This article arises as a result of the documentary review carried out in the construction of the state of the art of the current research project named “Legal effectiveness of the right to the healthy environment in the actions of the Colombian National Police against illegal mining on the Cauca river bank, municipality of Filadelfia, state of Caldas” It has fundamentals, elements and doctrinal arguments related to the right to enjoy a healthy environment, specifically concerning its elements (object, ownership and obligation) and legal nature; It reveals the pollution that illegal mining causes in water, air and soil, as well as the destruction that it generates in the flora, fauna, the habitats, the ecosystems and landscapes; It shows the main results achieved by the National Police against this criminal phenomenon in 2016 in the state of Caldas, reflected in police operations, catches, seizures, assets freeze and destruction of machinery; it points out as a cause of inefficiency of the legal laws in Colombia, the inadequate reading of reality on the part of the legislator, the disparity between the declared objectives of the law, the achievements in its implementation and the impact mental or psychological laws in their recipients.