Taken from Chinese Dialogue. https://dialogochino.net/es/comercio-y-inversiones-es/63736-negocios-verdes-en-choco-y-su-lucha-por-encontrar-la-paz/
By David Gonzalez
The land scarred by the armed conflict in Colombia finds sustainable alternatives to lift its people out of poverty.
The entire Chocó, from the Pacific to the Caribbean, is abundant and exceptional. On the basin of the Atrato River, which flows into the Gulf of Urabá, near the border with Panama, a dense equatorial jungle remains almost intact. It is home to the Afro-descendant communities and the Embera and Katíos indigenous peoples. Its capital is Quibdó, one of the most important cities in the Colombian Pacific.
The easiest route to reach Quibdó from Medellín, the capital of the department of Antioquia, which borders Chocó, is through a zigzagging and unstable road that descends from the Andes mountain range to enter the jungle. On an uncomplicated day, this tour can take anywhere from 7 to 8 hours. However, the landslides that often block the roads make the time of arrival a mystery.
The complexity of this geography, the dense and wild nature of its forests, make communication difficult. In some areas it is only possible to arrive by plane or by sea. This inaccessibility also makes it an ideal space for armed groups that profit from drug trafficking and extortion; and that they have taken over one of the most biodiverse places in Colombia. And the remoteness of the terrain has not prevented the destruction of the environment: between 2002 and 2021, 30,600 hectares of primary tropical forest were lost, equivalent to an area twice the size of Miami.
And as if that were not enough, poverty is a constant here. In Quibdó, the most developed city in the department and with the best connectivity, seven out of ten are considered poor. Another reality that they also have to combat.
In this context, the local population has begun to look for business alternatives that allow them to earn income without affecting their environment.
Green hope in Chocó
One of the banners of the new government of Colombia is the drive to care for the environment. At the last United Nations Conference on Climate Change COP27 in November 2022, President Gustavo Petro proposed a decalogue of action, in which he mentioned “valuing the branches of the decarbonized economy.”
With this new vision of government, during the First National Meeting for Biodiversity, also in November, the National Green Business Plan for 2030 was presented, a 200-page document with the proposal to promote and scale these businesses in Colombia.
Andreina González, from the Green Business office of the current Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, affirms that with this plan it is hoped to reverse the destruction of the natural forest in Colombia, protect 30% of marine areas, contribute to carbon neutrality for 2050, promote green jobs and consolidate the income of sustainable popular economies in the territories.
The new plan contemplates routes to accompany sustainable enterprises —companies that have a positive effect on the environment, or a minimal negative impact— in scaling and consolidating an economic transition. Throughout the country there are 4,162 green businesses, and according to figures from the same Ministry of the Environment, only 167 are in the process of exporting.
These businesses already have a presence in 750 municipalities of the country with contributions to the Colombian economy in sales of approximately 700 billion pesos (US $146 million), a small figure, but significant and growing. The latest official figures show a 30% increase in the number of green companies between May 2021 and May 2022.
In this context of changes, populations like those of Chocó began to embark on paths that help them achieve well-being in the midst of so much crisis. To date, the department is home to 163 green companies.
A win-win opportunity
In 2022, the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office issued three early warnings due to the imminent risk to the Chocoano population. According to the entity, clashes between armed actors and drug traffickers are growing in this area.
The latest alert was related to the National Liberation Army (ELN), the last active guerrilla in the country, which announced an armed strike in lower Chocó last December. In Colombia, armed strikes refer to actions in which illegal armed groups threaten civilian life and the official armed forces, blocking roads and restricting mobility. According to the ELN, this strike was to control the military actions of the Clan del Golfo, another paramilitary heir group that profits from drug trafficking and challenges the territorial control of the guerrillas in the Chocoan jungles.
Carlos Devia, a professor at the Faculty of Environmental and Rural Studies at the Javeriana University and a researcher in green business, believes that there is a relationship between the conflict and the lack of opportunities in territories such as Chocó. “Yeah [los negocios verdes] they are a country option, we all win. If the communities are fine, we are all going to be fine. That is what we must work on,” he explained to Diálogo Chino.
If green businesses are a country option, we all win. If the communities are fine, we will all be fine.
It also exposes the need to provide them with a market to attract more entrepreneurs. “For example, the coca grower is involved in this business because he has an effective buyer within the illegality. He has a market where he is guaranteed a sale and a profit. The same thing should be ensured for green businesses and other crops to make them sustainable,” says Devia.
He adds that the total absence of State services, such as electricity, drinking water or access roads, is a major obstacle in remote parts of the country such as Chocó. “Even accessing a telephone is very complicated in many communities,” says the teacher.
However, he affirms that this market is an immense option to generate alternative and sustainable activities. A necessity in a country like Colombia, where half of its territory (50 million hectares) are forests.
The researcher is convinced that the green business plan should be more a commitment of the State than of governments. In other words, “a long-term investment” that would help “remove violence and illegality” throughout the country.
Threats and extortion
Alicia Mejía* is the founder of a sustainable company in Chocó.
“Becoming an entrepreneur has not been an easy task,” he told Diálogo Chino. “Unfortunately we have big public order problems.” After facing threats and extortion from a local gang, which demanded bribes in exchange for allowing him to carry out his activity safely, he fled to Medellín along with his family. He now makes secret visits to Chocó to supervise the work in his factory.
“He who does not pay dies. We opted to leave. Right now I feel grieving. It is very sad to have to flee as if we were the criminals,” says Mejía, who demands more support from the State to be more competitive and work in peace.
Tourism potential in Chocó
On the coast of this department is Nuquí, a dream place, where dense jungles meet the Pacific Ocean. It cannot be accessed by land, and you have to take a plane or arrive by sea.
Between July and October groups of humpback whales come from Antarctica —8,500 kilometers away— to give birth in these warm waters. This spectacle of nature, added to the beauty of the landscape, contrasts with the armed conflict and deforestation. But locals believe that tourism can be a way to promote sustainable development while protecting the environment.
“We ensure the defense of the territory, the conservation of the environment, the rivers and the jungle. The tourism practices that we do are clearly responsible, we have a solid waste component. Our client takes their garbage so as not to leave anything in the communities,” explains Nelfer Valoyes, one of the spokespersons for the Cumbancha project in Nuquí.
Cumbancha offers the opportunity to explore the primary forests guided by inhabitants who are part of the cooperative and who have received training in the care of biodiversity, waste management and characteristics of the wild fauna and flora. They also offer you the option of going to the meeting points of the humpback whales and resting on the secluded beaches above the Nuquí jungle.
Valoyes adds that his work is not limited to selling plans to tourists, but “is transversal to the care of mangroves, forests and the marine-coastal part. Our function is to educate about the conservation of our biodiversity”.
Ecological entrepreneurs in Chocó
To support Chocó entrepreneurs, the National Development Corporation has created the Green Business Store, a showroom for local products in Quibdó (Image: Codechocó)
“Entrepreneurs do not have a space to sell their products. This space was created to raise consumer awareness, we have to generate a sustainable consumption strategy,” Heidi Rosero, store coordinator, explained to Diálogo Chino.
In the same way, Rosero explains that they also guide entrepreneurs so that the product is profitable, has a positive environmental impact and contributes to the conservation and preservation of the environment.
With this same perspective, at the beginning of February, the ambassador of the European Union in Colombia, Gilles Bertrand, made an official visit to Quibdó. Bertrand visited the store and reaffirmed the plan to strengthen international cooperation to achieve the economic and social development of the Chocoanos.
However, the local population does not trust the promises of the new Petro government or the European representatives. He wants concrete actions.
“Being a formal entrepreneur costs a lot. We don’t need assistance, but rather that the government help us, once and for all, to promote and strengthen businesses,” says Mejía, who dreams of one day being able to export his products and live in peace that allows him to get to his business without having to cover your face
*Name changed to protect the identity of the person interviewed.