This Agenda is the result of the reflection that Foro Nacional por Colombia and Foro Región Central – members of the Mesa de la Sociedad Civil para la Transparencia en las Industrias Extractivas – have been carrying out over the last ten years on the role of extractive activities in the country, through studies carried out by the Observatorio de las Industrias Extractivas, and contact with local communities and a wide range of stakeholders. range of social organizations with which they work in their regions of influence.
Productive diversification, climate change and governance of the extractive sector: 75 proposals for a transition agenda in Colombia is the title of the publication of Foro Región Central and Foro Nacional por Colombia, supported by Brot für die Welt and Ford Foundation, which presents the result of more than ten years of systematic analysis on the behavior of mining and hydrocarbons in the country. The Agenda raises several important issues for the current debate on the construction of a more just, sustainable and equitable development model in Colombia, with the participation of communities in decisions made about the territory, the economy and environmental protection.
The Agenda presents a diagnosis of the results of public policies promoted by recent governments that have favored the exploitation and export of minerals and hydrocarbons. It also shows the inappropriateness of the extractivist emphasis of our development model, since it has generated a reprimarization of the economy – that is, the economy has been based on primary or extractive sector activities – without generating the expected positive impact on formal employment and has placed the country in a very vulnerable situation in the face of fluctuations in the international prices of raw materials.
It also draws attention to the sector, since, despite the impacts generated by large farms on the territories and their populations – as well as on ecosystems and the sustainability of fauna and flora, rivers and water sources – a large part of the communities and local authorities are excluded from decisions on mining and hydrocarbons. This has become one of the main sources of social conflict in Colombia and is related to the threats and deaths of social leaders seeking to defend their territory from extractive projects.
The Agenda points out a path to advance in the discussion of a development model that is less dependent on minerals and hydrocarbons. There are 75 proposals on productive diversification, energy transition and governance. Each of them identifies the measures that can be adopted by the government, the institutional changes required, the fiscal resources to be made available and the role of public, private and social actors in this process.
In terms of productive diversificationThe country must considerably reduce its high dependence on income generated by mineral and hydrocarbon exports, because most of the economic blocs have proposed measures to reduce the use of these fuels and if the country does not align itself with these measures and does not encourage the growth of other productive sectors, it could experience a deep economic crisis in the medium term.
One issue of great relevance is the energy transitionColombia must engage in a serious discussion to change its consumption matrix, including renewable energy sources and, in addition, with the duty to reduce its contribution to the international inventory of polluting emissions due to its export of oil and coal. This is in harmony with the climate change agenda that demands urgent action by all states to curb an environmental catastrophe in the coming decades, the need to protect water sources and nature, and the importance of conserving the livelihoods of communities.
Also, the Agenda in the area of governance sets out measures to promote dialogue between the nation and the territories, to reach agreements on a fairer development model, and proposes strategies to include citizen participation in public policy decisions, with actions to guarantee transparent rules of the game for all stakeholders interested in contributing to the country’s development.
Finally, this Agenda proposes a transition approach with a time horizon of ten to fifteen years, understanding that it is not possible to change the extractivist economic approach overnight. Therefore, progressive measures must be included so as not to generate a negative impact on the State’s income and on the territories that depend on mining and hydrocarbons. It also calls for the implementation of institutional, regulatory and policy changes that must be implemented, carried out and ensure their continuity.
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This document will be presented at an event called Fair and Sustainable Post Extractivist Transition in Colombia: Challenges and Proposals, which is organized by Foro Región Central, Foro Nacional por Colombia and the School of Finance, Government and International Relations of Universidad Externado de Colombia.
The event will be held next Thursday, September 29th at the Universidad Externado de Colombia: 12th Street # 1 – 17 East from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Registration is available at the following link: https://bit.ly/3U8LBlu (limited capacity).26
