Moratorium of large mining and the majority of the regional national park area of Santurbán, requested by the Departmental Assembly

As you can read here, the impacts of mining by multinational corporations are not only a problem in La Guajira...

Press Office of Representative Roberto Schmalbach, Bucaramanga, November 28, 2012

 With the assistance of the Plateau of Bucaramanga Defense Board, CDMB, the director of AMB, some of the mayors and town councilmen of North Soto, the Comptroller and the Attorney General, the regional director of national natural parks, the legislators and the environmental and civic organizations which fight for preservation of the water and the ecosystem of the páramo, the debate over the declaration about the Natural Park, proposed by the Representatives Carlos Alberto Morales and Roberto Schmalbach, was held in the departmental Duma. 

There was an ample deliberation which included the environmental authorities’ answers to the questions of the aforementioned legislators and the interventions of the organizations’ spokespersons who question the CDMB’s and the government’s general handling of the pretensions of the multinational mining companies which operate concessions in the area of the Santurbán Páramo. Following the deliberation, they reached the following conclusions.

First, request that the CDMB approve a major area of the natural regional park as a reserve, since they announced that close to 11 thousand hectares would be left open to the impact of the great mine, which is a large part of the páramo ecosystem; demand from the national government a moratorium of the practice of large mining in Santurbán. In turn, they requested that they CDMB present a proposal for the protection of the watershed of the Suratá River and the small streams which contribute to the region’s water supply. At the same time, they asked to establish compensation for community members who protect the páramos and preserve water, in addition to guaranteeing that the average small traditional miners can continue their mining activity. In so doing, they demanded that the big mining companies respect the rights of the communities and the workers whom they employ.

Finally, the Departmental Assembly reaffirmed its commitment to support mobilization and civic organization in defense of the water and the páramo of Santurbán, as well as the rights of the communities in the Metropolitan Area and the Province of North Soto.