Policy & Science Workshop: Who defines the problem? An example from Colombia

Luis Francisco Madriñán, PhDUniversidad del Rosario

Conservation and ecosystem services coordinator GEF-Oil Palm projectColombia

lfmadrinan@gmail.com

COLOMBIA

A Little bit about Colombia

• Population: 47.7 million• Area: 1´141.748 km2 (or 2 times the size of France)• PIB per capita has grown from USD $ 5.855 in 2000 to USD $11.150 in 2014

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20140.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

1.7%

2.5%

3.9%

5.3%4.7%

6.7% 6.9%

3.5%

1.5%

4.3%

5.8%

5.0%

4.3%4.8%

GDP (growth)

Year

GDP

grow

th (%

)

Colombia is one of the world's mega-diverse countries:- 14% of the world's biodiversity.- 54,443 species - 34 ecoregions. - 1885 are birds (94 are threatened)- 479 are mammals (52 threatened) - Agricultural land is 37.3% of total land.- Forested areas make up 53.1%.-- Protected areas make up 20.9% of total land

area.

These facts have policy implications:

• Colombia has some very strong laws but they have been hard to apply:• Law 2811 of 1974 and decree 1541 of 1978 defined were to define river

channels based on “recurrance intervals”.

• These laws were never applied rigourosly, until the rain season caused by a two year niña event hit the country between 2010 and 2011.

• In 2012 the government created the law 1523, to avoid this to happen again.• There are not enough trained professionals in the country to enforce this new

law.

Other cases to discuss today:

• Environmental compensation law (2012)• Not enough personal to enforce

• Territorial planning law based on basins, law 1640 of 2012:• Not enough professionals to have the same quality control in

the entire country.• Law to define hydraulic permanent channels (1450 of 2011):

• Not enough professional to make a standardized methodology.

THANK YOU