In compliance with the Development Plan 2016-2019 Medellín Cuenta Con Vos and its 7th dimension: “To collectively protect the environment,” the Medellín Mayor’s Office and the Secretariat of Environment have developed a new process that seeks to protect the hydrographic basins which supply the aqueducts of the city..
It’s the Payment for Environmental Services, which seeks to protect 29 watersheds of Medellín through the payment of a monthly economic incentive for the conservation, restoration and protection of the city’s water resource to owners of 449 properties located in the rural area of the city.
In May of this year, the Mayor’s Office will select the participants according to their score in a public call. The chosen ones will receive an economic benefit according to the area of natural forest within their land (1.14 current legal minimum monthly wages per hectare) or the area of the property where the forest will be recovered (2.78 current legal minimum monthly wages).
The resources to be granted amount to 4 billion pesos. To access the grant, a person must: be owner or holder of one or more properties, be up to date in the property tax payment and declare that the property is not in discussion of ownership.
According to Sergio Andrés Orozco Escobar, Secretary of Environment of Medellín, the Payment for Environmental Services: “it’s a way to teach our people to value our environmental heritage by taking care of the water sources and environmental resources which are so important for the city and the region. In this case, the Mayor’s Office does not buy lands or expropriate them, instead invites people to stay on theirs, to take care of them, value them and take ownership of its space. This guarantees the continuity of this natural and diverse asset of Medellin.”
For more information and to continue with the application process, please write to [email protected] or dial (054) 589 8929.
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