Mocoa, water heart of the Amazon

Social organisations and people defending the territory meet with national and local government authorities to protect the water wealth and biodiversity of the municipality of Mocoa, in Putumayo. During the meeting, Agreement 020 of 6 December 2018 is ratified and supported; it lays down measures for the preservation and defence of the municipality's ecological and cultural heritage and sets out the need to protect the territory from extractive activity.

At the meeting it was established that the company Libero Cobre is carrying out work, allegedly illegally, on a mining project in an area at high risk of mass movement events, which could give rise to a possible avalanche. The company is also in the process of having its title declared forfeited for failing to meet the deadlines for carrying out works, and has been sanctioned.

In addition, the presence of sulphides and a high potential for water acidification was detected, posing an imminent risk to human life and to the animals that inhabit the territory. The company's intervention overlaps with eight environmental determinants, and the higher-level planning instrument, the POMCA of the Mocoa River, warns of the water recharge potential that is essential for the survival of the inhabitants of the municipality and of the Caquetá basin.

In light of these findings, technical studies have begun to plan the territory around guaranteeing the protection and conservation of water, in line with the national environmental planning policy. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Mines and Energy Irene Vélez, the acting Vice-Minister Johana Rocha, Álvaro Pardo, Director of the National Mining Agency, Julio Fierro, Director of the Colombian Geological Survey, and the Mayor of Mocoa John Jairo Imbachí, together with the members of the House and Senate Andrés Cancimance and Robert Daza, and with the participation of the political leader Carlos López Descanse.