Decree 2106 was issued by the National Government on November 22 of 2019 to simplify, suppress, and modify procedures in the public administration. Regarding environmental proceedings, the Decree establishes that environmental authorities cannot require additional procedures than those established by law.
One of the most critical changes on environmental matters is the suppression of the forestry ban permits. The Decree establishes that the measures to protect species of flora subject to bans must be included in the environmental concessions, authorizations, permits, licenses granted by the environmental authority.
The holder of the permit must request to the environmental authority the incorporation of measures aiming to protect the wild plants potentially affected with the issuance of the permit, on the related concession, authorization, or environmental license. Also, the forestry ban permits in respect to which the environmental authority develops control and monitoring activities must be included in the follow up activities of the related permits.
To incorporate all the modifications established by the Decree 2106, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development must issue within the next 12 months a new request form for concessions, authorizations, permits, and environmental licenses. All environmental authorities must incorporate that form on its proceedings and must use the Online Environmental Proceedings Platform (Ventanilla Integral de Trámites Ambientales en Línea – VITAL).
Finally, Decree 2106 modifies the licensing regime to produce cannabis derivatives. It has recognized the National Institute for Medicine and Food Surveillance (Instituto Nacional de Vigilance de Medicamentos y Alimentos - INVIMA) as the competent authority to grant licenses to produce cannabis derivatives. Therefore, in the regulations that refer to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection as the competent authority, INVIMA has to be understand as the competent authority, except for the purposes established in article 9 of Law 1787 de 2016.