On Monday, October 24, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez Torres, brought together academic and environmental movement leaders from more than 10 countries in the region at Univalle to inaugurate the fourth version of the Latin American Congress on Environmental Conflicts (COLCA-IV) held in conjunction with the III Congress of the Andean Society for Ecological Economics (SAEE).
The COLCA event was first held in 2014 as a space for debate and co-construction of knowledge regarding environmental conflicts in the region, convening both academic sectors and communities, political actors, producers, environmental leaders and civil society in general.
This edition was inaugurated by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Johannio Marulanda; Academic Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences María del Carmen Castillon; the Secretary General of Univalle Luis Carlos Castillo Gomez and Minister Irene Velez Torres.
In her remarks, Minister Velez Torres explained that the current government is looking for national public policy models that can balance development with the needs of communities.
"Our interest is to ensure just energy transition, which benefits historically excluded communities," said Minister Velez Torres, adding that the task of building this is not easy with the country's legacies of extractivism.
She also pointed out that one of the central difficulties and challenges is that the ways of measuring development and current indicators reflect the logic of the current model focused almost exclusively on economic growth and leave no room for the measurement of alternative perspectives, aimed at giving greater relevance to local economies, environmental preservation and productive and energy transitions.
The organizers of the event said that environmental peace is of enormous relevance today given the growing criminalization, persecution and extermination in Latin America of environmentalists and social leaders who defend nature and traditional ways of relating to it.
The event was organized by the Universidad del Valle, CINARA institute, the School of Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering (EIDENAR), la Facultad de Ciencia Sociales y Económicas de Univalle, la Red Colca, SAEE and Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento de Argentina.
Photo: Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez Torres Credit: Andrew James/NCC-FI/Univalle
Scientific and Technological Sovereignty
In his speech to the participants, Professor Johannio Marulanda Casas explained that for historical reasons in Latin American countries, including Colombia, the responsibility for science, technological innovation and the development of productive forces, goes through the University.
"That is where the research institutes are located, that is where the innovators are educated, that is where research and the foundations of our scientific and technological sovereignty are gestated." Professor Marulanda Casas said , adding that academics must focus on the central problems of our society, but a new approach corresponding to that role is required.
"It is our mission to make the greatest efforts to increase scientific and technological sovereignty, develop productive capacities that generate work, employment and opportunities," Professor Marulanda Casas said, adding that it is imperative to network among equals with all the countries of the world, without exclusion.
"We must focus on addressing the global problems of humanity: water, energy, food, environment, health, wealth generation and education, always more education, but for this we need resources and long-range planning."
Photo: Johannio Marulanda, Irene Velez Torres, Luis Carlos Castillo Gomez and Maria del Carmen Castillon. Credit: Andrew James /Univalle
Work From The Universidad del Valle
The Universidad del Valle, especially through the work developed by the Cinara Institute and the School of Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering (EIDENAR), focuses on projects that study the connection between ecosystems and natural elements, the socio-cultural particularities of the communities, including their ancestral knowledge, and technologies and research.Although the use of mercury in artisanal gold mining is restricted by law in Colombia, it continues to circulate in para-legal markets, impacting the health of vulnerable communities.
Irene Vélez-Torres, full professor at Univalle's School of Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering (EIDENAR) and lead author of the May 2022 scientific publication, "Contentious environmental governance in polluted gold mining geographies: The case of La Toma, Colombia," said she studied gold mining disputes in the Alto Cauca region of southern Colombia for more than a decade, particularly in La Toma, a community in the municipality of Suárez.
Carolina Blanco-Moreno, a doctoral researcher attached to the CINARA institute showed that community water providers in rural areas face many challenges at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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