Four fundamental reasons justified the convening of the Third National Environmental Congress by the Association of Regional Autonomous Corporations and Sustainable Development, Asocars, namely:
- The initiation of a new mandate of President Uribe and in accordance with the Constitution, the presentation to Congress, for its discussion and approval, of the new National Development Plan, in whose formulation or discussion the organizations of the National Environmental System must participate, (SINA), civil society and citizens in general. To this is added the invitation to present suggestions regarding the proposal for the 2019 Second Centennial Vision, a prospective on national development proposed by the government; The fulfillment of the 15 years of the issuance of the new Political Constitution, through which consecrated "sustainable development" as a fundamental objective of national activity and the 13th anniversary of the creation of the National Environmental System,exemplary institutionality in Latin America to promote and monitor environmental management of the public, private and community sectors; The beginning of the third millennium in which it seeks to stimulate the reflection of Colombians on the construction of the country that will be delivered to future generations yThe presence of the historical and inevitable phenomenon of globalization, with all its load of opportunities and challenges on the exploitation of natural resources and the state of the environment.with all its load of opportunities and challenges on the exploitation of natural resources and the state of the environment.with all its load of opportunities and challenges on the exploitation of natural resources and the state of the environment.
Taking into account that, due to the nature of environmental problems, medium and long-term policies and actions are required, the preparation of the COLOMBIA XXI CENTURY ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA, which consists of a set of useful proposals, was set as the main objective of this Congress. for the formulation of the Development Plan for the new four-year period and for the construction of the 2019 Vision and beyond.
Due to the shortage of time and the complexity of the topics, the participants suggested that the concerns raised during the event be collected, a preliminary version be presented to citizens, the National Government and Congress, and that their collective construction be continued, gathering the suggestions and recommendations. of citizens and public and private environmental organizations. Such is the purpose of this publication.
First part
THE ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION
In Colombia there are seven major environmental problems with a tendency to worsen in the future: scarcity and water pollution in the most populated area; soil pollution, erosion and desertification; species extinction, air pollution, and unsustainable and uninhabitable conditions in most urban centers. Problems to which are added global warming, the loss of the ozone layer and the gradual deterioration of the marine environment, which affect the entire globe.
This pessimistic forecast arises from its main causes, which are not being eradicated substantially and which are briefly outlined below.
The main factors that contribute to the environmental situation are:
- Production systems and technologies that prioritize economic performance over environmental preservation (“not clean technologies”), that is, without taking into account the depredation or contamination they cause. Examples of these practices are: deforestation to expand the agricultural frontier; monocultures with the use of chemical inputs; extensive ranching; erosive cultural techniques; the production of waste without measure and its inadequate disposal; chaotic urbanization; fossil fuel consumption; the construction of infrastructure without considering its environmental impacts; bad practices in mining, among the most important;
- The use of renewable resources beyond their natural recovery capacity and non-renewable resources beyond the possibilities of their replacement, the result of uncontrolled consumerism. Such are the cases of forest clearing, groundwater extraction, mining, erosive cultural techniques, among others; The presence of poor population groups that are compelled to invade ecosystems and occupy lands of enormous environmental fragility; The conflict internal and illicit crops; A weak environmental commitment by the State and Failures in the cultural and educational order.
Environmental management
Efforts have been made in the environmental field in the country, especially since the creation of the National Institute of Natural Resources (Inderena) in 1968, and many more after 1993 with the creation of the National Environmental System 2; and some advances that are briefly outlined below are highlighted:
- The formation of an exemplary environmental institutionality in Latin America, with great strengths but also with weaknesses, The issuance of the 1991 Constitution, considered "the most advanced Political Charter in the contemporary world in environmental matters" 3;
| 1991 that have maintained some continuity in the matter, perhaps with the exception of that corresponding to the period 2002 -2006 4;
2 Without ignoring those prior to the time described, isolated of course, which date back to the feat of independence, when the Liberator Simón Bolívar prohibited the cutting of forests under the threat of the death penalty. 3 Externado University of Colombia. 1 5 years of the Ecological Constitution of Colombia, 2006. 4 The two great limitations during the first term of President Álvaro Uribe were: the vision of the role that the environment plays in development and the weakening of the country's first environmental authority. See conference of former Minister RODRÍGUEZ BECERRA in the Memory. |
- The promulgation of development plans with the recognition of the environmental issue after the Constitution of The formulation of numerous environmental policies, especially during the second half of the 1990s, and of broad regulations 5.
Despite these advances, it is imperative to recognize that what has been done so far has not been effective and, therefore, a greater political, technical and economic effort is required if the nation is to seek sustainable development. Therefore, this document is devoted to highlighting some key initiatives in this direction that allow enriching the 2019 Development Plan and Vision proposed by the National Government.
Second part
PROPOSALS
Warning
Simultaneously with the celebration of the Congress, the Bases of the National Development Plan 2006 - 2010, called “Community State: development for all”, were presented by the Government to the National Planning Council.
_____________________
5 However, until now a detailed evaluation of its effects and its degree of implementation and application is lacking.
For this circumstance and with the purpose that the work carried out in the Third National Environmental Congress means a positive and explicit contribution to the discussion of the aforementioned Plan –a fundamental objective of the call for Asocars– the initiatives of this Agenda are presented with reference to the contained in Bases 6, with comments, critical contributions and the mention of recommendations that do not appear there explicitly or only appear in a tangential way.
Issues to consider
The main topics considered are the following:
- General guidelines; Sustainable productive activity; Forests and sustainable forest exploitation; Use and conservation of water resources; Coasts, seas and islands;
| • Biodiversity and sustainable use;
• Sustainable urban development; • Territorial ordering; • Emergencies and risks; • Air pollution and climate change; • Eradication of illicit crops; 6 The same could be done with the 2019 Vision, but it is omitted because they are substantially similar to those contained in the Bases. For ease of exposition from now on the Plan will be called the “Bases” and the National Environmental Congress will be mentioned as “CNA”. |
- Environmental health; Education, culture and citizen participation; Institutional development; FTA; Detriment of environmental heritage; Population policy and other issues; The Bases: a rhetorical proposal?
It also contains an annex: Risks of the FTA Colombia USA in Biodiversity
General guidelines
Without a doubt, the Environmental Bases contain a very significant advance with respect to the Plan adopted in the previous period of the Uribe government. In effect, they recognize the unavoidable obligation of the State as defender of the environment and the need to promote development in sustainable conditions, for which it establishes certain principles and criteria.
The principles are: transparency, efficiency, inter-institutional coordination, participation, territorial focus and equity.
However, two essential principles of environmental management are left out: that of prevention, and that of the polluter pays. Both of them are of great importance because they clearly frame the limits of the use of natural resources and the environment, and the State's obligation to seek compensation for the damage caused to the country's environmental conditions.
The main criteria are related to the advisability of advancing environmental management based on comprehensive water management and, in general, aimed "at reducing the vulnerability of the poorest groups and creating opportunities to improve the population's standard of living, maintaining or increasing the possibilities of income and employment, increasing the quality of the environment, improving health levels and reducing vulnerability to risk ”and making sustainable use of resources.
However, it is not clearly understood how they are attributed to environmental management –mainly aimed at the prevention, mitigation or recovery of environmental damage from anthropogenic activity– activities that do not correspond directly to it, such as “reducing the vulnerability of the poorest groups ”or the improvement of health levels. This is, in addition to exotic, a high risk of diversion of scarce resources to satisfy needs that do not correspond to this activity.
The ANC established some general principles that must be added to those proposed by the government and which are mentioned below:
- The achievement of peace is a key strategy in the environmental field as it is the most effective way to eliminate one of the main stimuli for illicit crops: the financing of war; Environmental sustainability must be the fruit of anthropic behavior that recognizes the characteristics and limitations of ecosystems and natural assets; The fight against poverty and inequality in access to resources is a prerequisite for sustainable development, and to eliminate violence and armed conflict; The environment is a commitment of all State entities and a key element in all sectoral policies; Basic conditions to achieve environmental sustainability are: i) to allocate the necessary public resources 7; and ii), guarantee a macroeconomic policy that ensures stability and does not grant privileges to highly polluting sectors or companies; and, especially, a tax policy that favors environmental investment; Building a culture of adequate use of natural resources and preservation of ecosystems is essential to guarantee the future of the Nation;
_____________________
7 It is estimated that public environmental spending cannot be less than 1% of GDP.
- Colombia, like the other developing countries, must carry out diplomatic and political action at the international level, in association with the other developing countries, so that the industrialized ones pay the ecological debt contracted with the world, through better terms of trade and more cooperation resources yIt must be taken into consideration that citizen participation in the environmental field is not only a right, it is also a duty.
Based on these principles and criteria and taking into account the great potential of environmental resources that the country has, the main actions and initiatives that must be carried out in the coming years are discussed below.
Sustainable productive activity
In the agricultural field, the Bases propose three specific measures: 1) technical assistance to agricultural producers through technology transfer programs in integrated pest management, environmental management and good practices; 2) the creation of the Interinstitutional Laboratory for the Detection and Monitoring of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and 3) the evaluation of risks to the environment and health derived from activities with GMOs.
Although these activities are necessary, no explicit reference is made to the promotion of organic farming 8.
| Although the Bases announce the formulation of a land management policy and measures to combat sertization, such is the degree of generality that it is not possible to determine the goodness or otherwise of these promises. For its part, the CNA insisted that a fundamental cause of edaphic deterioration is the current land tenure and distribution , according to which a large proportion of fertile land
8 Without ignoring the effort that has been made in going from 25,000 hectares in 2001 to 34,600 in 2004. If we take into account that the cultivated area is estimated at 4,000,000 hectares, we can appreciate the modest area dedicated to this type of agriculture. |
|
It is destined to livestock or to concealed or open urbanization processes in the sectors surrounding large cities, as in the case of the Bogotá savanna.
In the industrial and services field, the three instruments in which the official proposal emphasizes are: clean production agreements, environmental guidelines and strategic environmental evaluations, assigning a lesser role to the environmental licensing process.
It is important that the country continue to make an effort in terms of cleaner production agreements and support private efforts in achieving eco-efficiency, but the commitments that are acquired should not be limited to what is stipulated in environmental regulations, but must go further so that such agreements are justified. The other is just to comply with the law, without it signifying significant added value.
In this field, an interesting initiative is to promote that the evaluation of the contracting capacity of entities with the State and the financial analyzes recognize and reward eco-efficiency and sustainability as investment criteria.
Environmental guidelines and strategic evaluations are positive instruments, but licensing should not be ruled out in those cases in which environmental risks are very evident in a given productive activity.
Other observations of the CNA are:
- A productive sector that should be the subject of special attention is that of small and medium-sized industries, especially those related to metal-mechanics, food and tanneries, in order to provide the required technical assistance, accompanied by financial support, to improve their position in the environment; It is recommended to prepare sectoral and regional environmental agendas and take advantage of the structure of cleaner production agreements for their implementation and monitoring; yAn interesting initiative proposed by the CNA, to be developed by environmental authorities and business associations, consists of making periodic and systematic reports on cleaner production experiences that can be used by similar companies.Similarly, the establishment of incentives and awards for successful companies in this area and the opening of the environmental window service in all the CARs were suggested.
Regarding licensing, the Bases recommend creating and implementing a unique and automated system of environmental procedures at the national level, with initial coverage in 5 regional environmental authorities, which channels the receipt of applications for environmental licenses and permits and supports the effort to improve the efficiency of the environmental licensing processes, in order for the MAVDT, the authorities and the users to carry out a control over the status of their procedures. Although this is a laudable initiative, the truth is that in recent years there has been a systematic dismantling of the activities subject to licensing, which has weakened this important instrument of control.
Forests and sustainable forest exploitation
The Bases contain interesting goals such as the following: establishment of 120,000 hectares of protective reforestation of aqueducts; planning and management plans for 2,000,000 additional hectares of natural forest; promotion of management certification for 200,000 hectares; support to the environmental and local authorities in the formulation and adoption of the 33 forest management plans established by Law 1021 of 2006; the plans
management of forest reserves of Law 2 of 1959 and national protective forest reserves and management plans of the Coastal Units; delimitation and registration of national forest reserve areas and planning in strategic regions such as the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and in maritime and border areas. In addition, the formulation of a policy for managing the soil resource and fighting desertification is announced.
However, the CNA went further and recommended other measures that are summarized as follows:
- Regulate, with broad participation of civil society and regional environmental authorities, Law 1021 of 2006; Encourage private reforestation with species that have recognized technological packages; Strengthen ICA so that it can respond to its responsibility in forestry matters; Organize in the MAVDT and in the CAR forest operating units; Conserve the natural forest remnants in the most densely deforested areas and promote the restoration of these ecosystems with native species, for which the linkage of the organized local community should be mandatory and Carry out a diagnosis real of the situation of natural forests, at the head of IDEAM.
Use and conservation of water resources
In the government proposal, great importance is attached to initiatives such as the formulation of a national water plan; the support to the preparation of the plans of order and management of hydrographic basins, especially in municipalities with populations greater than 50,000 inhabitants; conducting regional inventories of groundwater and its use; strengthening economic and financial instruments related to the resource; promoting more efficient irrigation technologies; and on the use of drinking water, the search for more efficient production systems in the use of the resource; the quality and quantity monitoring network with emphasis on the Magdalena - Cauca basin; and pollution prevention and control action. Similarly, mention is made of environmental management in moorland areas and inland wetlands.
In the same way, the Bases foresee measures related to persistent organic pollutants as well as the development and regulation of the national policy of comprehensive management of hazardous waste.
For its part, the CNA in relation to economic instruments indicated that it is essential to seek their universal application and adjust them to the current environmental reality.
He also indicated that the block water sale mechanism that has been used in various regions of the country must be strictly regulated, so that providers cannot evade the environmental responsibilities that correspond to them or abuse the tariffs.
Given that the practice of regenerating and reusing wastewater is emerging as a technically viable new source of supply, consideration should be given to including it within the country's comprehensive water management. Experience shows that the large investments involved are offset by the benefits obtained, both economic and environmental.
Coasts, seas and islands
In the bases it announces the continuation of the national policy for the sustainable development of the oceanic spaces and the coastal and insular zones 10 and it specifically mentions actions on the Caribbean, Pacific and San Andrés and Providencia Islands.
In this regard, the ANC emphasized the need for the CARs to have greater interference in the marine issue and the need to seek the active participation of all the actors with responsibilities in this area, for which reason the strategic alliances must be integrated into the MAVDT, the Parks Unit, the coastal CARs, the territorial entities, the research institutes, the Academy, the NGOs, to name the most important.
The problem that afflicts the administration of marine resources is mainly the lack of knowledge of its characteristics and potential. In this sense, the necessary resources must be allocated to carry out studies and generate knowledge, so that they are the stimulus and the basis for future activities.
_____________________
10 DNP. Conpes Document 3164, May 10, 2002.
Biodiversity and sustainable use
Biodiversity is an important element in any long-term sustainable development strategy and is one of the aspects of national environmental policy in which the Bases emphasizes and dedicates more space in its three main aspects: knowledge, conservation and use.
Initiatives are formulated for its use, the execution of which announces the connection of indigenous and Afro-Colombian ethnic groups; the completion of the national inventory of biodiversity; the definition, regulation and expansion of the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP). In the latter case, with the declaration of 200,000 new hectares of protected areas, the strengthening of the Special Administrative Unit of the National Park System, the declaration of two new wetlands of Ramsar importance, the management of 100,000 mangrove hectares and the management of moor ecosystems. In addition, support for the national strategy for the prevention and control of illegal wildlife trafficking is mentioned,the strengthening of the National Strategic Plan for Green Markets and the purpose of implementing the National Ecolabelling Program.
For its part, the ANC raised the importance of bioprospecting, in which the country does not have sufficient negotiating expertise and is a field of enormous complexity and risk, although with great economic potential. Similarly, he drew attention to the opportunities, but at the same time, to the risks of ecotourism and the granting of areas for private exploitation.
He considered it advisable to study the consolidation of a National Green Markets Fund, in the style of the National Coffee Fund, with such a successful presence in supporting coffee growing, and recommended the promotion of national producer cooperatives to successfully face international markets., in such a way that the benefits are distributed among them and not only in large chains of intermediaries.
Sustainable urban development
The Bases are based on the idea of consolidating a “compact, efficient and sustainable city” model, through which it is hoped to promote the most efficient use of built areas, consolidate a more functional urban structure, with higher densities and with a distribution of activities that favor alternative transport systems, as well as the more rational use of expansion land. This implies an adequate provision of public service infrastructures, roads, equipment and public space and respect for the characteristics of the territory, in line with cultural and environmental factors.
In the field of solid waste management, two of the main externalities of the urban sector, a "comprehensive management is planned from the patterns of production and consumption to its use and recovery or final disposal", which includes the responsibility of the producer and recycling; and a general guideline on the implementation of the policy for the comprehensive management of hazardous wastes or wastes.
The same does not happen with the management of industrial and domestic wastewater, about which no provision is made in relation to its treatment - despite the fact that only 10% are treated to some extent, as stated in the same document– except for the intention of working on the prevention and control of spills and a quick mention of investment for quality improvement, mainly with the resources from the collection of the remuneration rate 11; the application of cleaner production agreements and an observation on the Government's participation in the decontamination program of the Bogotá river and other highly contaminated ones. Similar actions will be taken to address the problems of sedimentation, erosion and degradation.
It is important to highlight some points of special interest discussed in the CNA, which complement the initiatives mentioned in the previous paragraphs:
- It is time for the legislator to determine the scope of the notion "urban environment" and the limits of environmental management in this matter that are the responsibility of regional environmental authorities and territorial entities; The purpose of building compact cities cannot be ignored the reality of large urban conglomerates - metropolitan areas or region cities - that require considering extralocal environmental phenomena;
It should be noted that due to their very characteristics, the investments of the retribution rate
Butiva should not be oriented to works that involve future commitments, since the effectiveness of the rate should decrease the income itself.
- The convenience of promoting regional solid waste management and wastewater treatment systems. Given the precarious fiscal situation of many municipalities, the National Government must foresee a financing effort for the construction and operation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and sanitary landfills and not assign this responsibility to the CARs, which do not correspond to its constitutional mission 12; In the case of wastewater treatment, an issue that must be carefully studied is the incorporation into the public service rates in a stratified way of a portion of the costs of said treatment - as a complement to the remuneration rates - to be able to carry out this mitigation action. Likewise, for the activities of use and reduction of solid waste, it is necessary to commit the entire production chain and not only hold municipal authorities and public service operators responsible for these tasks; It is necessary to insist on the protection of urban rounds of wetlands, ravines, channels and rivers; improve urban drainage systems and create environmental corridors in urban road circuits, and
__________________
12 If this path is followed, the CARs would become entities for regional development contrary to one of the visions of Law 99 of 1993, which sought to specialize these entities as environmental authorities, in order to avoid conflicts that may arise from the exercise in the same entity of the judge roles (as grantors of environmental licenses and environmental permits for the use or affectation of water and other resources), and part (as service providers) that those entities had accused in practice before the 1993 reform. (See Rodríguez Becerra, in the Memory).
- A massive urban reforestation and landscaping program must be established for the substantial increase in green areas and parks. It makes no sense to say that Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, if its cities become "forests of cement and steel."
Territorial ordering
The Bases contemplate, with length and depth, the issues related to land use planning. However, they stop considering some key elements that were explicitly pointed out in the CNA:
- It is urgent that the Government and the Congress of the Republic take care of issuing the Land Planning Law provided for in the National Constitution. In this regard, it is necessary to reconcile two trends: the one related to the administration of the territory from the fiscal point of view that has its core in budget transfers and the one related to the protection and promotion of natural resources, centered on an ecosystem vision; This is done, the Government, in a broad national consultation, must issue the general guidelines for the territorial ordering of the different regions of the country, in such a way that they constitute the frame of reference for the revision of the municipal Territorial Planning Plans, with in order to ensure compatibility between them.This is essential because the growth of a given municipality compromises the fate of the region where it is located and, in turn, is guided by regional trends and possibilities. The same can be said of the reciprocal relations between nation and regions; It is necessary to establish methods and procedures for evaluating compliance with municipal POTs and a penalty fee if not, and Include desertification considerations in POTs as well as in Triennial Action of the CAR.It is necessary to establish methods and procedures for evaluating compliance with municipal POTs and a penalty fee if not, e Include desertification considerations in the POTs as well as in the CAR's Triennial Action Plans.It is necessary to establish methods and procedures for evaluating compliance with municipal POTs and a penalty fee if not, e Include desertification considerations in the POTs as well as in the CAR's Triennial Action Plans.
Emergencies and risks
It must be recognized, in coincidence with the proposals made within the CNA, the broad mention made by the Bases on the incorporation of risk management in the Land Use Plans and, in general, in the management plans of the CARs and in the Pomca, as well as plans related to water management and forest fires.
Air pollution and climate change
On this front, the official proposal contains initiatives such as the establishment of the Inter-sectoral Technical Commission for the prevention and control of air pollution, Conaire, with a view to formulating a national air quality policy, the promotion of biofuels, support for monitoring networks and, in the field of global phenomena, the commitment to promote options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, and the elimination in 2010 of around 600 tons of exhausting substances ozone and the environmental management of refrigerants. The formulation of a comprehensive national action plan on climate change is also contemplated.
In this regard, the ANC highlighted the efforts related to the search for alternative energy sources, particularly biofuels, although it drew attention to the need to carry out detailed studies on the real effectiveness of its production and use in relation to the environment. 13.
Likewise, it expressed its concern over the issuance of norms that are not satisfactory to guarantee air quality, such as Resolutions 6011 and 1180 of 2006, issued by the MAVDT.
_____________________
13 See in this regard the document of the professor of the National University HÉCTOR GARCÍA LO-
Eradication of illicit crops
The government's proposal and the opinions expressed in the ANC on the importance and desirability of the eradication of illicit crops in the country coincide. However, Congress considered that greater emphasis should be placed on manual eradication efforts, given that glyphosate spray involves high risks of not implementing an adequate environmental management plan, the adoption of which has been avoided by the authorities, despite of being a legal obligation.
He considered the rangers families as an interesting initiative, although doubts were expressed about their effectiveness and real coverage. In any case, it is agreed that the development of profitable productive projects will contribute to deactivating narco-crops that, from the environmental point of view, cause severe damage to natural resources, especially in areas of fragile ecosystems.
Enviromental health
The Government considers it of special interest to adopt a National Environmental Health Policy based on the National Environmental Health Plan, Planasa, 2000 - 2010. The CNA called attention to the need to review the obligations imposed on regional environmental authorities to invest in basic sanitation processes, supply of drinking water, provision of houses, treatment of residual waters or provision and operation of sanitary landfills. This is due to the fact that they are inherent commitments to local or regional authorities and, in no case, to CARs in their capacity as environmental authorities or administrators of natural resources.
However, it was recognized that there are de facto commitments in these matters (the case of the Cundinamarca CAR) that must be gradually dismantled to the extent that the territorial entities assume their obligation in this regard.
Education, culture and citizen participation
Three proposals stand out in the set of initiatives considered in the Bases: the promotion of participatory culture, the formation of the National Committee for Environmental Education and the incorporation in it of the issues of risk and biodiversity.
For its part, the ANC made a detailed analysis of these strategic issues and proposed the following main actions:
- Take into account the urban environmental reality and avoid excessive emphasis on the environment-rural environment relationship; Induce by all means the notion that consumption takes into account environmental limitations (saving water, materials, etc.) and not only its economic rationality; Design a training program for teachers that allows unifying criteria in the transmission of knowledge about the environment and the attitude towards its conservation; Strengthening PRAES and including environmental education in all university curricula; Fostering meaning of place and appropriation of territory of Colombians promoting exploration, creativity and appropriation of the natural; Construct indicators that allow measuring cultural change; Guarantee citizens' access to information from public entities,as the best way to stimulate their participation in collective affairs. In this field, entities must be active and not passive; Establish attendance at environmental training courses as a form of sanction against transgressions of environmental regulations; Strengthen non-formal education, particularly that resulting from the mass media, with permanent update seminars for journalists and social communicators; Carry out a study on a national scale to evaluate the effectiveness and representativeness of the mechanisms for citizen participation and adopt the necessary corrective measures. The areas to be investigated should include those related to the participation of civil society in State agencies,and Keep in mind that the development of environmentally friendly technologies must receive the full support of the State.
Institutional development
Both the Bases and the CNA propose numerous complementary initiatives, and some in which there are discrepancies on the crucial issue of institutional development of public environmental management.
There is consensus on the advisability of a comprehensive and participatory review of the current institutional structure of the SINA, which includes the evaluation of all the Environmental Authorities and which aims at clarity in their functions and interrelationships, strengthens their technical capacity and develops participatory schemes for the definition of its management and for accountability. In particular, the necessary reforms in the collection of resources (environmental surcharge and transfers from the electricity sector) must be specified; and delimitation of urban and rural environmental aspects. In addition, for this purpose, an article defining the urban environment, heritage and income of the environmental units of large urban centers and metropolitan areas must be included in the draft law of the National Development Plan.
In the same way, it is convenient to review and update the environmental regulations to adapt it to the demands of contemporary time, preserving its comprehensive nature.
For this purpose, it is urgent to form a large Commission that proposes a reform plan that obeys a holistic conception and not partial views. Legislating in isolation over water, air, ecosystems, wastelands or any component without taking into account the ecosystem view of them, can lead to big mistakes.
The CNA estimates that all state entities must commit to environmental management. Those entities that have a direct impact on the environmental issue, such as Invías, Ecopetrol, the Ministry of Agriculture, among others, must have their own offices to handle these issues, as happened a few years ago. For its part, the National Planning Department must revive the environmental group that it had at one time, to guarantee permanent attention to this aspect in the evaluation of state investments.
Field of special interest is to achieve the consolidation of the Environmental Information Systems (SIAC) and indicators to evaluate environmental management. As part of this purpose, the CNA placed special emphasis on the construction of a baseline of the state of natural resources and the environment, a sine qua non condition for developing objective evaluations of environmental impacts and management results. Likewise, the formulation and execution of a national research program in the environmental field is especially important in order to harmonize the tasks carried out by the SINA entities and, in particular, the research institutes and the CARs.
The proposal to strengthen inter-ministerial and intersectoral agendas and the processes that lead to the improvement of methodologies and systems of planning and environmental information is very important.
In the field of competences, it is convenient to carry out a legal process of clarification and precision of those corresponding to the different components of the SINA and, in particular, with regard to the Urban Environmental Units, the CARs, the National Parks Unit, Cormagdalena and the territorial entities. For this purpose, the ANC suggested taking into account the jurisprudence issued by the Constitutional Court and the formation of a Commission of Experts, with the support of international organizations, to prepare a proposal in this regard. In any case, it is considered that the entities whose purpose is to exercise environmental authority and manage natural resources must act with full independence and autonomy from other state authorities or instances.
Regarding financing, the Bases propose to define a financial strategy for SINA entities that guarantees their sustainability, reorganizes the current financial mechanisms and ensures a more equitable redistribution of the resources that finance management.
To this, the ANC adds that the National Government cannot and should not disregard the financing of management, particularly from the Sustainable Development Corporations that, by their very nature, are not in a position to generate their own resources.
In any case, the environmental efforts made in the country will be less effective if public environmental investment continues to decline, as has happened in recent years.
From the point of view of command and control mechanisms, the ANC views with concern the gradual dismantling of environmental licensing. It considers that although the environmental guides and the strategic environmental evaluations are useful, the license is an essential instrument for the activities and works that cause severe impacts on the environment and on the use of natural resources.
The CNA recommends that the MAVDT comply with the legal obligation to issue the methodology to carry out the assessment of environmental costs, an extremely important instrument for the control bodies and the citizens themselves to estimate the damage to natural heritage caused by public activities. and private.
He considers it extremely important that the State have the necessary instruments to successfully intervene in the international environmental agenda. To this end, it suggests the consolidation of an inter-institutional group in which representatives of SINA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participate.
The ANC raised the advisability of studying whether or not the environmental issue at the high level of the central government should regain its exclusive character, and that housing issues be taken up by other State agendas. And it recommended that the CARs make a systematic effort of consultation and coordination for the proper care of joint ecosystems.
FTA Colombia - United States
Regarding the Free Trade Agreements and, in particular, the one concluded with the United States, the ANC recommended that a careful evaluation be made of their different components to define their opportunities and risks and to review the state of legislation regarding its effectiveness and compliance capacity.
There is a belief that free trade limits, restricts and affects environmental protection. However, it seems evident that the more trade agreements are activated, the more rigorous the environmental requirements to comply with become. However, clear legislation and efficient institutional capacity are required in the environmental sector, in order to improve the country's commercial management in the face of the FTA scenario.
The signing of this type of Treaties requires the development of prior environmental governance that includes participatory strategies.
In practical terms, the ANC proposed that the MAVDT and the CARs should hold a working table with the exporters, in order to consolidate agreements and make viable the production of exportable goods in compliance with environmental legislation.
However, there is no consensus on the expected impacts of integration to world markets, through trade liberalization. The positions range from the most catastrophic predictions to the most benign and favorable. For these circumstances, an in-depth study should be undertaken through Asocars in conjunction with the main unions, in order to contribute to the formulation of the Internal Agenda.
Detriment to environmental heritage
The ANC stressed the importance of the initiative proposed by the Comptroller General of the Republic, Dr. Julio César Turbay Quintero, to establish, based on constitutional provisions and by legal act, fiscal responsibility for the damages caused to the environmental heritage (natural and built) by people or public or private entities. Legislation already establishes ecological crime, but it must determine the compensation to the State for damages that occur by action or omission, in the environmental heritage.
Population policy and other matters
The Bases propose assigning the function of formulating population policy to a particular entity. The CNA considers that as it is a multicausal and multisectoral matter, the provisions of Law 99 of 1993 are correct. The agencies involved must make a concerted effort to comply with this legal mandate, especially considering that the moderation of demographic rates reduces the pressure on natural resources. They should also take into account the challenges imposed by the great migratory processes of the last decades.
It is important to highlight the emphasis given in the Bases to actions aimed at the conservation and use of the strategic ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Colombian Massif, the Pacific Coast, the islands of San Andrés and Providencia, among others, as well as indigenous reserves and the territories of Afro-Colombian communities. For its part, the CNA drew attention to the importance of the due recognition and defense of these communities, their customs and their ancestral knowledge.
The Bases: a rhetorical proposal?
Lastly, it should be noted that the actions and initiatives contained in the Bases of the National Development Plan 2006 - 2010 will only be a tangible reality if the country has a strong, autonomous National Environmental System and with adequate resources.
Hence, the fact that the Central Level investment planned for the four-year period 2007-2010 barely reaches approximately $ 545.6 billion, or an average of $ 136 billion per year, is a matter of concern.
This contrasts with the annual average of investment in the last four years - which does not register satisfactory figures either - in which central government spending was approximately $ 215 billion 15.
____________________________________
15 Comptroller General of the Republic. Report The state of natural resources and the environment, 2005 - 2006. This is a trend that comes from 2002, as can be seen in the comment of the NATIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL. Development Plan 2002 - 2006: “The CNP is concerned about the very inadequate provision of budgetary resources for environmental management. In effect, the 2003-2006 Investment Plan foresees a total allocation, which corresponds in its entirety to the central sector, which implies a reduction of approximately 50% in relation to what was carried out in the period 1999-2002. This reduction is the most drastic of those executed in the different sectors, which would be indicative of the low relative priority that the Government gives to the environmental issue and, in general,it creates questions about the capacity to fulfill the proposed goals and the proper exercise of the proper functions of the environmental authority, which, ultimately, constitutes the fundamental axis of the existence of the National Environmental System ”.
This means that the capacity to execute the environmental program contained in the National Development Plan may become rhetoric and not a tangible reality.
Since 1991, two Congresses have been held, sponsored by the former Ministry of the Environment, CARs and civil society organizations.
It should be noted that the values charged for these concepts are very modest, taking into account the "cost" of natural resources and the amount of environmental damage.
See in the Report the document of the citizen EFRAÍN OLARTE OLARTE.
Download the original file
