Summary of some of the most relevant conclusions as a result of the debates in the working groups of the Third National Environmental Congress held on November 27 - 29, 2006.
The Third National Environmental Congress organized by the Association of Regional Autonomous Corporations and Sustainable Development, Asocars, set as its main objective the preparation of the Colombia XXI Century Environmental Agenda, which consists of a set of useful proposals for the formulation of the National Plan for Development and for the construction of the Vision 2019 proposal. The Environmental Congress proposes the following principles:
1. The achievement of peace. As a key strategy in the environmental field, it is the most effective way to eliminate one of the main stimuli for illicit crops: the financing of war.
2. Environmental sustainability. It must be the result of an anthropic behavior that recognizes the characteristics and limitations of ecosystems and natural assets.
3. The fight against poverty and inequality. Access to resources is a prerequisite for sustainable development, also to eliminate one of the factors of violence and armed conflict.
4. The environment is a commitment of all State entities and a key element in all sector policies;
5. Basic conditions to achieve environmental sustainability. They are: i) allocate the necessary public resources; 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.
6. Build a culture of adequate use of natural resources and preservation of ecosystems. Essential purpose to guarantee the future of the Nation.
7. Colombia, like the other developing countries, must carry out diplomatic and political action on an international scale. This 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.
8. Take into consideration that citizen participation in the environmental field is not only a right, it is also a duty.
Based on the principles and criteria described above, and taking into account the great potential of environmental resources that the country has, we take from the main document some of the contributions made by the experts and attendees in the different work tables, arranged in the Congress Environmental.
Sustainable productive activity
In the agricultural field, the Agenda proposes 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 Inter-institutional Laboratory for the Detection and Monitoring of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and 3), evaluation of the risks to the environment and health derived from activities with GMOs.
A fundamental cause of the edaphic deterioration is the current ownership and distribution of land, according to which, a large proportion of fertile lands is destined to cattle ranching or to processes of disguised or open urbanization in the sectors surrounding large cities, as in the case from the savannah of Bogotá.
It is important that the country continue to make an effort in terms of cleaner production agreements and support private efforts to achieve eco-efficiency, but the commitments that are acquired should not be limited to what is stipulated in environmental regulations, but must go further for such agreements to be justified. The other thing is just to comply with the law, without this meaning an important added value.
Forests and sustainable forestry
The Environmental Congress went further and recommended other measures that are summarized as follows:
- Regulate, with the broad participation of civil society and regional environmental authorities, Law 1021 of 2006; Encourage private reforestation with species that have recognized technological packages; Strengthen the ICA so that it can respond to its responsibility in forestry matters; Organize in the MAVDT and in the CAR operating forest units; Conserve the remnants of natural forest in the most densely deforested areas and promote the restoration of these ecosystems with native species, for which the connection of the organized local community must be mandatory and Make a diagnosis real situation of natural forests, led by IDEAM.
Use and conservation of water resources
According to the CNA and in relation to economic instruments, it is essential to seek their universal application and adjust them to the current environmental reality.
Likewise, the block water sale mechanism that has been used in various regions of the country must be strictly regulated, so that suppliers cannot evade their environmental responsibilities or abuse rates.
Given that the practice of regenerating and reusing wastewater is emerging as a new technically viable 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 compensated by the benefits obtained, both economic and environmental.
Coasts, seas and islands
In this regard, the Environmental Congress emphasized the need for CARs to have greater interference in the marine issue and the need to seek the active participation of all the actors that have responsibility in this space, so they must be integrated through alliances 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 ignorance. The proposal is to carry out studies, generate knowledge and mitigate the lack of research.
Biodiversity and sustainable use
Initiatives are formulated for its use, in whose execution the link between indigenous and Afro-Colombian ethnic groups is announced; 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 System of National Parks, the declaration of two new wetlands of Ramsar importance, the management of 100,000 hectares of mangrove swamp and the management of moorland ecosystems.
In addition, mention is made of support for the national strategy for the prevention and control of illegal trafficking of wild species, the reinforcement of the National Strategic Plan for Green Markets and the purpose of implementing the National Eco-labeling Program.
For its part, the National Congress raised the importance of bioprospecting, in which the country does not have sufficient negotiating expertise and is a field of enormous complexity and risks, although with great economic potential. Similarly, he drew attention to the opportunities, but at the same time, to the risks of ecotourism and the concession of areas for private exploitation.
He considered it convenient to study the consolidation of a National Fund for Green Markets, 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 to large chains of intermediaries.
Sustainable urban development
- 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 ignore the reality of large urban conglomerates - metropolitan areas or regional cities - that need to consider extra-local environmental phenomena, The convenience of promoting regional systems for solid waste management and wastewater treatment. 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 attribute this responsibility to the CARs,that does not correspond to them due to their constitutional mission12; An issue that must be studied carefully, in the case of wastewater treatment, is the incorporation in the public service rates in a stratified form of a portion of the costs of said treatment -as supplement to remuneration rates - to be able to carry out this mitigation action. In the same way, for the activities of use and reduction of solid waste, it is necessary to commit the entire productive chain and not only hold the municipal authorities and public service operators responsible for these tasks; It is necessary to insist on the protection of urban rounds of wetlands, streams, canals, and rivers; improve urban drainage systems and create environmental corridors in urban road circuits,yA massive urban reforestation and landscaping program should be established to substantially increase 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 planning
- It is urgent that the Government and the Congress of the Republic take care of issuing the Law of Territorial Organization provided for in the National Constitution. For this purpose, 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 nucleus in the budgetary 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 agreement, must issue the general guidelines for the territorial ordering of the various regions of the country, in such a way that they constitute the frame of reference for the review of the Territorial Ordering Plans at the municipal level, in order to guarantee compatibility between them.This is essential because the growth of a certain 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 the nation and regions; It is necessary to establish methods and procedures for evaluating compliance with municipal POTs and a sanction fee in the negative case, and Include desertification considerations in the POTs as well as in the Plans of ActionIt is necessary to establish methods and procedures for evaluating compliance with municipal POTs and a sanction fee in the negative case, and Include desertification considerations in the POTs as well as in the Action PlansIt is necessary to establish methods and procedures for evaluating compliance with municipal POTs and a sanction fee in the negative case, and Include desertification considerations in the POTs as well as in the Action Plans
Air pollution and climate change
In this regard, the Environmental Congress highlighted the efforts in the search for alternative sources of energy, particularly biofuels, although it drew attention to the need to carry out detailed studies on the real effectiveness of their production and use in relation to the ambient.
It also expressed concern about the issuance of standards that are not satisfactory to guarantee air quality, such as Resolutions 601 and 1180 of 2006, issued by the MAVDT.
Eradication of illicit crops
The government's proposal and the opinions expressed in the Environmental Congress on the importance and convenience of eradicating illicit crops in the country coincide. However, Congress considered that greater emphasis should be given to manual eradication efforts, since spraying glyphosate entails high risks of not implementing an adequate environmental management plan, the adoption of which has been avoided by the authorities, as despite being a legal obligation.
He considered that of forest rangers families an interesting initiative, although doubts were expressed about its effectiveness and actual coverage. In any case, it is agreed that the development of profitable productive projects will contribute to deactivating drug crops that, from an environmental point of view, cause severe damage to natural resources, especially in areas of ecosystem fragility.
Enviromental health
The Third Congress drew 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 housing, treatment of wastewater or provision and operation of sanitary landfills. This is due to the fact that they are inherent commitments of local or regional authorities and, in no case, of the 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 (in the case of the CAR of Cundinamarca) that should be gradually dismantled as the territorial entities assume their obligation in this regard.
Education, culture and citizen participation
- 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 to unify criteria in the transmission of knowledge about the environment and the attitude about its conservation; Strengthen the PRAES and include environmental education in all university curricula; Promote the sense of place and appropriation of territory of Colombians promoting exploration, creativity and appropriation of the natural; Build 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 as a modality of sanction against transgressions of environmental regulations the attendance to environmental training courses; Strengthen non-formal education, in particular that resulting from the mass media with permanent updating courses for journalists and social communicators; Carry out a study on a national scale to evaluate the effectiveness and representativeness resulting from the citizen participation mechanisms and adopt the necessary corrections. Among the areas to be investigated should be included what is related to the participation of civil society in State agencies,yKeep in mind that the development of environmentally friendly technologies must receive the full support of the State.
TLC
Regarding the Free Trade Agreements and, in particular, the one signed with the United States, the Environmental Congress recommended making a careful evaluation of their different components to define their opportunities and risks and review the status of the legislation regarding to its effectiveness and compliance capacity.
There is a belief that free trade limits, restricts and affects environmental protection. However, it appears 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 treaty requires the development of prior environmental governance that includes participatory strategies.
In practical terms, it was proposed that the MAVDT and the CARs should hold a working group with the exporters, in order to consolidate agreements and make the production of exportable goods viable in compliance with environmental legislation.
However, there is no consensus on the expected impacts of integration into world markets, through trade liberalization. Positions range from the most catastrophic predictions to the most benign and favorable. Due to such circumstances, an in-depth study must be undertaken through Asocars in conjunction with the main unions, in order to contribute to the formulation of the Internal Agenda.
Institutional development
There is consensus on the convenience of a broad and participatory review of the current institutional structure of the SINA that includes the evaluation of all Environmental Authorities and that promotes clarity in their functions and interrelations, strengthens their technical capacity and develops participatory schemes for the definition of its management and for accountability. In particular, the differences and similarities regarding resources (environmental surcharge and transfers from the electricity sector) should be specified; and delimitation of urban and rural environmental aspects. In addition, for this purpose, an article that defines the urban environment, heritage and income of the environmental units of large urban centers and metropolitan areas must be included in the bill of the National Development Plan.
In the same way, it is convenient to review and update environmental regulations to adapt it to the demands of contemporary times, preserving its integral character. For this purpose, the formation of a great Commission that proposes a plan of reforms that obeys a holistic conception and not partial visions is urgent. Legislating in isolation on water, air, ecosystems, moors or any other component without taking into account the ecosystem vision on them, can lead to great mistakes.
It considers that all State entities must commit themselves to environmental management. Those entities that have a direct impact on environmental issues, such as Invías, Ecopetrol, the Ministry of Agriculture, among others, must have their own offices to handle these matters, as happened a few years ago. For its part, the DNP must revive the environmental group that it once had, to guarantee permanent attention to this aspect in the evaluation of state investments.
A field of special interest is to achieve the consolidation of 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. Similarly, the formulation and execution of a national research program in the environmental field is of special importance in order to harmonize the work carried out by the SINA entities and, in particular, the research institutes and the CARs.
The proposal to strengthen interministerial agendas is very important. The CNA raised the convenience of studying whether the environmental issue at the high level of the central government should or should not regain its exclusive character, and that housing issues be assumed by other State agendas.
The Third Congress recommended that the CARs make a systematic effort of concertation and coordination for the adequate attention of joint ecosystems.
If you want to know more about the Colombia Siglo XXI Environmental Agenda, go to www.asocars.org.co.
