The National Authority for Environmental Licenses (ANLA) issued, this Friday, May 26, a resolution in which it imposes additional obligations to the license that this entity granted in 2015 to the Ministry of Defense to build a coast guard station in the National Natural Park. Gorgon.
The requirements were issued by the entity, after having analyzed the environmental, economic and social impacts of the project ‘Construction, Operation, Abandonment and Restoration of the Coast Guard Station on Gorgona Island and Complementary Works’, and after knowing in detail the perception of the communities and different social actors in relation to its development.
The objective of the measures imposed by ANLA is that both the Ministry of Defense and the Colombian National Navy have the proper management and control of the complementary works that will be carried out on the island.
The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, stressed that this series of requirements made by the ANLA are the result of the nearly twenty-five meetings that were held.
In these meetings between the Government and social actors, the following were present: activists, journalists, scientists, park rangers, environmentalists, experts, communities and people interested in the impacts of the project, in a process in which their proposals and concerns were studied one by one.
The above, according to the minister, responds to the principles of inclusive participation and transparency within the framework of the Escazú Agreement. Muhamad specified that:
“A turtle monitoring program is included, as well as managing the construction of the dock in such a way that it will not have acoustic impacts on fauna that may remain on the site and that is not seasonal, such as whale fauna. ; In addition, build primarily at low tide and have all the protocols for wildlife mobility so as not to affect the issue of piles.”
Susana Muhamad, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, on the construction of a coast guard station on Isla de Gorgona. Ministry of Environment
Thus, the ANLA specified that before starting any activity to comply with the new obligations, the Government must present, within a maximum period of two months:
- Fuel storage management program for the construction phase.
- Fauna management program and protocol for the relocation of sessile marine fauna and include the environmental management plan, which must include marine fauna observers.
- Mobility and signaling plan establishing a minimum speed that allows protection of marine fauna.
- Schedule and proposal for monitoring nesting of sea turtles.
- Communication strategy for stakeholders in order to keep them informed about the status of the project.
On March 28, 2023, representatives of the national government, National Parks, ANLA, Invemar and the National Navy attended a table convened by the Public Ministry.
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In said meeting, the Attorney General’s Office called on government institutions to provide public opinion and judicial authorities with a clear message regarding the development of the project.
He also pointed out the importance of the project for the security of the country in maritime and coastal areas, the control of drug trafficking and the fight against crimes against the environment, practices associated with illegal fishing in the Colombian Pacific.
Gorgona Island and complementary works
The project originally contemplated the construction of a Coast Guard station with its operational, administrative block, dining room, kitchen and accommodation, a maritime dock, a radar and radar tower and an access path to the facilities.
Project localization
The project “Construction, Operation, Abandonment and Restoration of the Coast Guard Station on La Isla Gorgona and Complementary Works” is located in the department of Cauca, municipality of Guapi, corregimiento of Isla Gorgona and Gorgonilla. with Infobae