'There must be a synergy between biodiversity and productive sectors,' said Eduardo Verano, Colombia's ambassador to COP16

Colombia will take a leading role in the global discussion on biodiversity conservation and climate action in Cali in the coming weeks. Eduardo Verano de la Rosa, Governor of Atlántico and former Minister of the Environment, has been appointed as the country's ambassador to COP16.

In an interview with this newspaper, he emphasizes that by hosting the summit, the country could consolidate a platform to reaffirm its environmental commitments, consolidate conservation policies and emphasize the urgency of protecting the ecosystems it still preserves, especially at this crucial time when action against environmental crimes is becoming increasingly urgent.

For the country, COP16 is an opportunity to ratify environmental policies that have an international scope, where attention can be drawn to the need to protect natural parks and places where water is born, and to raise the voice to care for the biodiversity of our territory. It is also the opportunity to ratify the commitment signed by the national government within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the new global framework for biodiversity Kumming-Montreal, which have a scope until 2030 with actions that bring together all the forces around the care of ecosystems. We must not forget that we have invaluable resources that other countries have lost or have diminished and that we should protect.

Protection. This is the main message that the country must convey at this event. Much has already been said about this, and the commitments signed must be highlighted, because we cannot ignore the fact that ecosystems such as the Ramsar - a complex of protected wetlands - continue to be affected by irrational actions that threaten the generation of life. Colombia, together with its natural diversity, is a heritage and has been a victim throughout history of what man has done to it. When I was Minister of the Environment (1997), my slogan was to take nature out of the armed conflict, and I signed the Kyoto Protocol. Times have changed. Now the perpetrators are not the armed actors who bleed or blow up pipelines, causing spills and killing hundreds of animals. Now we face another challenge: to take care of our natural parks, which are being destroyed by extensive cattle ranching, and how urbanization is reducing the capacity of wetlands, which should be inviolable because the world says so, but which in our country are being robbed in some cases.

We know the damage being done to wetlands, rivers, lagoons and frailejones, to name a few facts, so that the territories themselves, through their governments and other actors, can work on mechanisms to protect these ecosystems and strengthen their actions. To have information is to have power, and this Summit will provide us with data for the benefit of all.

In of biodiversity and climate action, we hope firstly that COP16 will bring planning to the territories, aimed at preserving and transforming areas. Secondly, the synergy between biodiversity and productive sectors must be more harmonious, so that everything is more sustainable. Similarly, environmental crimes must be stopped and given the dimension they deserve, because they are crimes against animal life and the planet in general. After this summit, it is important to recognize that the protection of biodiversity is the responsibility of all actors in Colombia, with attention to communities, especially women and young people, who are the ones who contribute the most to the protection of nature. Bringing this issue to the attention of the world in such a broad spectrum will only bring benefits, because Colombia is not only a diverse country, but also a nation that violates environmental rights in a big way, so the discussion and contributions that we will have in Cali can be the beginning of a roap to protect life.

LEONARDO HERRERA DELGANS

EL TIEMPO Correspondent in Barranquilla