Seriously concerned are the inhabitants of the municipality of Une, in the department of Cundinamarcadue to a resolution of the Ministry of the Environment in which it is indicated that the Cruz Verde-Sumapaz páramo will be delimited and therefore will be declared a reserve.
According to the inhabitants of the region, said resolution would leave them practically without economic activities that allow them to sustain themselves and generate employment since 80 percent of the municipality is located on the moor and they have been cultivating all kinds of products for several decades.
According to Mayor Fredy Cubillos, with this measure “the impact will be negative for the region’s economy. There are 432 properties of the sidewalks Branch; Plains; sachets; Mundo Nuevo, La Mesa and Raspados that will be seriously affected and of course will be 380 families who will have to leave their territoryor to protect the environment”.
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“An interesting workforce is generated there, since More than 100 people are being employed in each crop and under this resolution we would be leaving more than 500 people without daily wages. There is also an effect on the economy, since people make their purchases from markets and supplies here in the territory and when they stop producing, since of course the economic loss is quite large,” he said.
Mayor Cubillos was emphatic in ensuring thate the municipality is not opposed to the conservation of the environment and on the contrary it seems that it is necessary to do sobut “it cannot be that there is an environmental solution and they generate a gigantic social problem for us.”
Peasants and producers agreed that the protection of the paramo is very important and they said that they are willing to listen to the Ministry to reach an agreement that is favorable to all parties.
For Emiro Rojas, a grower for more than 30 years in the region, This measure threatens his assets head-on, because by not being able to cultivate his farm, he would lose its value. and additionally would not have a livelihood.
“Here we can tell the government that we are willing to conserve the paramo, what’s more, we are willing to commit to leaving part of our farms as a conservation zone, butro can not believe that we can deliver the entire property overnight and stay with our hands crossed“, said.
Mayor Fredy Cubillos questioned that “to date the Ministry has not socialized these activities that are going to be developed and Nor has he given us a concrete answer as to what is going to be done with these properties. What is going to be done with the people who live there on these lands? What is going to be done with the crops that were grown in the past and in exchange for what? Is there going to be a purchase of those properties? Is there going to be a payment for environmental services? Are the ‘ranger families’ going to be generated?
