Ivan Duque Oct 11th. https://www.vanguardia.com/economia/nacional/ningun-paramo-delimitado-puede-tener-mineria-a-gran-escala-duque-DD2984533
What is your position on the issue of water and especially with the Pramo de Santurbn?
I have been a historical defender of the pramos, I supported the Law of Pramos at the time, one of the things I believe is that Colombia has to protect its ecosystems delimited from pramos. The moors are a unique wealth in the world. In Santander there are thousands of families that historically have lived from mining, others from agriculture, others from livestock, but we must help them to transform their production, we must bring them to sustainable systems.
The Senators signed a letter to prohibit mega-mining in the 37 moors. Will you meet that request as a government policy?
It is in our Development Plan, which has a total chapter dedicated to the protection of the environment, in no delimited scheme of pramo in the country can large-scale mining be developed, additionally when we talk about protecting the pramos, we talk about protecting water . If you see in my speech at the United Nations, we are also protecting complementary ecosystems.
What do we say to the people of Santander against the defense of the Pramo de Santurbn?
Many people have had speculations, I have given very clear information to the environmental authority: objectivity. The environmental authority has to pronounce calmly, with transparency, with forcefulness, and above all supported by evidence, that is why it seems to me that the first commitment must be reaffirmed, which is a legal commitment, no delimited wasteland can have mining on a large scale. When applications for licensing have been submitted, in any of the areas that are of competence, the environmental authority has to pronounce itself without any type of interference, without any type of pressure.
What comes now with the mining project with Anla's decision to archive the Environmental Impact Study?
There is a procedure that must be completed. A peremptory time where managers will have to say whether or not they accept the opinion. If not, they will have to present the replacement. The truth is that what they are being told is that there is not enough information to make a decision. I think it is a responsible decision made by the environmental authority.
And what about pilot research projects for unconventional deposits?
Here no decisions have been made that do not consider science and experience in environmental matters. I like that it is not a political decision, it is a decision based on science. And those decisions have been made by countries that are world leaders in environmental policy, but that have developed their natural resources such as Canada, which has been able to create unconventional deposits, after research pilots.