INTRODUCTION
The degree work proposal called “Formulation of the Strategy for the Strengthening and Consolidation of the National Environmental System in the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion” is presented as an alternative to advance towards a general understanding of the operation of the SINA and improve its performance in the region.
strengthening-the-national-environmental-system-in-the-coffee-axisThe document tries to define some theoretical and conceptual references around the environmental agenda in the global, national and regional contexts and makes an approach to topics such as sustainable development, the environment and environmental management.
Likewise, it allows establishing, through the holistic research methodology approach, the recognition of basic technical elements to understand the National Environmental System and appropriate the bases to achieve the incorporation of the environmental dimension in development agendas through the regional environmental planning.
In this sense, and as part of the results presented, the definition of the problematic situations occurred during the environmental management of the territory has been achieved and the agents and agencies that stimulate the actions of the regional SINA have been established, identified and characterized. It has also allowed establishing a situational analysis where the main environmental management processes in the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion have been compiled.
All this has been constituted in the contributions and inputs that have allowed the elaboration of a framework or strategy that aims to contribute to environmental sustainability in development processes from the strengthening and consolidation of SINA.
This advance in the systematization of the experience of Regional Environmental Management has been possible thanks to the participation in instances of regional agreement such as the Technical Committee of the Ecoregion, activities such as the Regional Environmental Forum, academic events, dialogue with development agents, the application of instruments, and bibliographic reviews, among others.
SUMMARY
The research is carried out with the purpose of contributing to the formulation of general guidelines of the SINA consolidation strategy with the implementation of Environmental Public Policies in the Ecoregion of the Coffee Region, as a bet to advance towards the conformation and sophistication of synergies of environmental management that support the planning of the territory within the framework of sustainability. To target this bet, it is necessary to understand the SINA National Environmental System from a critical, systemic and complex reading on the performance of environmental management and the true scope of its action in the territory.
In this sense, from the recognition of the SINA in the Ecoregion as a System of Coordinated Actions for Environmental Management, its main processes, its agencies and its agents, problematic situations, successful experiences, the appropriation of instruments and the perception on the use and management of the Regional Environment. A critical reading and analysis of the referred dimensions will allow to identify the situational state from which the guidelines of strategy can be defined to contribute to the consolidation of the SINA in the Ecoregion.
1. TITLE: Strategy for the Strengthening and Consolidation of the National Environmental System -SINA- in the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion.
2. RESEARCH GROUP: Regional Development
3. ANALYSIS UNIT OR PROBLEM UNIT
The unit of analysis is defined by the National Environmental System –SINA- and is delimited by the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion, located in the central west of Colombia, South America.
4. JUSTIFICATION
The general “understanding” of the system of coordinated actions from SINA in the region should contribute to greater knowledge in Regional Development and Territorial Planning.
The purpose of the research represents, to a certain degree, a novel exercise due to its approach, which arouses interest and deep enthusiasm in the researcher as he seeks to understand the National Environmental System from a perspective of general systems theory, moving away from the public-institutional approach., which has prevailed since the organization of SINA once the general environmental law was enacted.
Formulating the SINA consolidation strategy in the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion, is proposed as feasible since at present, the departments of the Ecoregion are in a period of concertation, validation and approval of their environmental public policy, which allows identifying agents, areas of shared work and possible negotiation and cooperation mechanisms, where the Autonomous University of Manizales, through the Master's Degree in Regional Development and Territorial Planning, leads processes and contributes to the consolidation of a socio-environmental and ecosystemic environmental management of character regional.
It motivates the accomplishment of the investigation work, that the regional environmental management has traditionally been guided by the Regional Autonomous Corporations, the Governments of the departments, the Municipalities and other agents that exert efforts and mobilize resources and wills around the generation and maintenance of sustainability conditions in the territory and scope of its action and jurisdiction. However, each of the actors perceives and deals with environmental management in a particular way without recognizing environmental management as a comprehensive and complex system.
In contrast to this situation, there is evidence of a great deployment of efforts in environmental actions devoid of coordination that promotes the environmental impact and sustainability of environmental policy and development in general.
The consolidation of the regional SINA demands advances in the design and implementation of Territorial Environmental Systems that guide and direct Synergies of Environmental Management around a reading and appropriation of the Regional Environmental Management Plans (PGAR), since these are, for the legal, regulatory and legitimate support, the instruments that guide the departments towards sustainable development.
Likewise, it is highly motivating, the power from research, make a contribution to regional development from the environmental sciences that promotes the concerted execution of environmental management and its sectoral public policy from the perspective of environmental administration as science and art.
Formulating a strategy for strengthening and consolidating the SINA in the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion is of special interest to the researcher since it is considered an extension and deepening of studies on environmental management carried out previously, such as the Integrated Organization Management System for the undergraduate degree in Environmental Administration (UTP. 2002) and the Context of Coordination of Departmental Environmental Management for Risaralda within the framework of the Specialization in Local Environmental Management (UTP. 2005).
The development of the research is important by offering a synthetic and complex –no institutional– vision of the regional environmental planning process in the departments of the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion.
A strategy is considered necessary to consolidate the SINA in the Ecoregion since the tools to execute the environmental policy are already available. The construction of a Strategy for the Coordination of Regional Environmental Management will allow agents to recognize and contextualize their role during the coordination for synergy management and the implementation of regional environmental planning instruments that contribute to the sustainability, productivity and profitability of the Ecoregion.
Likewise, the definition of the SINA Regional Consolidation strategy will allow the coordination of Environmental Management, will contribute to the knowledge of regional environmental management and will promote the subscription of tools that facilitate the understanding and action of the PGARs, in a permanent process for the improvement and sophistication of environmental thought.
5. HOLOPRAXIC STATEMENT
5.1. FORMULATING THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
The operation of the SINA faces a series of problems that negatively affect its potential impact on the regions. The following are compiled below, among others:
Table No1. Evidence of problem situations
| Source | Finding and / and Hypothesis |
| Forum
National Environmental Rodríguez, Mance. 2007 |
The MAVDT as the visible head of SINA does not have the political capacity to build and consolidate national environmental sustainability.
The Colombian Environmental Management has lost leadership (loss of political and technical maneuvering capacity). Lost in the political hierarchy of the former Ministry of the Environment MMA. Decrease in technical, economic and financial resources to achieve significant environmental partner impacts. Slowdown in cross-sectoral environmental management. Weak mechanisms for environmental information and communication management. Short-term actions and a sectoral vision to tackle the environment. |
| Forum
Regional Environmental |
He affirms that in a context close to our territory "There is a weak management of a transectoral, territorial, business and community social nature for the recognition, approach and management of environmental management in the Ecoregion of the Coffee Region". |
| The Voices of SINA
(MMA CVC. 2002) |
I identify the following factors as weaknesses of the system that inhibit its consolidation:
a) Lack of an information system. b) Weakness in the processes of planning, execution and monitoring of environmental policy. c) Weakness in the coordination and communication systems, decrease in the environmental investment budget. d) Imbalance in the allocation of resources for the actors of the system. |
| The
Comptroller general (1999, 2002, 2005) |
Lack of definition of SINA's scope of action.
Lack of a long-term environmental policy. Little inter-institutional coordination. In sync with planning processes. Weak citizen participation. Disproportionate and ineffective environmental regulations. |
| POMBO
RHODES View Systemic |
Inconsistencies in the political and technical reading of the environmental problems that affect the territory and its inhabitants.
The weakness in the coordination of environmental management. Low participation of the private sector and civil society in decision-making processes that affect the management of environmental affairs. Low appropriation of environmental management instruments. The poor development of cooperation mechanisms and technology transfer. |
Source: self made. Compilation
Research question: What is the System of Coordinated Actions for environmental management that defines the National Environmental System in the Ecoregion of the Coffee Region and how could the synergy that operationalizes it be optimized?
6. OBJECTIVES
6.1. GENERAL
Formulate a strategy to consolidate the SINA National Environmental System in the Ecoregion of the Coffee Region as a tool for the efficient management of environmental issues in its territory.
6.2. SPECIFIC
- SO1. Recognize the conceptual elements related to environmental management and the SINA for the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion. OE2. Identify and analyze problematic situations of environmental management in the Ecoregion of the Coffee Region. SO3. Characterize the main agents and agencies linked to the development of the Eje Cafetero Ecoregion. OE4. Define the situational status of the main environmental management processes and instruments in the Ecoregion. OE5. Sign strategy guidelines to optimize systemic environmental management in the Ecoregion of the coffee axis.
