Panorama of the operational area of Yanacocha. La Minera Yanacocha is the business that exploits this area in which the largest gold mine of Latin America can be found. Wikimedia Commons.<\/i><\/p>\n
Public consultations as a means to determine the future of a
\nterritory is a constitutional right in Colombia, but now it\u2019s in danger. <\/p>\n
This mechanism
\nof citizen participation has been designed to allow local communities to make
\ndecisions and to provide them with territorial jurisdiction. The result of the
\nconsultations must be complied with by the authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However now, this democratic exercise is in danger. A ruling
\nby the Constitutional Court on the 12th of October declared that
\ncommunities can\u2019t use public consultations as a mechanism to stop mineral
\nextraction projects and hydrocarbon exploitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 9 municipalities of Colombia, when asked \u201cwould you like
\nthis project to be carried out in your territory?\u201d more than 90% of inhabitants
\nresponded with a resounding NO. It\u2019s clear that these consultations are an
\nenormous obstacle for those who promote extraction and mining projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The joy of environmental activists who celebrated the enshrining
\nof this right into the constitution lasted for a short period of time. Now,
\ntheir frustration is immeasurable.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why we present 3 keys to understand the crisis of
\npublic consultations in Colombia.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear that public consultations have been one of the
\nmost representative mechanisms created by the democratic system, with the
\ndesire to give a voice and vote to citizens about issues affecting their
\nterritory.<\/p>\n
The growth in popularity of this tool among the Colombian environmentalist movement led to many consultations taking place as a means of tackling mining and extraction projects and providing less aggressive alternatives to current development models.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The growth in popularity of this tool among the Colombian
\nenvironmentalist movement led to many consultations taking place as a means of
\ntackling mining and extraction projects and providing less aggressive alternatives
\nto current development models.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Putting an end to the use of such mechanisms is an attack on
\ndemocracy itself, and on an empowered public that valued this constitutional
\nright.<\/p>\n
One of the magistrates that voted in favour of the sentence decided
\nto use his dissenting vote (known as voting bailout or salvamento de voto in
\nColombia) to protest against the fact that the court is making a regressive and
\nanti-democratic decision given that this is an unjustified limitation on
\ncitizen participation in processes that directly impact their ecosystems.<\/p>\n
A large process of citizen mobilisation came together to
\nprotect an ecosystem that is one of a kind: the Colombian moorlands. Sumapaz, a
\nregion in the south of Bogot\u00e1 that hosts the largest moorlands in the world,
\nalready brought forward two consultations in two of its municipalities to
\ndetain fracking. <\/p>\n
With the decision of the Constitutional Court, those who
\nengage in public consultations feel that their right to active participation
\nand the legitimate exercise of their right to define the future of their
\nterritories has been violated.<\/p>\n
One of the fundamental contributions of these consultations
\nis the increasing awareness of environmental issues that has allowed many to
\nunderstand the drawbacks of mining projects. <\/p>\n
It has become evident that in many
\nregions affected by mining projects, poverty has worsened. These projects that
\npromised to promote development bring only tragedy to local communities and
\nterritories that are only left poorer once it has drawn to a close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thanks to public consultations, citizens have learnt the
\nclear social and environmental disadvantages of the macro-exploitation of
\nhydrocarbons in the moorlands and they have rejected these projects in their
\nmajority.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As declared by an inhabitant of Cajamarca, one of the
\nmunicipalities that voted no to petrol extraction in their territory on the 26th
\nof March: \u201cOur lives are at risk with this public consultation. We aren\u2019t just
\nfacing a threat to the environment, but also to economic life, the legitimacy
\nof the political regime, and the possibility of constructing a stable and
\nlasting peace.\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear that the fundamental tension lies within the
\nrejection of an overwhelming model of economic development that regards extraction
\nas a method of wealth accumulation for the lucky few.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What is really at stake in this conflict between the Colombian state and public consultations is the power of multinationals and their economic agendas up against the democratic exercise of empowered communities to defend their lives and their territories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What is really at stake in this conflict between the
\nColombian state and public consultations is the power of multinationals and
\ntheir economic agendas up against the democratic exercise of empowered
\ncommunities to defend their lives and their territories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The uses of territory, economic development, institutional
\nstrengthening and protection of environmental democracy are fundamental issues
\nat play. <\/p>\n
In the case of Colombia, how this conflict is resolved will
\nundoubtedly affect many other processes in the region, a region rich in natural
\nresources yet threatened by an extraction-based economy that benefits the minority.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Panorama of the operational area of Yanacocha. La Minera Yanacocha is the business that exploits this area in which the largest gold mine of Latin America can be found. Wikimedia Commons. Public consultations as a means to determine the future of a territory is a constitutional right in Colombia, but now it\u2019s in danger. This…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}