During its participation in the International Summit on Sustainability and Environmental Innovation held in Ágora, Bogotá, the Colombian National Army presented the significant progress made in the humanitarian demining process, as well as its firm commitment to the protection and recovery of the environment.
Since the beginning of this operation in 2016, the mine clearance specialists of the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Brigade have cleared 282 municipalities and declared 12 areas free of suspected anti-personnel mines, contributing to the construction of safer territories for thousands of Colombians.
Colonel Alexander Agudelo, chief of Staff of this Brigade, said: “On this occasion we showed how we are making progress in humanitarian demining in Colombia and we are looking for methods to mitigate the environmental impact in each of the tasks we carry out, as well as in the coordination we carry out with regional autonomous corporations, environmental authorities and the inhabitants, so that these environmental activities are meaningful."
As part of their commitment to sustainability and environmental conservation, the soldiers have established five rudimentary forest nurseries in their battalions. At these spaces the germination and production of seedlings of native specimens is carried out to be used in continuous and sustainable reforestation processes.
It should be noted that these nurseries have the support of local authorities and various environmental actors in the region. Thanks to this support, since 2017 more than one million trees of specimens such as guayacán, caño fistol, tamarindo and jobo have been planted in the departments of Antioquia, Huila, Caquetá, Meta, Santander, Valle de Cauca and Caldas.
These plantations strengthen the environmental recovery processes in territories disturbed by anti-personnel mines, benefiting the ecosystem services that provide climate regulation, shade and food provision, landscape beautification and habitat for fauna.
Nurseries run by military engineers have become a tangible example of the positive transformation what joint work, conducted for safety and environmental protection, can generate.
In the same way, the members of the Military Forces carry out solid waste collection activities as an environmental awareness strategy with the community, addressing issues such as separation at the source, reuse and recycling. These operations promote environmental awareness and contribute to reducing the quantity of polluting waste that reaches landfills and water sources.
Source: Press – Humanitarian Demining Brigade
