The United Nations Biodiversity Conference opened in Cali, Colombia, today and will run until November 1. 

Fourteen thousand delegates from around the world are expected to attend the meeting, known as COP16, to discuss a host of issues related to biological diversity in one of the most biologically diverse countries on the planet. 

Colombia’s government hopes to use the opportunity to advance its climate agenda and establish itself as a global leader for environmental protection, despite current challenges it faces from armed groups which control large areas of the Colombian Amazon and influence deforestation in the region. 

What is COP16? 

The Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of Parties, or Biodiversity COP, is the lesser known counterpart to the Climate Change COP, which is due to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November. 

The Biodiversity COP began with the signing of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992 at the UN Earth Summit, with delegates meeting every two years thereafter. This year marks the sixteenth conference, or COP16. 

The principal goals of Biodiversity COP are “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of nature’s components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from commercial and other utilization of genetic resources.” 

With a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report recently finding a 73% reduction in the average size of wildlife populations, the topic of biodiversity conservation has never been more pressing.

Colombia’s role in the climate change debate

Colombia is positioned on the frontlines of climate change, both ecologically and politically. It is the most biodiverse country in the world by square kilometre and is home to over 56,000 species of flora and fauna. 

On a political level, the government of President Gustavo Petro has sought to position itself as a leader of the green transition. This summer, the government announced that deforestation had fallen to a 23-year low, according to Reuters. 

Speaking to The Bogotá Post, a spokesperson for Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development asserted that the conference is an opportunity for the country to reinforce its role as a leader in global environmental cooperation.

“Without a doubt, [COP16] is an opportunity that will allow us to continue positioning ourselves as leaders of climate action on the global stage,” the representative said.

The Ministry also stressed the symbolic importance of Latin American leadership in the battle against climate change, with Brazil set to host the COP30 climate conference next year.

The spokesperson explained, “it is significant that two megadiverse countries, Colombia and Brazil, will lead the Conferences of Parties on biodiversity and climate change, respectively.”

They also highlighted the ongoing multilateral collaboration between Latin American countries exemplified by the reactivation of the Organization of the Treaty on Amazonian Cooperation, which aims to conserve the Amazon rainforest.

The role of armed actors in Colombian conservation

According to a new report by the International Crisis Group, the Amazon is precisely where Petro is “staking much of his legacy” on climate change. Ahead of COP16, the non-profit urged Colombia to do more to negotiate with and assert its power over armed groups in the region which have shown “the power to slow or accelerate deforestation at will”.

For their part, rebel groups are also using the conference as leverage in negotiations with the government. In a since-deleted post on Twitter, rebel leader Iván Mordisco made threats to the security of the conference. President Gustavo Petro responded to the EMC’s statement, saying “the security of the COP16 is guaranteed.”

Latin America leading by example on conservation

Efforts like the Treaty on Amazonian Cooperation are intended to set an example for international attendees this year, who are expected to present national-level plans to meet conservation targets that were agreed to in the 2022 COP15 conference in Canada.

In a deal hailed as historic, delegates at the conference in Montreal pledged to establish protection areas to conserve 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 and to restore 30% of earth’s degraded ecosystems.

According to the Environment Ministry spokesperson, the Colombian government’s goal for this year’s conference is simple: “the success of COP16 lies in the implementation of the [2022] agreement.”

They insist that the conference is not a forum for the renegotiation of commitments, and instead stress the importance of agreeing on mechanisms to enforce existing pledges.

The delivery of this goal at COP16 will serve as a test of whether Colombia can achieve its objective of being a global leader in the fight against climate change.

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There will be water cuts in Bogotá, beginning on April 11. Rationing will be zone by zone and will last until at least mid-May depending on weather. Months of low rainfall have seriously depleted the water levels in the reservoirs that serve the city, forcing authorities to take drastic action to eke out what’s left. 

Put simply, Bogotá is running out of water. The mayor is calling on everybody to preserve water in any way possible and has also announced rolling 24-hr water cuts throughout the city. The cuts will take place by zone and also impact areas such as Soacha and Chía. 

Bogotá mayor Carlos Galán tweeted: “The critical levels of the reservoirs that supply Bogotá’s drinking water lead us to take measures aimed at saving water and reducing consumption from 17 cubic meters per second to 15.”

The impact of El Niño has been particularly harsh this year, causing forest fires in January and water shortages throughout the country. IDEAM expects the effects of El Niño to last until mid-May or June, meaning water-saving measures will continue for the foreseeable future.

Where are the water cuts in Bogotá?

Water will be cut on a rolling basis in nine zones of Bogotá. On the day when water is cut in your area, there will be no water for 24 hours (from 8am to 8am the following day). The cuts will work on a cycle, beginning April 11. 

According to Acueducto, here’s how the cuts will impact each area. EAAB have more details here (pdf).

April 11: Zone 1

• Much of Antonio Nariño
• Much of Barrios Unidos
• Parts of Chapinero
• Much of Los Mártires
• Much of Puente Aranda
• Parts of Rafael Uribe Uribe
• Parts of Santa Fe
• Teusaquillo
• Parts of Tunjuelito
• Parts of Usaquén

Cuts continue on April 20 and April 29

April 12: Zone 2

• Engativá
• Parts of Fontibón
• Cota

Cuts continue on April 21 and April 30

April 13: Zone 3

• Parts of Barrios Unidos
• About half of Suba
• Much of Usaquén

Cuts continue on April 22 and May 1

April 14: Zone 4

• Much of Bosa
• About half of Ciudad Bolívar
• Parts of Kennedy
• Parts of Puente Aranda
• Much of Tunjuelito

Cuts continue on April 23 and May 2

April 15: Zone 5

• About half of Ciudad Bolívar
• Much of Rafael Uribe Uribe
• Much of San Cristóbal
• About half of Santa Fe
• One barrio in Tunjuelito

Cuts continue on April 24 and May 3

April 16: Zone 6

• About half of Suba
• Soacha

Cuts continue on April 25 and May 4

April 17: Zone 7

• Much of Fontibón
• Parts of Kennedy
• Also Funza, Madrid, and Mosquera

Cuts continue on April 26 and May 5

April 18: Zone 8

• Parts of Antonio Nariño
• Much of Bosa
• Much of Chapinero
• Much of Kennedy
• Part of Los Mártires
• Parts of Rafel Uribe Uribe
• Parts of San Cristóbal
• About half of Santa Fe
• About half of Usaquén

Cuts continue on April 27 and May 6

April 19: Zone 9

• About half of Usaquén
• Parts of Suba
• Also Chía, Cajicá, Cojardín, Sopó, Tocancipá and Gachancipá 

Cuts continue on April 28 and May 7

What you can do to help

The alcaldía is calling on everybody to use less water, even on days when your taps are working. #JuntosPorElAgua may feel like too little, too late, given that reservoir levels have been falling for some time. Nonetheless, there are steps we can all take to reduce our consumption, especially as water cuts in Bogotá are relatively frequent. 

These include:

• Take shorter showers. Collect water in a bucket while it is heating up so you can use it for other things such as cleaning floors or watering plants.
• Turn off the tap while cleaning your teeth. Similarly, switch off the water when shampooing your hair or shaving.
• Don’t clean your car or the outside of your home with a hosepipe. Hosepipes use a lot of water, so if there are activities you’d usually use your hose for, switch to a bucket instead.
• Check for leaks and fix any dripping taps or showers. A leaky toilet can waste 30 gallons or more a day, which is both water and money down the drain.
• Only use your washing machine for full loads. Make the most of every load by avoiding half-empty machines.
• Put a full plastic bottle into your toilet tank. Save money on every flush by displacing some of the water in the tank. Use a clean plastic bottle, weighted with a few stones, and place it in the back of your toilet. That way it will take less water to fill the tank.

How low are the reservoirs?

Bogota gets drinking water from eight reservoirs, spread across three systems, all of which are running low. About 70% of the city’s water comes from the Chingaza system, and the Northern and Southern systems provide 25% and 5% respectively. There are also smaller providers that operate and also have troubles.

While all the reservoirs have issues, levels in the Chingaza system are at 17%. That means the water system that provides the majority of the capital’s water is almost spent. Natasha Avendaño, the boss of Acueducto de Bogotá, told Caracol that the city will run out of water if it does not rain in the next 30 days.

In addition to the environmental challenges and water cuts, the low levels of water present another problem. Bogotá gets a significant chunk of its energy from hydroelectric power. This means we may also see energy cuts and blackouts in the capital if the situation continues.

Water cuts in Bogotá: the bottom line

Find out when the water will be cut in your area and prepare by putting aside water to drink and cook with. In addition, we all need to take steps to reduce our water consumption, else rolling water cuts may be the least of our problems. The water levels in Chingaza are seriously low and El Niño is not yet done. 

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A powerful 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Bogotá recently (August 17), damaging Colombia’s congress building and sending residents streaming into the streets. We spoke to Bogdan Nitescu, a professor of geosciences at the University of Los Andes, to find out more about earthquakes in Colombia. 

Earthquakes in Bogotá are the result of tectonic plates that drive the seismic activity we’ve been seeing. Sitting near the Eastern Cordillera of the Andean belt, Bogotá is vulnerable to the interaction of three major tectonic plates, the Pacific Ocean’s Nazca Plate, the Caribbean plate, and the South American plate. “Faults close to Villavicencio are active, and they accumulate elastic stress over a period of time until at some point, there is a sudden slip and a huge movement of the eastern cordillera”, Nitescu said.   

“When this energy is released, it spreads throughout the territory… this is what happened on the 17th August”, he continued. Some parts of the city are better prepared than others. “Seismic risk to the city varies from zone to zone, and depends partially on the type of subsurface material and partially on building standards”, Nitescu continues. 

How earthquake-resistant is Colombia? 

In 1983, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake hit Popayán and over 250 people lost their lives. Colombia introduced earthquake-resistant building codes a year later as a result of the tragedy. These have been updated multiple times in the decades since, in part because of  Colombia’s Andean vulnerability to seismic events.  

According to Nitescu, modern buildings that adhere to the country’s updated standards are well-prepared for disasters like the kind that hit the region last week. However, that’s only part of the picture. Some new buildings aren’t up to scratch, and there’s work to be done with those constructed before the regulations came into force.

“The city’s main concern should be heritage buildings, but also new houses not constructed according to the building codes”, he said. “For example, in the south with Ciudad Bolívar, and along the mountain slopes with ‘Barrios de invasion,’ largely brick houses constructed without approval, people are at risk of landslides caused by earthquakes.” 

Barrios de invasion are informal, often self-constructed settlements. They often don’t have access to water and electricity and – as they are built without local permission – are sometimes on unsafe ground. One of the reasons that the 2017 Mocoa landslide death toll was so high was that many displaced people had settled in informal and unplanned barrios.

What to do in case of an earthquake

The Colombian Geological Service offers the following advice on how to act in the event of an earthquake. 

• Try to stay calm and look for a safe place — away from any falling debris — where you can shelter until it passes. 
• Residents stuck indoors should avoid door frames as these are often vulnerable to earthquakes. Instead, find a column or a desk for protection. Avoid windows or glass that could shatter.
• If you are outside, stay in the centre of the street, providing traffic has stopped. That way you can avoid falling bricks or glass from nearby buildings.
• In the immediate aftermath, those at home should turn off gas and power supplies in case of aftershocks, and those outside should avoid any electrical cables. 

Android and Apple mobiles also have alert systems which, when activated, can provide warnings ahead of time to people living further away from an earthquake’s epicentre.

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Colombia could now be home to 200 wild hippos, according to a scientific report which also proposes hunting the African mammals which originally escaped from drug baron Pablo Escobar’s ranch in the 1990s.

At current breeding rates, numbers could exceed 1,000 in another decade. The renegade semi aquatic mammals need urgent reduction, says a report on the management, control and eradication of Hippopotamus amphibius co-written by the Humboldt Institute and National University.

According to El Espectador, “Scientists recognize the negative impacts they can have on the ecosystems they have been colonizing… invasive species are one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss not only in the country, but in the world.”

Culling is just one potential control method. Confinement and moving them overseas has also been mooted with recent announcements of hippo relocation to places like India and Mexico.  

Imported intentionally and illegally

Meanwhile the hippos march on in the “ideal conditions” of the Magdalena River. The 170-page study, which is yet to be validated by the Ministry of the Environment, details the expansion of hippos into seven population groups around Nare, Berrío, Yondó and the Momposian zones of the lowland Colombia, an area covering 100 kilometers of river and swamps.

According to the report, the hippos are descended from three breeding pairs introduced to Colombia “in an illegal and intentional manner in the 1980s” by Escobar and kept at his ranch Hacienda Nápoles, where some captive hippos are still on display today. Their wild cousins escaped soon after Escobar’s death in 1993 when the ranch fell into ruin.

Last year, a survey registered 169 free-living hippos though it’s a sub-count: an upper estimate suggests as many as 215 individuals could be out there. The majority are calves and young adults looking for new territories.

The largest group – around 117 at the last tally – still wallows in lakes and rivers close to Nápoles in Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia, the area most affected by the hippo invasion. Just last week a hippo was killed and two people injured when their car struck the massive mammal on a main road in nearby Doradal.

“This painful accident reaffirms the importance of urgently carrying out the translocation of hippos to India and Mexico,” said the Antioquia’s governor after the accident, asking for government support for the plan which could reduce the local hippo population by 70 beasts.

Competition for resources

Crashing into them is just one of many social and environmental problems connected to the invaders. Competition for resources, displacement, disease transmission, contribution of large amounts of fecal matter that overloads river systems, soil compaction, are some of the other impacts we’re seeing.

Hippos eat land vegetation – up to 50 kilograms a day – but poop it out in the water. This raises nitrate levels, causing algal blooms and killing fish. Their large bulk can erode riverbanks and destroy the local environment, according to the report. That said, it’s not clear how much worse this is compared to widespread cattle farming in the region.

Another potential impact is on existing native semi-aquatic mammals such as manatees, otters and capybaras, though these were heavily under threat even before hippos. Then there’s human-hippo interactions with wild hippos wandering through towns and villages around Puerto Triunfo and reports of confrontations with fishermen and farmers.

It’s not as fun as it sounds: Hippos are aggressive and territorial and officially the deadliest large mammal – they kill on average 500 people in Africa every year – and can attack boats and canoes and people on land, and have been known to attack humans, cattle and horses around the River Magdalena.

The demise of Pepe

Despite these dangers though, many Colombians welcome them, and the report admits hippo support among local folk who see the animal outlaws as “Pablo’s pets” and tokens of the “opulence and prestige” that the notorious cartel leader formerly brought to the zone, along with danger and destruction.

Even the odd rogue hippo has its fans. In 2007 local environment authorities were stuck with the case of a male hippo called Pepe which attacked canoes and broke farm fences close to Puerto Berrio.

Plans were made to trap it and transfer it to a zoo in Costa Rica but permits fell through so after continued aggression by the hippo, it was shot by trained hunters in 2009.

Then controversy erupted after photos circulated of army troops posing with the dead Pepe, who was still clearly popular with some of the local population. This sparked a court ruling protecting other hippos from being hunted.

Pepe’s historical case highlights the tightrope currently walked by environmental agencies in the Magdalena Valley: addressing the hippo problem in ways acceptable to a human population often campaigning to “leave them in peace”.

Of course, some local people like hippos for other reasons. According to the report, some have ended up grilled on the barbecue and baby hippos have vanished into the exotic pet trade.

One clear conclusion of the Humboldt Institute and National University study is that Colombia needs less hippos. And this is done best by “controlled hunting, translocation and confinement.” Previous attempts to sterilize hippos were not seen as a realistic way forward.

And as we’ve seen with the case of Pepe, flying hippos overseas is also a difficult option. If they can’t transfer one hippo, how will they manage seventy? India and Mexico might want hippos, but can Colombia deliver?

Confinement could mean creation of a “hippo game park” or large cages somehow controlling them with physical barriers to keep them in which is very challenging given their size, strength and ability to walk underwater.

Rights for hippos

What’s left? Culling hippos either through hunting or possibly poisoning them, activities which are bound to create controversy, court cases and international scrutiny.  The Ministry of the Environment has yet to pronounce on the Humboldt Institute and National University study but will likely find itself in a legal battle as soon as it does.

Crucial to any hippo control is the court ruling in 2022 that hippos are “invasive species” in Colombia, but already that legal framework is being challenged at State Council level by private citizens arguing that animal welfare regulations should supersede any kill or contain orders.

According to this challenge hippos are “sensitive exotic vertebrate beings” and “their welfare must be observed in any management plan”. That probably excludes killing them.

And by some legal twist, Colombia’s hippos are “protected persons” under US law after a nutty ruling in an Ohio courthouse in 2021, though it has no legal bearing on Colombia.

More human-hippo accidents, such as last week’s crash in Doradal, could swing the pendulum. Following news of the dead hippo and injured humans, the Attorney General’s Office reminded the State Council that “keeping Hipopotamus amphibius on the list of invasive species in Colombia is crucial to address the environmental crisis generated and protect the life of the community.”

Still, a strong sector of the public will hold out for the hippos. It will be a long road to eradication. For now, at least, Colombia’s hippos can rest easy in the Magdalena River.

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In 2022, there’s a lot of talk about environmental issues and green matters. Colombia could be at the forefront of these discussions, with abundant natural resources and as much biodiversity as anywhere else on earth. To what degree any of this moves the ordinary voter, it’s hard to know. With inflationary pressures making post-Covid economic revival somewhat rocky, many people have too much on their own plates to worry about the wider world.

While people may not all be eco-warriors, locally the la niña rains have been particularly problematic this year. Plus, internationally the last few months have given cause for concern abroad. With oil shocks reminding us of the late 70s, this is as good a time as any to push towards energy self-sufficiency. The Amazon too is reaching a tipping point, so changes are here.

Frack off

Fracking is the topic that seems to be most widely discussed on social networks. Petro virulently opposes it, proposing a total ban on new projects, stopping some that are already in place and promising to respect any public opposition. He will also ban large open cast mines, but allow small traditional and artisanal mines to continue. Rodolfo has indicated in speeches and videos that he’s not opposed to fracking, but it’s absent from his manifesto. He does talk about mining, but only to say that he will insist on multinationals following the same rules in Colombia as they would in their own countries.

Read more: Election cheat sheets – Petro

Green energy

With fracking off the table and further resource extraction limited, green energy is the way forward for Petro. He plans to invest in all forms of renewables, depending on the area. Colombia is already in a good position with regard to hydroelectrics, but there will have to be investment in solar and wind. He acknowledges this, proposing a gradual decarbonisation plan which will protect both employment and economy along the way. He plans to make energy a ‘common good,’ although it’s not clear what that means exactly. His critics paint this as a plan for nationalisation. He will keep Ecopetrol as a national company and create a National Institute for Clean Energy. He plans to use existing biocarbon reserves for internal use as much as possible. Rodolfo follows a similar tack, advocating for responsible use of non-renewables and a gradual increase of renewable energy depending on the zone. 

Deforestation

Deforestation is more commonly associated with Brazil, but it’s a big problem in Colombia too. Rodolfo wants to stop this by paying farmers not to cut down trees or to plant trees, especially native species, and a basic income for those that protect forested areas. He would also strengthen the existing environmental authorities and push for swift justice in cases of ecological destruction. He promises to ratify the Escazú Agreement for Latin American cooperation on climate change and apply the targets from COP26 last year. There will be a special protection plan for the Amazon. Petro plans to work with neighbouring countries to present a united front protecting, for example, the Amazon. He will do this by offering carbon offsetting. 

Read more: Election cheat sheets – Rodolfo Hernández

Pollution and recycling

Petro plans to develop more biodegradable materials, which Colombia is more than capable of doing. He will also prohibit single-use plastics, which are heavily used in Colombia. Recyclers will be formalised and their work valued, while open dumps for rubbish will be phased out. Even in cities, there will be moves by Petro to allow measures to combat pollution. For example, local governments will receive funding to promote walking and biking as well as the permission to create low-emission zones within cities. Rodolfo has similar plans, giving green budgets to regions via the vice-president’s office. Each region can use the money to promote cycling, recycling, conservation, renewable projects, and so on.

Read more: Your guide to the Colombian elections

In the end

Although the electorate doesn’t seem particularly bothered by the issue, this is one thing governments absolutely are obsessed with, and for good reason. Both candidates agree on the basics here, and will both work towards a more eco-friendly economy. The big question is how much they can do without inflicting too much pain. It won’t be easy to fully green the economy and some benefits will be invisible and/or delayed. 

Colombia has several big advantages here, with a relatively low carbon footprint per person already and plenty of natural resources. Although there is still plenty of opposition from oil companies and the like, the wind is blowing in one direction: towards a greener future. Colombia should orientate itself towards that, especially in terms of international relations. Questions linger over precisely how this will happen, but the will does seem to be there at the top level.

The post Petro vs. Rodolfo: A green revolution? appeared first on The Bogotá Post.

Therefore, The Bogotá Post sat down with Jacqueline Novogratz, an impact investing pioneer, one of the world’s “100 Greatest Living Business Minds” according to Forbes, and a keynote speaker at the recent Latin American Impact Investing Forum (FLII), where 700 experts from 25 countries convened.

Novogratz is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a global nonprofit changing the way the world tackles poverty, which has invested more than $135 million in more than 100 social enterprises worldwide.

Novogratz – wearing a bright pink, crimped dress and dark turquoise hat – spoke with an overwhelming serenity and passion about Acumen’s projects in LATAM, particularly in Colombia, and how the region’s impact ecosystem compares to others.

When she left her credit analyst job to explore how to make a difference in the world in the 1980s, she found herself in Brazil. However, with almost no sector for microfinance in LATAM, she moved to Rwanda to help start the first microfinance bank. This is no longer the case. LATAM – which Novogratz refers to as a warm and loving region – has an impact investing ecosystem that is beginning to make significant progress. 

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Novogratz that has been edited for conciseness and clarity. 

The Bogotá Post: During your keynote at FLII, you started and rounded off your speech with words of gratitude. Is that a part of leadership that you deem necessary? Have you seen similar forms of leadership in LATAM? 

Jacqueline Novogratz: LATAM is a region that oozes joy and gratitude in humbling ways – and they should never hide that. Gratitude is also absolutely key to the leadership that the world needs today. We live in such a cynical time. Yet, behind the darkness is possibility and beauty. My team helped me see that beauty, joy, and gratitude are at the center of where effective leadership needs to be. If we look at Volodymyr Zelensky, he does not shy away from expressing how ugly things are, yet he exuberates a feeling of gratitude for the people fighting for their country. 

TBP: You have spoken about the importance of pairing ancestral knowledge with modern technologies. Do you think this is essential for the region’s development?

JN: This is an important conversation that I don’t see happening enough. It is essential for the world’s development – and it’s nuanced. Some people see indigenous knowledge as the only way forward, and others are fully focused on how we’ll be saved by modern technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse. The challenge is to find a way to utilize ancient wisdom – the beautiful things of the past – while removing what no longer serves us.  

For example, fertilizer and nitrates have arguably done a lot of damage, but it is estimated that 40% of the world today would not be living had we not had fertilizer. On the other hand, regenerative agriculture and intercropping from indigenous practices are so powerful that they could help us move into the future. 

*Intercropping: the practice of growing two or more crops in proximity to each other. 

TBP: Acumen was able to build a successful partnership with the Arhuaca indigenous community in Colombia to create Cacao Hunters (an enterprise promoting heirloom varieties of cacao in indigenous and post-conflict regions of Colombia). Why did this commercial partnership have success? How did you build trust with the Araucanos? 

JN: I’m lucky to work with effective and courageous leaders like Acumen’s Latin American Director, Virgilio Barco, who have a deep respect for indigenous people – who have been long overlooked, underestimated, and exploited – and understand the opportunity to use business as a tool for peace. 

Carlos Ignacio Velasco and Mayumi Ogata, co-founders of Cacao Hunters, took four years to introduce themselves to the Arhuaca to reintroduce white cacao, which was a forgotten sacred fruit once used in ancient rituals. The patience and trust-building built a level of confidence that is rare when dealing with power dynamics that have been assumed unequal. 

Mayumi and Carlos approached them with great humility and found ways to connect their identities. Mayumi is a Shinto-Japanese woman, and in Shintoism, Kamis – divine spirits or gods – are in everything. The Arhuaca may use a different language, but this is also at the heart of their cosmology. 

When I met Mamo Camilo, a spiritual leader of the Arhuaco, I questioned what would happen if the extra income started moving needs to wants. He looked at me and said: “There’s always a risk. The moment this partnership moves our community out of balance is the moment it ends.” This level of confidence and assertion that we are equals meant success to me. 

Our challenge as a world is to find ways to live together that bring everyone possibility – that takes more than advanced technologies and extensive business plans. This takes moral imagination, humility, and listening. 

TBP: You said in your keynote that the world is ever-more interdependent. Therefore, what do you think the European impact investing ecosystem can learn from LATAM? 

JN: So much. In Colombia, where 50 years of civil war has created a national lack of trust, social entrepreneurs have to immerse themselves in communities with a great sense of humility, confidence, and creativity – and they do so in ways that take my breath away. 

They also have access to networks that allow them to build much more robust supply chains than we often see in other regions. 

Sometimes impact investors will have to accompany entrepreneurs for two or three years before they are ready for an investment. That’s a serious level of commitment, time, and money. Yet, if we are going to use business as a tool for peace in communities affected by war, violence, and poverty, we need that kind of partnership and accompaniment. European impact investors can learn patience, true listening, blended capital, and measure what matters, not just the things we can count. 

TBP: In the European impact investing ecosystem, there’s a lot of discussion about Impact-Weighted Accounts and metrics. Do you think these models can be easily transferable to LATAM? 

JN: We created a model at Acumen called Lean Data, which became a for-profit company called 60 Decibels to make lean data a global standard for impact measurement. The fundamental starting point for measuring what matters is listening to the people being served.

What Lean Data does is ask a set of questions to a large sample of customers from a company to deduce how their lives changed with a particular product. With this, as an impact investor, we know across a sector, like solar, which companies have the greatest poverty effect or environmental impact. It isn’t the only way to measure impact, but if we leave out the voices of those we’re serving, we are measuring impact from the lens of those who control the money. 

TBP: Despite 700 people at FLII, impact investing in LATAM is still viewed as a “new frontier.” What can be done to encourage the growth of the sector?

JN: It is partly a generational issue as my generation was quite comfortable with business as usual. But the next generation understands the power of a new way of doing business – getting close to the problems to build solutions. In fact, many young entrepreneurs came up to me at FLII to say they were taking courses at Acumen Academy. There’s a hunger to learn, making way for a cauldron of creativity. 

LATAM has its own share of corruption, but my wish is for the population to internalize and see that their governments and corporations are willing to partner with social entrepreneurs, unlike in other regions of the world that struggle with high levels of poor governance and a lack of multigenerational wealth. 

I met someone working in off-grid solar who has a partnership with the Colombian government; they subsidize every single solar unit they sell. That does not exist in the continent of Africa, where you have 650 million people who still need solar energy. Cacao Hunters also partnered with Crepes and Waffles, who buy the chocolate to put in their high-end ice cream. That’s a chocolate company with a narrative and product fit for the domestic market and the elite population with significant income to spend. This is a model for scale that could teach the rest of the world. 

Europe has had effective governance to some extent, so a generation is still saying: “The government can solve that.” In LATAM, that is not the go-to at all. To scale the impact investing ecosystem, the region needs more partnerships. Governments won’t solve all the problems of poverty, but neither will entrepreneurship by itself. 

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Coro Global, a Florida-based fintech firm, The Bogotá Post and Publicize, a public relations firm based in Medellín, coordinated with the non-profit Confraternidad Carcelaria de Colombia, to deliver over 100 aid packets of food, cleaning supplies and over 800 litres of potable water to victims in San Andrés and Providencia. 

Led on the ground in San Andrés by Jonathan Hernández Nassif and his wife Yuly Andrea Botero Ortiz as well as in Medellín by Tereza Bízková, the team coordinated donations and bought, packed and distributed food and water to communities affected by the storm. 

“We spoke to a lady who left Providencia [a neighboring island most affected by the storm] and was received in San Andrés, she came only with the clothes she was wearing,” said Hernandez Nassif when asked about the current conditions there. 

“Many people lost their livelihoods as well,” he added. “In San Andrés, the touristic attractions in the north haven’t been affected much, but the south has been impacted heavily, with the main highway suffering significant damage and several restaurants were razed to the ground.”

“Colombia has been a second home for me and many of our team members,” said David Dorr, co-founder of Coro Global, a United States-based fintech startup that’s created a technology platform for transactions with gold. “We wish the islands of San Andrés and Providencia swift recoveries from this devastating storm.” 

“We love this country and hate to see its people devastated like this,” said Saurabh and Navanwita Sachdev, residents of Medellín who also contributed to the relief efforts. “Anything we can do to help out, obviously, we will do.” 

On November 16, Hurricane Iota blasted Central America, leaving devastating damage behind. This happened just two weeks after Hurricane Eta, a strong tropical storm, caused heavy landslides, floodings, and the displacement of thousands across the region.

The Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia, located off the coast of Nicaragua, were heavily damaged, with the eye of the storm being just tens of kilometers away. 

Considered one of the worst hurricanes to ever hit Colombia, Iota is also the first category five hurricane the country has ever seen, according to weather news site The Watchers. And the destruction it left behind is significant: Thousands of families found themselves without shelter, water, and access to healthcare.

In San Andrés, at least 700 families were affected, and 60% of the island was left without power. Providencia was hit even harder. Reportedly, 98% of its infrastructure was affected, with over 6,000 families in need of help. 

While plans for basic repairs, sanitation, temporary accommodation, and infrastructure reconstruction are underway, there continues to be an urgent need for basic items, especially drinking water, foods, medicines, and hygiene products so that the affected can get by until houses are rebuilt and the islands recover.

If you’re looking to help, you can reach out to Confraternidad Carcelaria here.

Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.

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There are two ‘national conversations’ taking place in Colombia at the moment. One is on the streets where the protests continue, and the other is the official ‘national conversation’ that the government announced over the weekend. 

Strike organisers have said they won’t participate in the national conversation which started on Tuesday because it does not address the reasons that people are protesting, which they’ve shared in a manifesto. But what is being discussed in this national conversation? And who is joining those discussions?

On Wednesday, they talked about education. Today was about transparency and anti-corruption. And yesterday was about the environment. Since there’s not a lot of coverage of what’s happening in those debates we translated and summarised the account from Camilo Prieto, spokesperson of the Movimiento Ambientalista Colombiano who took to Facebook live to share his perspective.

Prieto, a surgeon and philosopher who “dreams of a country where education and the protection of the environment are vital axes”, presented a summary of the conversation held yesterday with the ministers and the president. The surgeon and activist says in his video stream that he does not intend to substitute the general conversation, but rather act as a conduit so we can all understand, and in turn, share this understanding of the environmental issues besieging the country. He’s invited the general public to contribute to this conversation by exerting pressure in a respectful, non-violent yet vehement way.

The meeting was attended by the president, the ministers of mining, and the environment and representatives from different environmental organizations. A number of environmental organizations decided not to attend. Prieto talked about the three specific proposals he and his movement have, and about the conclusions to the meeting.

Issue 1: Deforestation

According to the Movimiento Ambientalista Colombiano, this is the most serious environmental problem Colombia is facing, and one which damages the climate stability of the country both now and in the future. 

Deforestation is one of the main generators of greenhouse gases, because of the scale at which it is destroying the forests. This releases even more carbon into the air than heavy industry. He said this not new information, but stressed that 70% of the deforestation in Colombia is concentrated in the Amazon – and this is dramatic. According to Prieto, studies conducted by Fedesarrollo state that 60% of that deforestation is connected to extensive livestock production. In Colombia alone, 38.9 million hectares are used for livestock production alone, in an unsustainable manner, and within a framework that is almost feudalistic.

Related: The Amazon is burning – deforestation in Colombia

The movements’ proposal is to migrate livestock production to something called a silvopasture system – a mutually beneficial way to integrate forage, trees, and animal grazing. According to experts, this diversifies farm income sources as well as the overall viability of the farm. It also expands the abundance and diversity of wildlife, and contributes to carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. 

According to Prieto, the president’s answer to this suggestion was: “People will be given the chance to voluntarily migrate to silvopasture systems.” The environmentalist was not satisfied with this answer. For him, this is not about giving people the chance to voluntarily migrate to those systems, but about creating public policies which lead the country to more sustainable cattle-raising. Prieto also called the National Development Plan’s target that allows 220,000 hectares of deforested areas per year totally despicable, and inadmissible.

Issue 2: Public Health, and Environmental Degradation

There is no denying the alarming degree to which environmental degradation has harmed public health, not only in Colombia, but around the world. Dr Prieto commented on the absence of the Ministry of Health at the meeting. He was concerned as he feels public health needs to be tackled through a joint effort involving both ministries and there is no consensus as to the amount of money spent on health issues stemming from environmental degradation.

Prieto invited the president to check the three reports available at the website of the National Planning Department (Dirección Nacional de Planeación) which portray very different expense figures in that respect: COP$15.6 billion in one, COP$12 billion in the second one, and between COP$2-12 billion in the last one. 

“In Colombia, we don’t have the slightest idea of how much environmental degradation is affecting the health of Colombians, and how much it is costing us,” says Prieto. “This demonstrates a disconnect between the ministries.”

Issue 3: The Escazú Agreement

The regional Escazú agreement was signed last year to increase access to information, public participation and justice in environmental matters. The treaty “aims to combat inequality and discrimination and to guarantee the right of every person to an equal environment and to sustainable development. In so doing, it devotes particular attention to persons and groups in vulnerable situations, and places equality at the core of sustainable development”. 

Speaking more in layman’s terms, Prieto explained at the meeting that the agreement compels governments to be more transparent with the environmental information available, not only the academic information, but also that which relates to environmental conflict.

This agreement was signed on three main axes: sharing environment-related information, sharing judicial information related to environmental conflict, protecting environmental leaders – a key aspect. Prieto reminded the audience in his live video that Colombia is the second most dangerous place in the world for environmental activism. He invited the president to enter the agreement, to which Colombia is not a signatory, but a mediator.

If the government signs the agreement, it would mean committing to transparency on environmental data. Prieto states that there are big interests that often trump the flow of the judicial proceedings in this respect. He provides a simple example why this matters: Only people in Bogotá and Medellín have access to open data about air quality.

Prieto says no conclusions were reached at the end of the meeting, and the government did not make any commitments regarding these three issues. His only hope is for more people to help feed the protests with arguments, peacefully, and to share this information to exert a vehement, solid, categorical, and unrelenting pressure on the government. When it comes to the environment, our country needs to be re-routed and change its mentality.

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After a two-year hiatus, Bogotá’s popular Quebrada La Vieja hiking trails have re-opened giving visitors the chance to walk from city streets to the heights of the Cerros Orientales. 

The mountain paths, which cross land owned by the city water board EEAB, were closed in 2017 for environmental impact assessments following damage by thousands of daily hikers.

Now EEAB has limited access by introducing an on-line booking system. Entrance to the trail is free, but hikers must reserve a spot in advance by entering their details in the ‘Visitas EEAB’ website. Reservations can only be made up to the day before any planned hike. 

The trail starts in Barrio Rosales in the north of the city. You can begin the walk from Avenida Septima with Calle 72, but the EEAB checkpoint is at Avenida Circunvalar with Calle 71.

Related story: Hiking in Bogotá, crunch time for the Cerros Orientales

Visitors must first choose the hourly time slot to enter and select which of the four trails they plan to hike. These are:

• Claro de Luna: The first major point on the trail, one hour walk.
• La Virgen: A low trail with views over the city, 1.5 hours’ walk.
• Alto de La Cruz: Higher 2-hour walk, slightly more ascent.
• Páramo (Piedra de La Ballena): Up to 2.5 hours with a steep ascent to the ridges above Bogotá, but great views. Bring a warm jacket.

The trail is open 5am to 9am Tuesday to Friday, and 6am to 10am on weekends. On Mondays the trail closes (or Tuesday if the Monday is a holiday).

Related story: The hills are alive with the sound of walkers

The EEAB advises hikers not to bring any valuables on the trail: Despite the presence of EEAB rangers and sometimes police presence, robberies have occurred particularly on the higher paths.

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Journalists and water experts convened in Kathmandu, Nepal on September 23 and 24 for a workshop, organized by Mumbai-based think tank Strategic Foresight Group (SFG), to educate the media on global challenges related to water and peace. 

“Many people are not aware, but we’ve found through our research that any two countries engaged in ‘active’ water cooperation do not go to war for any reason,” said SFG President Dr. Sundeep Waslekar.

The summit hosted an international panel of over 20 journalists from outlets such as the Economist, TIME, National Geographic and the BBC. Over the course of the two days, they presented about trans-boundary water issues that affected their respective regions as well as challenges and opportunities that face reporters covering topics related to water. 

Among the regions discussed was the Amazon river basin, which incorporates Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela, Suriname and Peru. Containing 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, the basin is increasingly affected by mercury poisoning from artesanal and illegal gold mining. According to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), mercury, a key component in gold extraction, “is estimated to alter the health conditions of over 1.5 million individuals across the basin.”

“Water issues, particularly pollution, can’t be seen only as national issues. They impact entire basins,” said Andrew Wight, an Australian science journalist based in Medellín whose work has appeared in NBC News, Nature and Science. 

Taran Volckhausen, a freelance reporter for Mongabay, National Geographic and The Intercept, who has also spent extended periods reporting from Colombia, spoke about the challenges environmental reporters can face in the region. 

“The Amazon region, especially in Colombia, lacks basic institutional presence and insecurity is rampant,” Volckhausen told The Bogota Post. “This means that illegally armed groups, organized crime, and corrupt government officials are able to get away with perpetrating environmental crimes and human rights abuses against campesino [peasant] farmers and indigenous communities.”

Volckhausen added that although there are ways to manage the risks involved with reporting on these crimes, “environmental journalists must be conscious of security conditions for both themselves, and most especially their sources when reporting in the Amazon region.” 

Another challenge facing reporters covering trans-boundary water issues is a lack of reliable, expert sources and collated data. 

Strategic Foresight Group introduced workshop delegates to its Water Cooperation Quotient, a barometer to assess the risk of war between countries that share fresh water sources, as well as its concept of Blue Peace — a system which aims to transform competition over water resources into peaceful collaboration.

SFG also presented key recommendations of the Global High Level Panel on Water and Peace with the aim to educate the media and enable its members to cover water and peace linkages in an effective way.

As disputes over water become an “increasing source of international tension,” SFG argues it will be more important than ever to have members of the media educated about how water can be used as a tool for war or peace.

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