A new cloud of concern hangs over the Amazon Rainforest. Mining is the first answer when experts are asked which challenges the new government of Juan Manuel Santos will have to face with regard to the forests of Colombia. Ever since he began to talk about the possible riches to be obtained from columbite-tentalite and gold in the region, environmentalists have sounded the alarm.

Although almost 40 million hectares lie under protection through parks and indigenous people’s land, the arrival of mining companies and the declared eagerness on the part of the government to expand this type of investment throughout the country has frustrated the dreams of conservationists and native communities. Now they see that their territories are actually under risk.

To have an idea of the dimension this matter has taken, one just has to take a look at the records of requests granted for mining rights in the region (see map). In the Colombian states of Guainía, Vaupés and Amazonas dots that announce the next exploitation are appearing in increasing numbers. Concern is also growing since at this point it is still unclear just how much mines will advance into the forest or which areas will be off limits.



“There are go-betweens requesting titles and licenses, which are then sold to companies. There are hundreds of such titles in the hands of but a few in the region. Aside from being a business, it is also a threat because “who is going to handle the rules that will guarantee that no destruction is done to the environment or that native people’s rights will be respected, if there is no control?” That is a question asked by Martín Von Hildebrand, director of the Gaia Foundation of the Amazon Rainforest.

For him, the biggest challenge faced by the Amazon Rainforest in the face of this threat is disorder itself.

Even if the government claims the contrary and tries to attract investments arguing that Colombia has a very clear legislation on the subject, Von Hildebrand is certain that the country does not have the mechanisms to control just how these mining operations will be undertaken, neither are they seeking to learn if the chosen locations for exploitation are strategic in nature or have any cultural significance.

“There is an institution called Ingeominas (that grants mining rights in Colombia) which doesn’t work and that is why we are threatened by disorder. If we had clear rules and a monitoring system we could be witnessing a less negative impact”, says he. The government has already announced the closing of Ingeominas and the creation of a new National Mining Agency.

However, Von Hildebrand considers that all mining activity should be forbidden until there are control systems for the region and for royalties to then begin investing in the sector.

Historically, the country’s royalties over mining and exploitation of hydrocarbons have been diverted while the states that should have received them continue in poverty. Estimates point at an 85% loss of these resources to corruption.

Even if government insists that with mining new resources will arrive that will boost investments in Colombia, for Von Hildebrand the story is not quite so. “This mining activity will bring us enormous social and environmental problems: disease, migrations and destruction of the biodiversity. Who will pay for this in the next 40 or 50 years? Colombia, because the ore will soon be exhausted”, he emphasizes.

“Then what does the country gain with this? It is losing its ecosystems, violating the rights of indigenous peoples. And, considering that having an uncontrolled form of mining also generates problems of public safety, other interested parties will be attracted to this situation to take advantage. Therefore, we are, in effect, creating a new state of chaos in the state of Amazonas, due to this lack of control”, pondered the director of the Gaia Foundation.

Advanced, but threatened, policies

Even if Colombian policies with regard to the Amazon Rainforest are among the most advanced in the world because it blends conservation and an acknowledgement of native people’s rights over their territories, the threat still stands.

According to Carlos Rodríguez, director in Colombia of the Tropenbos
International organization, the protection policy devised during the term of President Virgilio Barco (1986 – 1990) has generated many positive results in terms of the conservation of the biodiversity and mitigation of climate changes and also towards acknowledging in practice the rights of indigenous peoples.

Now, “if the intention is to control the mining threat, this would be the way to say that conservation is consolidated. But it is necessary for the government to have a coherent policy that is also integrated with neighboring countries, allowing it to generate revenue for the upkeep of this conservation strategy (like REDD) and provide well-being for local communities”, said he.

In this sense, Rodríguez speaks of the need for clarity with regard to the country’s new territorial ordering. “The new government is planning a new territorial ordering that includes native people’s lands in many locations. This would be an impressive advancement in our democracy”, he assured us.

“Territorial ordering will define if there are mining projects within native people’s lands and, in this case, there will have to be prior consultations because to this date, such processes were not being conducted in the proper manner”, he said. In a violent country such as Colombia, threats have stood above these consultations.

Control, a task for local communities

Consultations will be fundamental in this process, say specialists, as well as the control performed by local communities on the projects that can come into existence in the area. In a region of jungles and difficult to be reached by authorities, locals play an important role in keeping their eyes open to what goes on. Specialists also agree on the need to strengthen such communities so that they are able to exert actual control.

Former Minister for the Environment, Manuel Rodríguez Becerra, has insisted on the need to create a great institute that can release resources and generate opportunities of governance within black and indigenous people’s communities in order to make their ways of life feasible. He considers that the consolidation of this project of social justice has been missing. There are still no procedures to monitor the process of territorial consolidation, as an economic compensation for protecting the forests. Therefore, for him, the priority when it comes to conservation must be the empowerment of local governance.

A half-willing government

The former minister considers that the government of Álvaro Uribe placed the environmental issue in a marginal position within politics, as if the theme were a hindrance towards economic development. The political line followed by Juan Manuel Santos is similar to his predecessor therefore it is not received with optimism by Amazonian experts.

“One cannot say that the new government arrives with an environmental will because the elected has given strength to ministers of all sectors, but the environmental side has not received the same support”, asseverates Von Hildebrand. One of the first purposes of the new government is to divide several ministries that were integrated in the last government. Among those are the Ministry of the Environment, Habitation and Territorial Development.

“Our fear is that by dividing ministries, the theme of territorial ordering is left to be handled by the Ministry of Development and Habitation and not of the Environment. If that is so, how can we hope to become a leading country with regard to the environment and development?”, he asks himself.

“It looks like not much importance is being given to the Ministry of the Environment and it might end up becoming a lesser ministry of little importance”, stated Von Hildebrand.

“If territorial ordering remains in the Ministry of the Environment, the implications would be that a level of priority is being afforded to ecosystems and nature to ensure the supply of water but, on the other hand, if it becomes a task of Development and Habitation, it will mean that they will organize the country at the expense of the environment. It remains to be seen which will gain priority”, said the director of
Gaia Amazonas. “They must give importance to cultural and biological biodiversity. We are at the crossroads of a historical moment in which we can progress”, he concluded.

The new Ministry

While the Ministry is being divided for the Environment, Habitation and Development, the person taking up the role of minister is Beatriz Helena Uribe Botero, an economist with a Masters degree in Social Politics and Planning at the London School of Economics, who has performed several functions in previous governments.

She was the vice-minister of Habitation and Territorial Development and worked as an advisor for the multilateral group of the Ministry of Finance. She also exercised several positions at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Once the ministries are divided, the person in charge of the environmental areas will be Sandra Bessudo, a marine biologist who was the director of the Malpelo Foundation in recent years. Through that organization, she was able to dedicate herself to the protection of the species of the island of the same name, considered a sanctuary of flora and fauna, aside from being a Heritage of Humanity. Bessudo has especially worked in defense of sharks.

During presidential campaigns, Bessudo promoted the Environmental pact, an initiative that intended to place ecology in the center of public policies. Several candidates, among which, Juan Manuel Santos, adhered to the pact. The Environmental Pact is a 12-point agreement that speaks in defense of the environment on several accounts, from a perspective of the economy to education, energy handling, fiscal resources, transportation, health, research and international policy.