The Ministry of Transport (“Ministerio de Transporte”) and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (“MADS”) (“Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible”) recently presented the “Green Road Infrastructure Guidelines for Colombia” (“Guidelines”). Said document incorporates the data collected by the for Conservation and Sustainable Development Foundation (“FCDS”) (Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible) and the World Wildlife Fund (“WWF-Colombia”). 

The Guidelines aim to promote a set of tools to avoid the deterioration of forests and diversity in the development of road infrastructure projects. 

The objective of the Guidelines is to prevent, mitigate, correct and compensate the direct and indirect negative impacts of the road infrastructure projects in the surrounding ecosystems and communities. It also includes criteria for climate change management and the optimization of raw materials during the development of said projects. 

The Guidelines aim to solve the existing conflict between road infrastructure projects, biodiversity conservation and land use. Therefore, the Guidelines promote harmonization between regional and local development plans, such as Sustainable Development Neighborhood Plans (“Planes Veredales de Desarrollo Sostenible”).