- The population states that they are victims of stigmatization and alert about the serious consequences for their families due to the delays in the delimitation process. The Minera Dignity Oversight filed a legal action in order to achieve progress.
- The Administrative Court of Santander, by order of May 15, 2020, issued to the Ministry of Environment, "orders to advance the phase of concertation of the delimitation of the Santurbn pramo while the mandatory preventive isolation is in force."
- The Paramuna community is considering going to international environmental justice organizations to comply with the order and process the agreement on the delimitation of the pramo.
Mining Dignity, 2020 . The community of the municipality of Vetas, Santander, denounced that it has not been possible to restart the delimitation process of the Pramo. On this case, the court during the pandemic has twice issued orders to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to advance in the delimitation, but it continues to disregard such orders. Due to this, it is contemplated to carry out tutelatones, international lawsuits and other actions of citizen pressure, since their families and economy remain in uncertainty.
The delimitation process of the pramo is currently stalled and the communities consider that the activities with the Government have not borne fruit. Since last September 4, the representatives of the communities of the 40 municipalities involved in the delimitation of the Pramo de Santurbn, and the representatives of the Ministry of the Environment have been working on a series of virtual tables with the aim of deepening aspects of the process of agreement on the delimitation, as well as seeking to obtain substantial progress in a process of participatory deliberation.
For the communities, however, the virtual tables did not work or allow progress, since the technical, social and economic studies (ETESA) were not taken into account. In addition, they consider that the Government continues not to comply with what was ordered in ruling T361 of 2017. “They have not studied our proposal, the methodology they present for what they call a consultation meeting, confirms that the objective is to socialize the delimitation that they have a list ”, affirms Ivonne Gonzlez, director of Dignidad Minera.
The paramunos affected claim that the Government does not want to advance in the delimitation process of the moorland with excuses about the difficulties of continuing the process in virtuality. “With glyphosate the government was able to advance from virtuality and open spaces with the communities to make substantive decisions, while in Santurbn they excuse themselves in the pandemic and in connectivity problems (…) we have strengthened and demonstrated our desire to participate in amid a hostile and difficult environment such as the pandemic, we demonstrated that we could participate in a virtual way, contrary to what the anti-miners and the ministry said ”, emphasizes Gonzlez.
Likewise, the population indicates that the Ministry of the Environment has stigmatized them for being a mining vocation and they have not been given guarantees. “The lack of objectivity in the ministry officials was very evident. It gives the impression that they have accommodated everything in their own way and they do the exercises to meet the requirements only, ”says Orlando Rodrguez Ramrez, former mayor of Vetas, Santander.
Against this background, the populations assure that they will come out to defend their mining environment from the social and legal point of view, as they are concerned about the silence of the courts in the face of what they perceive as non-compliance by the Ministry. Rodrguez affirms that "the measures by the community to advance on the issue is to facilitate technological means, face-to-face spaces, written and media requests, petition rights, claims and finally make use of legal tools."
Dignidad Minera also affirms that they are studying the possibility of filing a lawsuit before an international environmental justice body, since the inhabitants of Vetas are at risk of being displaced by the delimitation proposed by the Government without having previously agreed with the community.
Problems for the population due to the delay in the delimitation process
The community denounces that the communities have not been thought about and the effects that the delay of the delimitation has on their economic activities. "In the ministry there are officials who have dedicated themselves to obstructing and imposing a delimitation made on a desk in Bogot or by satellite, without any serious study carried out on the ground," emphasizes Gonzlez.
The residents assure that the uncertainty affects the community as there is no clarity about the economic activities that they can carry out and about the local development of infrastructure, education, health, productive and social sector. Not to mention "the psychological affectation and the loss of plans, projects and dreams in the development of the life of each of the inhabitants of the pramo without ceasing to believe in ourselves and in the fight to defend our rights", as stated by the former mayor Rodriguez.
“This process has been indolent, the ministry takes 4 years and has not been able to comply with what the court ordered in a year, they are determined to delay indefinitely without caring that the costs of this process are borne by the communities (... ) The cradle and grave of so many generations caring for our wasteland, today they are in danger of disappearing together with our people, due to the political ambition of a few ”, concludes Gonzlez.
https://hablemosdemineria.com/2021/04/santurban-no-avanza-comunidad-considera-acudir-organismos-internacionales-ante-incumplimiento-del-gobierno-ordenes-judiciales-proceso-delimitacion-del-paramo/