00:00With only a few hours left before Abelardo de las Priegas takes office as president,
00:04Gustavo Petro's government has made several decisions that change the environmental landscape
00:08of the country. On the one hand, it officially declared the Colombian Amazon as a permanent reserve.
00:14That means that in more than 483,000 square kilometers, almost 42% of the country, they will be
00:21New mining and oil projects are prohibited. This does not affect other activities permitted by law.
00:26And it doesn't affect land titling either. This decision has a very clear effect. From
00:33From now on, no new mining concessions or new exploration contracts may be granted and
00:41hydrocarbon exploitation, nor new licenses, permits or environmental authorizations
00:48for these extractive activities within the Amazon biome. The ministry worked against the clock to
00:54That commitment. It wasn't until the end of June of this year that the prior consultation with the communities began.
00:58indigenous people of the region, a process that the Ministry of the Interior indicated he should
01:03to carry out. Several actors in the sector wondered if the Ministry of Environment would be able to complete that process.
01:08barely a month after the new government took office. Some even suggested trying
01:13Finishing it in such a short time could raise questions about the participation of the
01:17communities. Now the minister assures that the decision was neither improvised nor hasty. However,
01:23Although the process was carried out with the Amazonian indigenous peoples, the resolution is clear in
01:28One thing. The prior consultation with Afro-descendant communities remains incomplete. Some
01:33Organizations have doubts about the real impact of this measure on protecting the Amazon.
01:37It focuses on legal mining and hydrocarbon activities, but the largest
01:41The region's challenges are often associated with illicit activities. Vélez responds that the Ministry is...
01:47aware that a single reserve does not solve all the problems of the Amazon, but adding one
01:52A broader strategy is needed to conserve it. In addition to the resolution on the Amazon, there is another outstanding issue.
01:57that existed in the environmental sector, the regulations on bond markets
02:00of carbon in Colombia. In short, these markets consist of the purchase of certain
02:05bonds that represent the reduction or elimination of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
02:09They can be purchased by companies and states and are generated through activities such as
02:14forest protection, ecosystem restoration, and, among others, greenhouse gas capture
02:19greenhouse. In recent days, the Ministry of Environment issued a decree regulating this market.
02:24responding to an order from the Constitutional Court in mid-2024. At that time, the high
02:29The court issued its first ruling on this issue. It found that the Colombian state
02:33It did not adopt social and environmental safeguards to guarantee the rights of a community
02:38in Baupés, which participated in a carbon credit project. Now, the signed decree
02:43This August 4th establishes several key criteria for the operation of this market, such as
02:47that the maximum duration of a project can be 15 or 30 years, or that companies have
02:52They must report each phase of their initiatives to the Ministry of Environment. The projects also
02:57They will need the approval of the Ministry of Environment to move from one stage to another.
03:01If you want to know about these and other environmental and Amazonian news stories, visit elespectador.com.
03:17Thank you.
Comentarios