Bogota conservation authorities plan to create a bio-diversity corridor to preserve ground water and natural plant species in what would be the largest urban ecological park in Latin America.
An Environmental Management Plan has been created for the area located north of Bogota and covering regions Guaymaral, Corpas and Suba.
The Regional Autonomous Corporation (CAR) has banned construction on roughly 1,400 acres of land situated on the Thomas van der Hammen Forest reserve, and aims to build a huge ecological reserve which would be the largest in the whole of Latin America.
Bogota planning secretary Gerardo Ardila and the Secretary of CAR, Nestor Guillermo, signed the Management Plan at the end of September giving free reign the construction of the largest urban ecological park in Latin America.
“We will be able to have a green area near to the city, a major ecological community for the region and an environmental park that will be of great value as it will be one of the largest parks in Latin America,” said Ardila.
This plan bans not only the construction of new housing projects, but also prohibits mining, industry and floral agriculture. Current property and landowners have been given a period of seven years to dismantle property that they have in this area of the city.
The new rules also prohibit the construction of new roads in the area. The wetlands had been badly effected by previous road projects related by construction and mining companies.
One of the aims to the project is to protect local plant life natural to Colombia.
The Bogota botanical gardens have already offered 300,000 plants to the project, and 400 plots of land have been bought in which some two million plants are expected to be grown.
The project is expected to cost around 73 million dollars. The planning commission currently has 9 million dollars to get the project started and is appealing to government environmental agencies to put its hands in its pocket for what could be a great resource for Bogota citizens and Colombia as a whole.
