Senate asks President Iván Duque to protect the Páramo de Santurbán

On the night of last Tuesday, October 6, during the debate on political control in the Senate on the protection of the Santurbán páramo, the proposal was discussed so that the Government of Colombia prohibit mining activity in the different moors of Colombia and in the ecosystems close to them.

El Tiempo reports that the motion was approved with 86 votes in favor and zero against, thus sending a clear message to the government of President Iván Duque about the protection of moorlands and high mountain ecosystems where mining aspirations of the Minesa company are projected. exactly in the high Andean forest of the Santurbán páramo

The proposal was led by senators Alexander López of the Alternative Democratic Pole, Angélica Lozano, of the Green Party and Guillermo García Realpe of the Liberals; Who decided to carry out this proposal due to the large-scale mining project that is intended to be carried out in the municipality of Soto Norte, Santander, in the vicinity of the Santurbán páramo.

The mining project currently has the environmental license process on file, because, according to Rodrígo Suárez, director of the National Environmental Licensing Authority (Anla), important information is missing to start excavations.

“We ask the Government of Iván Duque to prohibit mega-mining or any extractive activity in the 37 páramos located in the national territory or adjacent to them and, consequently, refrain from carrying out any mega-mining activity in the Santurbán páramo and its surrounding ecosystems that puts its biodiversity at risk, as well as refraining from granting mining exploitation licenses to private legal entities that alter, affect, degrade, pollute or destroy biodiversity and water bodies originating in the moors “, reads in the proposal, which was supported by members of the ruling party, Centro Democrático.

Another request that is made is that the license be definitively denied to the Minesa company, since the company could start the process to obtain a new license, as long as they meet the parameters for the exploitation and search for gold.

For its part, The Water Committee for Santurbán assured that this proposition differs from the Law of Páramos, since it includes the surrounding ecosystems, which would allow to speak of the integrity of the mountain. They also maintained that this is a direct message for the other mining projects that are planned in different parts of the Colombian territory, such as Quebradona in Jericó, Antioquia.

Furthermore, lthe Mayor of Bucaramanga, the Metropolitan Aqueduct and the Metropolitan Area presented a report to the company interested in the extraction of precious minerals in the region, ensuring that there is a connection between the waters affected by the mining project and those that supply the Bumangues.

On the part of Minesa, they argue that “the project is 2,600 meters above sea level (masl) and descends to 2,200 masl, outside the protected area of ​​the Santurbán páramo, which according to Resolution 2090 of 2014 of the Ministry of It is between 3,100 and 2,800 meters above sea level ”. This means that it is outside the current boundary of the moor. However, the argument of those who are against is that it would be done in ecosystems that are just as important as they are connected, something that agrees with the decision made by the Senate of the Republic.

The plenary session, which lasted more than eight hours, was characterized by a Congress in favor of the water resources of the páramo, as well as by the declaration of the Mayor of BucaramangaJuan Carlos Cárdenas, who said that the Soto Norte project, which the multinational Minesa plans to carry out in the vicinity of the páramo, is a “false positive environmental”.

“What there really is is a false positive environmental where they tell us that they file the license and that is not the case. When one reviews, what there is is a series of observations but there were all the elements to definitively deny the license. What we have here is to make serious decisions, “said the mayor in his speech.

His statements were not well received by the director of ANLA, who stated that the decision to archive the Soto Project was made under the concept of the entity’s technical team. “With the respect it deserves, I cannot allow this to be called a false positive environmental.

Here we have made a decision in light of the demanding regulatory framework that today allows us to act, “replied the director. The process that until now has the license project on file is in a notification phase to the parties involved.

The Páramo de Santurbán is located in the department of Norte de Santander and is a mountainous massif that houses fauna and flora important for the ecosystem of the region and the country. In addition, it is an important source of water for nearby cities.