Colombia’s highest court has told the government it must take urgent action to protect its Amazon rainforest and stem rising deforestation, in what campaigners said was an historic moment that should help conserve forests and counter climate change.  In their ruling...the judges said that Colombia...saw deforestation rates in its Amazon region increase by 44 percent from 2015 to 2016...The ruling comes after a group of 25 young plaintiffs...filed a lawsuit against the government...demanding it protect their right to a healthy environment.  The plaintiffs had said the government’s failure to stop the destruction of the Amazon jeopardized their futures and violated their constitutional rights to a healthy environment, life, food and water...In its ruling, the court recognized Colombia’s Amazon as an “entity subject of rights”, which means that the rainforest has been granted the same legal rights as a human being...The court ordered the government...to come up with action plans within four months to combat deforestation in the Amazon...The ruling stated that forests were being felled to make way for more grazing and agricultural land, as well as coca crops...illegal mining and logging.  Deforestation is a key source of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, which damages ecosystems and water sources and leads to land degradation, the court said...