In Colombia, with current regulations it is possible to achieve compliance with environmental obligations imposed on public or private persons within the framework of environmental licenses, permits, concessions, authorizations and other environmental control and management instruments, through PES projects.
Decree 1007 of June 14, 2018, integrates the legal framework with Decree Law 870 of 2017, modified by Law 1955 of 2019 (National Development Plan 2018-2022), aiming to respond to the needs of companies in the private, public and community sectors with real, faster solutions and with material results in the short and medium term.
Payment for Environmental Services
This is a legal figure that has been long overdue for the actors of the environmental legal system, which includes all natural or legal persons that use natural resources and the environment.
Decree 1007 of 2018, which modifies chapter 8 of title 9 of part 2 of book 2 of Decree 1076 of 2015, in relation to the regulation of the general components of the payment incentive for environmental services and the acquisition and maintenance of properties in strategic areas and ecosystems that deal with Decree Law 870 of 2017 and the articles 108 and 111 of Law 99 of 1993, modified by articles 174 of Law 1753 of 2015 and 210 of Law 1450 of 2011, regulate the incentive of payment for environmental services.
The legal definition of PSA, provided in article 2.2.9.8.14 of the aforementioned Decree is:
“In accordance with the provisions of Decree Law 870 of 2017, payment for environmental services constitutes the economic incentive in money or in kind that the interested parties of the environmental services recognize to the owners, possessors or occupants in good faith exempt from fault for the preservation and restoration actions in strategic areas and ecosystems, through the celebration of voluntary agreements between the interested parties of the environmental services and beneficiaries of the incentive.”
The scope of application of this regulation covers anyone who promotes, designs or implements payment projects for environmental services financed or co-financed with public and private resources, or who carries out acquisition processes and maintenance of strategic prices for our ecosystem.
Compliance with environmental obligations through Payment for Environmental Services
In Colombia, with current regulations it is possible to achieve compliance with environmental obligations imposed on public or private persons within the framework of environmental licenses, permits, concessions, authorizations and other environmental control and management instruments, through PES projects
This figure regulates the way in which users of natural resources compensate or pay the owners of properties that house strategic ecosystems. If you are the holder of environmental rights or environmental licenses, you CAN compensate through this scheme.
Payment methods for Environmental services.
In article 2.2.9.8.2.2, the legislator states that the modalities of payment for environmental services refer to an environmental service that seeks to maintain or generate through said payments, by way of example, it describes the following:
• PES for regulation and water quality
• PES for biodiversity conservation
• PES to reduce and capture greenhouse gases
• Cultural, spiritual and recreational PESs
The name of the modalities is self-explanatory, however, the cultural, spiritual and recreational PES modality causes surprise due to its component of legislative innovation. The legislator refers to the non-material benefits obtained from ecosystems, through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation and aesthetic experiences.
Social and Business Responsibility
The success of this regulation is in the consciousness of the people who make up the system. It is essential that the beneficiaries of this type of tools fulfill the commitments they make regarding conservation, restoration, and development of sustainable productive projects.
In the same way, it is essential that companies and individuals that enter as 'payers' are transparent in the selection of beneficiaries and comply with the commitments acquired over time (the Decree refers to a period of 5 years that can be extended).
The actors that make up the environmental system in Colombia are waiting for the application and results of these tools. Cases such as Banco2 are visible in several regions of the country, and in the department of Valle del Cauca, it is a scheme that was launched for public entities and individuals.
We call on the entire community to inform themselves and participate in the selection and prioritization of the properties to benefit.
Comentarios