Fernando De La Espriella

 The Government guarantees resources for its protected areas with help from international cooperators “These are huge steps towards protecting our common home. We generate only 0.6% of global emissions into the atmosphere, but with our goals we have become a worldwide example”: Iván Duque, President of Colombia. Bogotá D. C., june 23, 2022 -MADS-. President Iván Duque Márquez announced great environmental news for the country and the world. This is a funding agreement of USD 245 million for the first stage of the Colombia Heritage program, headed by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and National Natural Parks, which will cover 32 million hectares of protected areas. The announcement was made by President Duque accompanied by Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Carlos Eduardo Correa; director of National Natural Parks, Orlando Molano, and in coordination with the founding partners of Herencia Colombia, international cooperators and donors. The Funding Program for Permanence (PFP) Herencia Colombia is based on a transition fund leveraged with public and private resources, in which the Government assumes significant political commitments to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the initiative. ¨Towards an effective protection¨: President Duque President Duque stated that right from the start his government gave conservation and protection of Colombia's natural heritage the priority that the planet demands, and celebrated the fact that this funding guarantees that purpose. “Today is a historical day for environmentalism and conservation in our country. Being a Colombian is the act of conserving a heritage which is our blessing. Today Herencia Colombia has received this contribution from donors in figures never seen before; we are going to use these resources to provide effective protection, to work with communities, to work on developing natural conservation contracts, we are going to involve the communities in restoring territories that have been affected over time. We have to take on the greatest challenge of our time: face a climate crisis, that in absence of determination, will have irreversible consequences. This is why, even though we only generate 0.6% of emissions into the atmosphere, our goals and achievements have become an example for the rest of the world: zero deforestation and a 51% reduction in polluting gases by 2030, carbon neutrality by 2050 and the protection of 30% of the marine and terrestrial territory by 2022”, explained the President Duque. In this first phase, which covers 16% of the national territory over the next 10 years, the aim is to increase the natural capital and representation of all ecoregions of Colombia in the National System of Protected Areas (Sinap), by declaring and implementing new protected areas, both terrestrial and marine, and complying with the 30x30 global initiative of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC). It also seeks to improve management of protected areas, to strengthen governance and contribute to improving the livelihoods of populations in sustainable landscapes. For these first 10 years, five regions are expected to be prioritized: Caribbean, Orinoquía Transition, Andes, Coastal Marine Pacific and Amazon; additionally, interventions are contemplated in nine protected areas outside the connectivity corridors that are part of said mosaics. Herencia Colombia also prioritized the declaration process of two marine protected areas: Cordillera Beata, in the Caribbean, and Colinas y Lomas Submarinas, in the North Pacific Basin; and the expansion of three: Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, Yruparí-Malpelo Integrated Management National District and the Acandí Fauna Sanctuary, Playón, Playona, which adds up more than 15 million hectares that will contribute to conservation and management sustainability of the natural wealth of the oceans. Secure conservation and funding “Our Government has committed to act quickly, reducing response times for climate change crisis and loss of biodiversity, while protecting and conserving 30% of our marine and land territory by 2022, so we can give this 'inheritance' now. To this end, we have reactivated Herencia Colombia, the Funding Program for Permanence, to contribute to ensuring long-term conservation and funding”, explained Minister Carlos Eduardo Correa. María Mercedes Abondano, director of the Colombia Heritage Program, said that by protecting areas through this funding model, there will be several benefits, such as the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, the decrease of the “risk of loss of our natural resources and the generation of opportunities for the well-being and development of people. So Herencia Colombia will be a relevant actor within this context”. In turn, Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF-US, pointed out that the crises of climate change and the loss of biodiversity are the two great challenges of this time. “And we know that nature conservation can help both problems. This agreement is important because it will help finance the long-term protection of more than 32 million hectares of Colombia's most precious places. But it is also important because it charts a path forward for other nations to fund the protection of their own land and marine environments,” he explained. Details of this purpose The objective of the Funding Program for Permanence is to ensure, as Minister Correa anticipated, the conservation and long-term funding of 32 million hectares, which represent 16% of the country's territory, through actions that increase the coverage, cash management and governance for Sinap, in coordination with Conpes, the National Policy for the Comprehensive Management of Biodiversity and its Ecosystem Services, and the National Climate Change Policy, among others. An articulated team Besides the coordination of Minambiente and Parks, Herencia Colombia is also led by the founding partners WWF, International Conservation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, WCS, Natural Heritage Fund; and by cooperators Amazon Fund and TNC. It also has the support of international donors who have already committed financial resources to accelerate commitments to protect the environment. Other donors of the program are the European Union, FAO, GCF, KFW, GEF Corazón Amazonía, as well as the support of very important allies of the National Environmental System (SINA), such as the Humboldt, Invemar, AvH, SINCHI institutes, the Regional Autonomous Corporations (CAR) and Sustainable Development, among other entities, essential for the implementation of the program.