Colombian Constitutional Court Bans Mining in Paramos

On Monday, Colombia’s constitutional court announced a permanent ban on all mining and oil exploitation activities in Colombia’s high-altitude paramo ecosystems. This decision to invalidate this part of the country’s 2014 National Development Plan means that approximately 350 mining titles that had been grandfathered into the Development Plan have since been revoked. Reuters called the Court’s ruling a “historic decision” in defense of natural resources and local autonomy.

El Espectador noted that the court’s ruling also decentralized the process of granting licenses for projects of strategic national importance. Now, regional governments, in addition to the National Authority for Environmental Licenses, will be in charge of authorizing licenses.

Environmental leaders in Colombia celebrated the court’s decision. Opposition senator Iván Cepeda Castro lauded the announcement, saying, “With the Constitutional Court’s sentence, we have protected Colombia’s paramos.” El Tiempo however warned that the job is not yet complete. The Colombian government still needs to finish the demarcation of the country’s 28 paramos. Thanks to the Court’s decision, the Von Humboldt Institute’s job of determining the precise extent of the paramo ecosystems has gained even more importance.

In oil-related news, Colombian weekly Semana reported that, if international oil prices hold steady at their current level of $30 per barrel, Colombia’s oil reserves would run out much faster than anticipated. Official projections place Colombia’s oil reserves at 6.8 years, but with the lower oil prices, Colombia’s oil reserves that are still economically viable will last just 4.9 years.