We protect the wildlife in the areas crossed by our infrastructure
We protect the wildlife in the areas crossed by our infrastructure
One of the commitments of our Sustainability Policy, and a key component of our relationships with the territories, is to develop our projects with an approach that enables addressing the processes related to the challenges and needs of the ecosystems and the biodiversity of our areas of influence.
We understand that through responsible and committed work we can help ensure the balance of ecosystems by means of the protection and care of wildlife, and for this reason our projects incorporate models that create value for biodiversity, the ecosystem services and society.
For this reason, part of our corporate strategy is to participate in voluntary and regulatory venues related to biodiversity management in the country, through industry associations and attendance to forums and technical task groups.
In line with our Sustainability Policy, our biodiversity management focuses on environmental regulatory compliance and the implementation of voluntary initiatives that contribute to the connectivity of the territories and to reducing and mitigating the impact of our operations.
In addition to promoting the conservation of the species and strategic ecosystems, we leverage knowledge-generation initiatives through research, development and innovation (R+D+I) strategies, that are essential for our decision-making.
(304-1) (304-2) We have extensive characterizations of the operations and infrastructure located within a series of protected or highly valuable areas for biodiversity, as well as on significant impacts of our activities on biodiversity.
(304-1) (304-2) Click here for additional information.(304-4) In the annexes, we also indicate the species on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and national conservation lists that are in the areas affected by the activities of our Company and its subsidiaries.
(304-4) Click here for additional information.(103-3) We additionally have indicators we use to measure our biodiversity management performance and control mechanisms such as internal and external audits of environmental offsetting contract performance, green initiatives and R+D+I strategies:
Number of hectares and number of specimens planted through mandatory offsetting strategies implemented or under maintenance.
Number of hectares with voluntary offsetting strategies implemented or under maintenance.
R+D+I initiatives developed, in development or implemented.
Number of green initiatives implemented.
The short-term focus for the consolidation of our environmental objectives is based on the Connecting Territories corporate strategy, under the Green Corridor model, which promotes the protection of both animal and plant wildlife species. To this end we join efforts with industry associations such as ANDI and organizations such as the Colombian National Natural Parks and Instituto Humboldt.
We launched, in partnership with the Cundinamarca environmental authority (CAR), the management and conservation plan for the Leopardus tigrinus species.
We initiated a contract with Instituto Humboldt to develop an intervention model to enable us to consolidate Green Corridors along the established rights of way for our transmission lines and gas pipelines. We have prioritized connectivity corridors in landscapes of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Serranía de Perijá that are in the area of influence of our Colectora project.
Our Andean bear and mountain tapir conservation and monitoring project, which began in 2010 in Colombia’s central mountain range, in connection with the Ecuador Interconnection and Tesalia-Altamira projects, was one of the initiatives that contributed to the Sustainability Award granted to GEB in 2020.
We launched the conservation strategy for the tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus) in the hydrographic sub-zone of the Bogotá River (Norte and Sogamoso projects), in coordination with the Cundinamarca Environmental Authority (CAR) and partners such as Fundación ProCAT, ANDI, Red de Reservas de la Sociedad Civil (REDTASQUA) and Instituto Humboldt.
We initiated a contract to monitor the Andean bear and mountain tapir with Fundación Wii in the area of influence of the Mocoa project, with the objective of linking up with the CorpoAmazonía Management Plan, in its line of management and field manuals for monitoring species.
Through CorpoAmazonía, we are also working on the following lines:
We contribute to the transformation process of communities that previously hunted these species to make them responsible for monitoring.
We managed to translate the Environmental Plans to an indigenous language, which is a very important milestone for the Group and the communities.
We participate in the creation of relevant instruments for decision-making by regional authorities regarding the protection of species.
We initiated with Instituto Humboldt, as one of our R+D+I strategies, the process of studying management of exotic invasive species in the Tominé reservoir with two management pilot plans for the species Acacia decurrens, and in the same area we performed maintenance on 6,500 planted specimens.
We registered in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and in Colombia’s Biodiversity Information System (SIB, for the Spanish original), which is an initiative led by Instituto Humboldt. In this context, we produced the first publication of biological information found in the baseline of the biotic media performed at the Tominé reservoir with our partner Inerco Consultoría.
We carried out preliminary studies on the effects of transmission infrastructure on wild birds.
Through Contugas we joined the Management Committee of the San Fernando National Reserve in Peru, as part of our strategy for the conservation of the protected natural area (part of the Humay-Marcona main gas pipeline and the Nasca section cross through the San Fernando National Reserve). We also fulfilled 100 % of the scheduled biological monitoring.
(304-3) We initiated the contract to materialize the Tesalia-Alférez Forest of Peace project: We identified the areas where ecological rehabilitation will be performed on 45 hectares and the areas to implement seven hectares of sustainable farming systems. We also began the training process for the environmental group of the Las Mercedes reservation.
(304-3) In performance of our environmental obligations, we carried out maintenance on 6 hectares of reforested areas; we performed offsetting through the restoration of three hectares in Altamira (Huila), 1.5 hectares in Chaparral (Tolima); and we intervened 3.5 hectares in Rioblanco (Tolima), to rescue and relocate protected species.
We continue to be involved with the group of companies that are leading the Biodiversity and Development Initiative of Sabana de Bogotá, led by ANDI, in coordination with different partners such as the Colombian National Natural Parks, Instituto Humboldt, Red de Reservas de la Sociedad Civil (REDTASQUA), Conservation International (CI), the Municipal Environmental Department, the Cundinamarca Environmental Authority and Enel, among others.
At TGI, we strengthened relations with the Boyacá environmental authority, with which we have a large number of environmental offsetting projects in our aim to contribute to the strategic ecosystems of the area of influence.
At TGI, we established a partnership with Proaves, an NGO with presence in Serranía de los Yariguíes, an area with bird species of great interest, for their conservation.
We have the challenge of implementing the pilot test of the connecting territories strategy, linked to the green corridors program.
Develop guidelines to manage exotic species reported as invasive in Colombia, including Acacia decurrens and common gorse (Ulex europaeus).
Design an emergency action plan for the Colectora Project in La Guajira, to address the situation derived from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Formulate offsetting plans for loss of biodiversity in the projects Cartagena, Río Córdoba, Mocoa, Tesalia-Alférez and San Fernando.
Generate knowledge on the conservation of the Andean bear and mountain tapir, monitoring initiative in Palestina (Huila) and Mocoa (Putumayo) with at least two local groups.
(103-2) Monitor the strategies implemented on 45 hectares for rehabilitation of the Bosque de Paz Tesalia-Alférez (Tesalia-Alférez Forest for Peace) project, as well as review and communicate the results.
Continue consolidating the BioTablero application we launched in 2019 and strengthened in 2020, which is a key scoreboard for decision-making in the framework of the Biotic Media Offsetting Manual developed by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (2018).
Disseminate guidelines for biodiversity management in the context of industry associations.
(103-2) Publish in SIB Colombia relevant information on at least 80 % of the projects associated with performance of environmental offsetting.
(103-2) Fully comply with the commitments made by Contugas in the 2021 work plan of the Management Committee of the San Fernando National Reserve and begin setting up signs with messages on the protection of biodiversity.
At Cálidda, implement the project at the Pantanos de Villa Wildlife Refuge, with no environmental findings.
Update the wildlife baseline to assess the level of exposure of the biodiversity and the strategic ecosystems in the areas crossed by TGI’s infrastructure.