Context
Colombia has an enormously rich biodiversity. The country has more than 300 different ecosystems, ranging from the dry forests of the Caribbean to the dense Amazon rainforests. These unique landscapes are home to innumerable species of flora and fauna, some of which are threatened with extinction.
This biodiversity is one of Colombia’s most vital natural resources. The ecosystems provide the population with clean water, food and the raw materials used to produce medicines. For the most part, these natural resources are not being used sustainably, which is jeopardising the functional capacity of the ecosystems. Biodiversity is further threatened by armed conflicts, drug cultivation and the relevant countermeasures, large-scale growing of agricultural produce and insufficient regulation of mining.
The key players in the environmental sector also find it difficult to coordinate, push through and implement their policies and strategies. Good governance and transparent structures are lacking, and there is a need both for the people to be more involved in decision-making processes and for the state to have a greater presence in different parts of the country.
Objective
The key players in the environmental sector are able to efficiently implement agreed sector policies and strategies, thereby ensuring long-term protection and the sustainable use of the country’s natural resources.
Approach
The national environmental information system SIAC brings together the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, research institutes and the departmental and municipal authorities that are responsible for environmental policy, among others. The project team unites all persons responsible around one table. Together they are devising a strategy that will safeguard the financial sustainability of SIAC. They are also determining standard indicators, which represent a key component of SIAC and form the basis for the reports that Colombia has to produce to meet its international obligations.
The project is helping the Ministry and the municipalities to develop spatial planning processes that focus on environmental issues and take account of the impacts of climate change. In Norte de Santander, spatial planning in the buffer zones of two conservation areas has been geared towards preserving those areas. This protects biodiversity while at the same time respecting the interests of the local population, for instance with regard to land development plans and agriculture.
Together with the Ministry, the project team is devising economic incentives that will make it more attractive for businesses and citizens to preserve biodiversity. For example, a scheme has been developed that obliges companies to compensate for any damage to the environment caused by their operations. By the same token, businesses and citizens are able to enjoy economic benefits if they protect the country’s biodiversity.
The consulting firm GOPA is assisting with the implementation of the project.
Results
With the project’s support, the institutions in the environmental sector have incorporated environmentally sustainable growth as one of the cross-cutting issues in the 2014-2018 National Development Plan.
Colombia is seeking to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The project team has advised the responsible officials in the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development on how to meet the OECD’s accession requirements in the environmental sector. As a result of this advice, the Ministry has now drawn up a clear roadmap.
An internet-based platform developed by Colombian environmental research institutions and the Ministry provides information on the state of the country’s natural resources. It facilitates access to official information and aids decision-making and civil participation in planning processes.
Representatives from local authorities have learned how to take account of environmental issues in spatial planning. The project has already helped five communities and indigenous territories to develop land-use plans that protect environmentally sensitive areas.
Colombia’s compensation regulations in the case of loss of biodiversity have been put in place for the first time in the Atlántico department on the Caribbean coast. If any activities by businesses or institutions lead to a loss in biodiversity, a compensation portfolio defines how such losses must be compensated for in terms of measures and areas.
The Páramo de Santurbán is an ecosystem located above the treeline in the Andes from which around two million people draw their drinking water. In the Norte de Santander department, public and private stakeholders (such as the municipal administration of the department’s capital Cucuta, a beer brewery, the local chamber of commerce and the departmental government) have joined forces to preserve this vital ecosystem. They are protecting the region by planting new trees, restoring upland areas (páramo) and introducing more sustainable types of agriculture.