The National Council for Economic and Social Policy ("CONPES") (Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y Social) issued the National Policy for Deforestation Control and Sustainable Management of Forests (“Policy”) (Política Nacional para el Control de la Deforestación y la Gestión Sostenible de los Bosques), through CONPES document No. 4021 of 2019 dated January 8, 2021.
The Policy highlights the importance of forests conservation for Colombian citizens well-being and the widespread of deforestation.
CONPES 4021 proposes a cross-sectional, multidimensional and systemic strategy. Said strategy aims to stop the land use change and the loss of primary forests, by promoting conservation and sustainable management of the forests. The Policy seeks to achieve Colombian goal of reaching cero (0) net deforestation by 2030.
The Policy includes four (4) key areas, namely:
(i) Incorporate strategies of sustainable forestry use, to improve the local communities’ economy and life quality;
(ii) Coordinate cross-sectional initiatives to promote National Government collaborative work, to manage forests and handle territorial conflicts;
(iii) Promote preventive and territorial control strategies to minimize illegal activities;
(iv) strengthen data management for decision making.
CONPES 4021 promotes the sustainable use of natural capital, economics of forestry and community development in 11 deforestation areas.
The Policy encompasses a systemic analysis of the directed and indirect causes of deforestation. It considers deforestation main impacts on: (i) ecosystems loss; (ii) degradation of ecosystem services; (iii) Greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions; (iv) displacement of vulnerable communities; (v) poverty; and (iv) life quality deterioration for local communities.
The Policy will be implemented over a 10-year period and aims to harmonize the actions of different sectors, actors and communities. Also, CONPES 4021 materializes the plans and activities included in: (i) Deforestation Control Strategy (Estrategia de Control de la Deforestación) (“EICDGB” for its acronym in Spanish); (ii) Judgment STC 4360 of 2018, in which the Supreme Court of Justice grants rights to the Colombian Amazon as subject of rights; (iii) the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; (iv) the Paris Agreement regarding Climate Change; and the Mutual Memorandum of Understanding (Declaración Conjunta de Intención), among others.