Before being appointed Minister of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, Beatriz Uribe Botero served as president of the Colombian Chamber of Construction (Camacol); During the previous government, she was Deputy Minister of Housing between 2003 and 2005, among other important positions. She is an economist from the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, with master's degrees in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science; and in Development Studies at the University of Bath, in the United Kingdom.
Currently facing the challenge of directing the environmental portfolio in Colombia towards "Democratic Prosperity", on the fronts: agriculture, mining-energy, infrastructure, housing and innovation, which make up the strategy of sustainable economic growth and competitiveness proposed by the President's Government Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, as a base strategy towards the sustainable development of Colombia.
The objectives of the new Government, the importance of corporate social responsibility, climate change, green markets and regulations are some of the topics to which the current Minister of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, Beatriz Uribe Botero, responds in this interview.
Do you consider Sustainable Development a viable development model in Latin America?
Principle 4 of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Summit states that in order to achieve sustainable development, protection of the environment must be an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation.
In this sense and considering that the majority of Latin American States have developed their environmental policy taking as a reference the agreements and results of this Summit, sustainable development is viable in the region, insofar as it is the foundation of environmental management national and supranational.
What do you think are the environmental potentials that the region can offer to the world market and what would be the economic impact?
The report of the Andean Community entitled "The water of the Andes a key resource for the development and integration of the region", mentions that in the countries of the Andean Community, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, 10% of the fresh water of the planet. Additionally, the report affirms that the Andean region is rich in water, as a consequence of the interaction of the atmosphere, the ocean, the Amazon and the Andes that marks the origin of a dynamic and abundant hydrological cycle, so that the water can become in one of the main factors of development and social welfare in the region.
What is the new government's environmental policy based on, and what will its main goals be?
Colombia, in the National Development Plan 2010-2014 seeks to advance towards Democratic Prosperity promoted by five locomotives: agriculture, mining-energy, infrastructure, housing and innovation, which make up the strategy of sustainable economic growth and competitiveness as a fundamental strategy to achieve a greater well-being of the population. The effectiveness and efficiency of these strategies depends on initiatives among others, such as the Environmental Management strategy, based on ensuring that this growth is sustainable.
Biodiversity and ecosystem services
a) 100% of paramo ecosystems and wetlands defined at an adequate scale, 100% of Second Law forest reserves redefined, ordered and zoned environmentally and territorially;
b) 1,000,000 hectares incorporated into SINAP517 (National System of Protected Areas) that primarily contemplate typical ecosystems of the Orinoco basin, dry, marine-coastal and oceanic forests;
c) the areas of the National Natural Park System improve the effectiveness of its management;
d) Map of updated Continental, Coastal and Marine Ecosystems;
e) 90,000 hectares restored or rehabilitated for protection purposes, including biological connectivity corridors, as well as avoided deforestation, in order to reach 400,000 hectares restored or rehabilitated and;
f) Environmental compensation mechanism based on the command and control instruments designed and being implemented.
Forests: Delimitation of the moors and wetlands, zoning and management of national forest reserves and adopt and implement the National Plan for Restoration, Recovery and Rehabilitation of Ecosystems, formulating forest programs such as the national REDD strategy with co-benefits, which enables economic development of communities and ethnic groups by accessing the global carbon market and promoting the implementation of the intersectoral pact for legal timber. A social co-responsibility strategy is also formulated in the fight against forest fires.
Comprehensive Management of Water Resources
a) Institutional scheme and articulation mechanisms agreed within the framework of the “Water Mission”;
b) institutional and financial strategy of the hydrometeorological network, approved by Conpes;
c) 50 watershed management and management plans under the new legal watershed management scheme;
d) national program for the legalization and registration of users of the water resource implemented in 50% of the prioritized basins and;
e) programs for the efficient use and saving of water formulated in 50% of the aqueduct and sewerage companies, irrigation districts and hydroelectric production.
Sectorial and Urban Environmental Management
a) adopted national construction and urban planning policy;
b) Colombian technical standard in the category of sustainable construction for the granting of the Colombian Environmental Seal issued;
c) vehicles entering the automotive fleet in 2014 with technologies in accordance with the available fuels;
d) 90% of the measurement stations report compliance with air quality standards;
e) 3% reduction in energy intensity (total national energy consumption / GDP) and total water consumption / GDP;
f) 10% of green state purchases;
g) Policy for the control of the illegal extraction of minerals formulated and adopted.
Climate change, adaptation and opportunity for development
a) National Climate Change Policy being implemented;
b) National Climate Change System created;
c) National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change formulated with its financial strategy; and
d) Colombian low-carbon development strategy formulated through sectoral mitigation plans.
Licensing: improvement of licensing processes in the different sectors of the economy: hydrocarbons, mining, energy, infrastructure and agrochemicals. In this sense, productive efforts towards private sector competitiveness and protection priorities are favored in a balanced way.
In addition, the streamlining of procedures and efficiency is sought, generating a culture of legality by the regulated and greater credibility in the Environmental Authority.
What impact does the industry have on pollution in Colombia?
Most of the country's population and industrial activity is located in urban centers, without neglecting also agro-industrial activities and industrial enclaves located outside of them. This implies that the environmental problems generated by pollution, be it from water, air or soil, are also concentrated and become much more complex.
Colombia is not an industrialized country, however the productive activities that move the country's economy and meet the needs of the population, can have a serious impact on the quality of the environment and human health, if they are developed without taking into account the environmental impacts.
The importance of the growth of the productive sector in the development of the country should not be ignored, but this growth and consolidation must go hand in hand with the protection and conservation of the environment. Hence, the efforts that are made from the institutional framework to improve environmental quality must be endorsed and supported by the productive sector, empowering themselves about the role they have in caring for the environment.
What are the most polluting industrial sectors and what strategies do you have from the public to promote changes?
In general terms, any industrial process that does not have adequate environmental control systems generates pollution problems. To cite an example, sectors that use fossil fuels with high sulfur and ash content, such as coal, and that do not have control systems to reduce emissions, or these systems are inefficient, are problematic sectors in terms of air pollution.
Likewise, sectors of production that use large amounts of water and use organic matter in their processes, but that have deficient systems for the treatment of their discharges, are sectors prone to generate imbalances in environmental matters.
As strategies to promote changes, the Government has been updating the existing regulation, which in some cases has been issued for more than 25 years, as is the case of the regulation on air issues, including control parameters for new industrial activities, new fuels and pollutants that were not contemplated in the previous legislation. A similar action is being taken on the water issue.
Additionally, through the National Cleaner Production Policy and recently with the National Policy on Sustainable Production and Consumption, the Government has been introducing the environmental dimension in the productive sectors as a long-term challenge, seeking to prevent and efficiently minimize the impacts and risks to the environment and human health, in order to guarantee environmental protection, economic growth, social welfare and business competitiveness.
Are MSMEs or large companies more polluting?
The parameters established in environmental regulations such as permissible emission or discharge limits apply similarly for both MSMEs and large industries, and the degree of non-compliance determines their level of responsibility for environmental contamination and possible depletion of resources. natural.
In this sense, pointing out that one or the other are more polluting is somewhat complex, insofar as the individual behavior of each productive unit determines its qualification in terms of contamination. However, it should be noted that MSMEs, due to their low technological level, limited human resource training, high levels of informality, low levels of association, low capacity for innovation, little use of information and communication technologies and their limited access to financing They have a lower level of environmental performance than large companies.
In your opinion, how has the environmental management of the industry in Colombia been evolving?
Pollution control policies have evolved from the methods known as end-of-pipe treatment, to models based on the principle of prevention, which change questions such as "what do we do with waste", for "what can we do to do not generate waste ”and that is essentially the basic principle of cleaner production.
Cleaner production is an environmental management strategy, which seeks to prevent contamination and optimize the efficiency of production processes based on the introduction of good manufacturing practices and the adaptation of cleaner technologies.
Now, progress must be made towards an integrative approach, which goes beyond considering only the producer in the equation and involving the consumer as a decisive actor in the search for sustainable development.
Hence, the Ministry reformulated the National Policy for Cleaner Production towards a National Policy for Sustainable Production and Consumption, which guides the change in production and consumption patterns of Colombian society towards environmental sustainability, also contributing to the competitiveness of companies and the welfare of the population.
What does the Government propose regarding tax benefits for the environmental sector? What are they and how do they work? To what extent and who are using the environmental tax incentives?
During the 2002-2009 period, the Ministry certified tax incentives for 232.3 billion pesos, which has represented investments in environmental matters for more than one billion pesos.
These incentives have benefited companies that have acquired machinery and equipment for the construction, installation, assembly, and operation of environmental control and monitoring systems, imported machinery and equipment for greenhouse gas reduction projects that generate reduction certificates. carbon emissions, imported machinery destined for recycling systems and investments made in improving the environment.
There are frequent users such as the regional autonomous corporations (CAR) for the whole issue of environmental monitoring, companies providing the cleaning service, companies that are making investments in environmental sanitation, that is, wastewater collectors and interceptors; Industries have also applied which, due to the requirements of environmental regulations, must make investments to control or improve emissions, dumping, and the generation of solid and hazardous waste.
In your opinion, have tax incentives worked?
The figures show that they have worked, since their objective is to facilitate investments in the environmental issue to lessen the impact that different activities generate. In the management of the water resource, investments have been made for more than 448,000 million pesos (about 220 million dollars), which will allow the future to remove from discharges about 182,000 tons of organic load per year, this is equivalent to the load produced by 10 million people in one year.
In terms of air quality, investments have been made around 238,000 million pesos (about 120 million dollars), which means that 1,990 tons of particulate material are currently being prevented from being emitted per year, this figure is equivalent to about 1.5 times the particulate material generated in Bogotá.
In the solid waste management area, the investments made are more than 105,000 million pesos (about 50 million dollars), they have been allocated to the proper operation of sanitary landfills and to the issue of waste recovery, which which has allowed more than 1% of all the waste generated in the country to be linked again to the production cycle.
What statistics does the MAVDT keep on employers' compliance with environmental standards? Expectations on Resolution 2086 of 2010.
In exercise of environmental authority, the Ministry went from imposing 50 sanctions worth 1,162 million pesos in 2006, to 77 sanctions in 2009 worth 11,375 million pesos. During 2010, sanctions have been imposed for more than 6.9 billion. Thus, the accumulated from this period amounts to more than 240 sanctions against companies that have failed to comply with environmental regulations for an estimated value of 18,000 million pesos (approximately nine million dollars).
In many of the cases, the effectiveness of the imposition of sanctions has been verified, showing changes in the behavior of the regulated and the internalization of environmental concern and responsibility in the decision-making process.
How is recycling working in Colombia?
In general terms, two trends can be identified, a clear demand for by-products from post-industrial waste and another situation in post-consumer waste of household origin, which presents limitations especially related to the quality of the input collected without separation at the source, which affects the adaptation, the processes to incorporate added value and of course the market.
However, the behavior of the market for recycled products is not fully known, especially due to the persistent informality in some chains that prevents the supply data from being established.
The available sources are the Single Public Services Information System of the Superintendency of Public Services (SUI), information reported by the cleaning service providers, the Bag of Industrial Waste and By-products (Borsi) and those reported by the industry through of the National Association of Entrepreneurs of Colombia (ANDI), within which, the glass industry is the one that reintegrates the largest amount of material.
What figures do you have?
Of the total solid waste generated in Colombia, on the order of 13%, it is recovered and reincorporated in the production cycle; approximately 7% are recovered and commercialized by the so-called recyclers or reclaimers and 6% are reincorporated into the production cycle through direct agreements between commerce and industry.
What examples of cities stand out in Colombia on the subject of recycling?
Total figures have not been established, however according to a study carried out by the Ministry of Environment in 2007, the following trends were established:
In Bogotá, good purchase prices for plastics, polystyrene, aluminum and copper stand out.
In Antioquia, the highest purchase prices for glass and polystyrene are presented.
El Meta has the highest purchase prices for antimony and copper.
In the regional one with the departments of Cesar, Sucre, Atlántico and Magdalena, the purchase prices for paper and cardboard, PVC, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, PET, others (plastics) are important.
How do you perceive the work of the sector that provides consulting and environmental services to industries?
The consulting services and, for the particular case, the consulting companies that attend to the environmental aspects of the national industry, have demonstrated responsibility and seriousness in their work, and their work in support of the business sector is important and decisive for business environmental management to be effective and achieve the expected results.
What recommendations do you have for them?
The most important recommendation is that they maintain a constant process of training human talent and establish goals for continuous improvement of their performance, so that clients are certain of having consulting companies that effectively and efficiently apply their knowledge and expertise, for the benefit of the company and the environment.
What is being done from the MAVDT to promote research, development and innovation to provide environmental solutions to the business sector?
The National Policy on Sustainable Production and Consumption recognizes the importance for the country of expanding and strengthening training and research in sustainable practices, technologies and businesses, as basic elements to advance in the innovation and diffusion of patterns of production and sustainable consumption and for it.
Are there any achievements to show about it?
Indeed, in order to promote sustainable development and improve sectoral environmental management, the Ministry, with resources from the IDB-SINA II credit (Inter-American Development Bank - National Environmental System), and with the technical and financial support of local environmental authorities and regional, between 2004 and 2008 co-financed the execution of 24 pilot projects in cleaner production and green markets, which required an investment of the order of 7.3 billion pesos.
These projects, which in their design have incorporated replicability strategies, have become an example to be followed by other environmental authorities, to improve the environmental performance of the productive sector of their jurisdiction.
In which markets and / or sectors can we project ourselves as a green economic power?
Due to its geographical position and its status as a tropical country, Colombia has immense potential in terms of the sustainable use and exploitation of goods and services provided by biodiversity.
Colombia has possibilities to project itself in the existing international carbon markets under the Kyoto Protocol and voluntary markets, especially with hydroelectric projects, energy efficiency, and landfills. In addition, the country could identify new potential for participation in emerging carbon markets resulting from international climate change negotiations, within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Depending on the decisions made in these negotiations and the structuring of the new markets, Colombia could project itself in sectors such as forestry, transport and agriculture.
What expectations do you have regarding the issue of biocommerce in Colombia?
Biological diversity is a source of life and economic and social development for Colombia, and it is essential to generate well-being, growth and development for Colombians. In this sense, this Ministry has been leading the process of formulating the National Program for Sustainable Biocommerce, which aims to develop innovative and competitive businesses, based on the sustainable use of biodiversity, through clear guidelines and a strong institutional structure that promotes the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
In this context, and with the support of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and the National Planning Department, work is being done within the framework of the Productive Transformation Program so that world-class sectors of cosmetics and toiletries, textiles, clothing, design and fashion, and health tourism, can find possibilities in the sustainable use of biodiversity for its development.
In your concept, what can be done to build a Sustainable Latin America?
According to a report on climate change in the region, prepared in March 2006 at the initiative of Mexico and the UNEP regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean, it is expected that by 2050 the Latin American contribution to global emissions will be 9 %.
The effort that is made to reduce this figure and thereby minimize negative impacts on the environment is a common task that goes beyond geopolitical limits and that is built with individual and collective contributions, public and private from each nation.
In this task, the definition of public policies to promote sustainable development in Latin America must converge towards the same end and integrate economic, social, political, ecological and cultural factors, so that under a systemic approach the changes expected by the region.
