is achieved, recidivism is avoided, and prevention is favored.