Water Management History and Recent Developments
During the 20th Century, Colombian Government focused on increasing knowledge on natural resources as well as developing law and institutions to regulate their uses. For example, in 1952, the Government created the Division for Natural Resources, under the Environment Ministry, aimed at managing land, forestry and fisheries. In 1953, the Government enacted the Decree 1371, also known as the Sanitation Code, which included general rules to control residual water.
In 1954, the Government, following the model based on the Tennessee Valley Authority, established in the US in 1933, created the Cauca Regional Authority with the objective of managing land and water resources in a multisectoral and integrated way. For the next 50 years, up to 33 Regional Authorities (Corporaciones Autonomas Regionales –CARs) will be created all over Colombia each of them representing the highest authority for natural resources management, including water resources, within their territory and being an integral part of the National Environmental System in Colombia.
In 1968, the government created the National Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and Environment (INDERENA), encompassing the Division for Natural Resources and the Magdalena and Sinu Regional Authorities. During the 1970s, there was an intense institutional development with the creation of numerous sectoral entities such as the Meteorological Service in charge of analyzing meteorological and hydrological data, the Geographic Institute Agustin Godazzi in charge of land management, INGEOMINAS in charge of groundwater resources management, and Colombian Agricultural Institute in charge of assessing the environmental impacts of fertilizers and pesticides, among others. In addition, Regional Authorities advanced environmental tasks related to water and forestry management. For example, the Regional Authority of Cali and Yumbo was the first regional authority with the equipment and regulation necessary to control industrial discharges on water bodies.
In addition, the government together with INDERENA and the Food and Agriculture Organization collaborated during the 1970s in the creating of the National Code for Renewable Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, also known as the Natural Resources Code, which was finally enacted with Decree 2811 of 1974.
During the 1980s, Natural Resources Code and the 1979 National Sanitation Law were developed through numerous regulations such as the Watershed Decree 2857 of 1981, Atmospheric Releases Decrees 02 of 1982 and 2200 of 1983, and the Water Quality Decree 1594 of 1984.
The new constitution of 1991 included 49 articles for environmental and natural resources protection and was considered for some experts as the “Environmental Constitution.” Finally, Law 99 of 1993 established the current institutional framework in Colombia, in particular it: (i) turned the INDERENA into the Ministry of Environment (ii) created the National Environmental System (iii) established the Regional Authorities as the institutions in charge of implementing national policies and regulations; (iv) finally, included five research institutions into the National Environmental System, namely:
- Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies
- Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute
- José Benito Vives de Andréis Marine and Coastal Research Institute
- Amazonic Institute of Scientific Research
- John von Neumann Environmental Research Institute of the Pacific
Read more about this topic: Water Resources Management In Colombia
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