News · 31 May 2016
Expedición Bio in Putumayo postponed over controversy with the Inga People
Johana Viáfara A.
Following a complaint by Inga Indigenous people of Villagarzón, in Putumayo, the agreement signed between the Humboldt Institute and Colciencias indefinitely postponed the first Colombia BIO Expedition. The community demands prior consultation and greater guarantees for the Ancestral Territory Nukanchipa Alpa Amukunapa Wasi, located in the area.
After the Colombia BIO project was announced two weeks ago, made up of 33 expedition members and comprising 20 explorations in Caquetá, the Urabá region of Antioquia, the Pacific, and San Andrés and Providencia, starting with Putumayo, the Indigenous community of the municipality of Villagarzón stated that it will not allow research activities to be carried out, considering it a bioprospecting expedition, that is, a search for plants, animals, fungi and organisms with properties useful to the cosmetics industry and medicine.
Carlos López Descanse, Indigenous governor of the Inga People, stated that they reject “forcefully the unconsulted implementation of the project ‘Primera expedición Biológica Putumayo- Expedición Bio’ that the Instituto Humboldt and the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (Colciencias) would carry out in Putumayo, whose objective is to conduct genetic studies and analyses of different species in the Ancestral Territory ‘Nukanchipa Alpa Amukunapa Wasi Vida Mascarigridiru”, which requires, he explains, that the fundamental right to free and informed prior consultation be guaranteed, in the terms set forth in Law 21 of 1991.
The territory referred to by the community includes the sacred sites Atun Uritu Salado (“Salt lick of the parrots”) and Arinpajilo (“Ridge of the Jaguar”), which has been an area of use, access, protection and conservation of the Inga People of Villagarzón, according to a warning from the Association of Indigenous Cabildos (Indigenous traditional authority) of Putumayo (Acimvip), which filed the right of petition last week. Years ago, the site was the subject of oil exploration projects; that is why, Acimvip says, for 15 years the Inga People have demanded legal protection of the territory, a request that has been denied by the Colombian State.
Responding to the controversy, the Humboldt Institute and Colciencias stated today in a press release that, given its interest and relevance, the project underwent a broad process of socialization and promotion with communities and regional and local entities such as the Government of Putumayo, the Mayor's Office of Mocoa, Corpoamazonia and the Instituto Tecnológico del Putumayo (ITP), which identified the possibilities of the initiative and thus created the Putumayo BIO Inter-institutional Committee.
Likewise, the bulletin states that the representatives, delegates and presidents of the community action boards of the 15 rural settlements (local rural zones) of Villagarzón that make up the Asociación Ambiental Salado de los Loros, together with representatives of the Humboldt Institute, Colciencias, the Mayor's Office, Corpoamazonia and the ITP, presented the scope and limitations on May 6, answering attendees' questions regarding the objectives of the expedition.
Regarding the bioprospecting complaint, the agreement clarifies that the purpose is “to prepare a biodiversity inventory exclusively for scientific purposes, in order to know and identify the composition and structure of plants, fungi and fauna. The objective is to join efforts to characterize biodiversity in areas of scientific interest with little biological information, to strengthen scientific collections and generate genetic information on Colombian biodiversity, within the framework of the Colombia BIO program”.
While both institutions study an official response to the Inga People of Villagarzón, it was decided to postpone the expedition in Putumayo indefinitely until the social and political components in that territory are secured. For now, the agreement will continue to be carried out in the other areas of the country.
The Bio Expedition in Putumayo was postponed until the Humboldt Institute and Colciencias consider a response to the right of petition filed by the Inga People of Villa Garzón. Photo: Taken from miputumayo.com.co
