Colombian President Grants Indigenous Communities Environmental Sanctioning Powers
Indigenous woman in Colombia, 2024. X/ @zullyfajardo1
October 16, 2024 Hour: 10:21 am
This decision aims to establish collaborative ties between Indigenous communities and state authorities.
On Tuesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro signed Decree 1275, a regulation that grants Indigenous communities sanctioning powers in environmental matters, equivalent to those held by Regional Autonomous Corporations (CARs).
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This decision aims to establish collaborative ties between Indigenous communities and state authorities, with the goal of strengthening environmental protection. During the presentation of the decree, Petro emphasized the need for a change in the way natural resources are managed, criticizing the CARs for their complicity in environmental destruction, which he attributed to corruption and greed.
“The CARs have not proven to be instruments of nature conservation, but rather the opposite,” declared the Colombian leftist leader.
Decree 1275 also proposes that Indigenous authorities share their ancestral knowledge with state entities to create mechanisms that ensure ecosystem protection. This approach is based on principles of coordination, cooperation, complementarity, and subsidiarity.
The text reads, “President Gustavo Petro signed the decree that grants environmental powers to the Colombian Indigenous authorities. Now, Indigenous peoples will have the same authority in their territories as the Regional Autonomous Corporations. This decree will allow them to contribute their knowledge to other entities for the construction of mechanisms to guarantee the protection of nature in the Country of Beauty.”
President Petro anticipates that the approval of this regulation will generate intense debate, and some sectors may attempt to repeal the decree. Despite this, he expressed his determination to continue advocating for the regulation in the face of any opposition.
“No one can teach a Colombian how to build the vital balance between humanity and nature as well as Indigenous peoples do,” he stated and highlighted the historical resistance of Indigenous communities against the encroachment of oil industries on their lands, pointing to their commitment to defending nature.
“Before science, it has been indigenous communities that have maintained balance with Mother Earth,” Petro concluded.
teleSUR/ JF Sources: EFE – API
