ReverdeC arrives in Antioquia

Sustainability | NOVEMBER 26th, 2019

• The alliance marks the arrival in Antioquia of ReverdeC, a voluntary initiative of the organization whose objective is to contribute to the conservation of water basins that supply municipal and village aqueducts, and to which La Pintada Concession and Fundación Grupo Argos now join.
• Over the course of the year, more than 230 thousand native trees have been planted in southwest Antioquia as part of this initiative that will help recover strategic ecosystems in the Cartama region.
• In the last four years, ReverdeC has planted 4 million trees of native species in Valle del Cauca, working collaboratively with the communities.

La Pintada Concession, a majority shareholder of Odinsa, which currently builds the Pacific Connection 2 Project, developed an alliance with Celsia and Grupo Argos Foundation to promote ReverdeC in Antioquia, a voluntary reforestation program with native species from the regions that until this day it has planted more than 4 million trees in Valle del Cauca and that it expects, at the end of 2019, to close with 270 thousand individuals in the southwest of Antioquia in an area of ​​108 hectares.

This alliance seeks to join forces for the protection of the Cartama River and the Cuchilla Jardín- Támesis Integrated Management District, to restore strategic ecosystems that will generate ecological connectivity and that will help recover environmental services such as carbon capture, availability and water regulation. Among the species that include plantings are: dragon (Crotton magdalensis), turkey eye (Prunus integrifolia), caper (Senna pistaciifolia) and chrilobirlo (Tecoma stans), among others.

“Aligned with the good practices of Odinsa and aware of the importance of the environment for the sustainable development of the territory, we have proposed for this year to plant about 270 thousand native trees that help regulate the climate, protect births and tributaries of the river and serve for the connectivity of fauna species typical of the region, such as the spectacled bear, the white-tailed deer, the puma, various species of birds, tigrillos, opossums, raccoons and babillas”, said Gustavo Bernal, manager of La Pintada Concession.

For his part, Jairo Villada, leader of Socio-Environmental Management of Celsia, commented that “we are very happy to participate in this initiative with our ReverdeC program, with which we have planted 4 million trees in four years in El Valle del Cauca. The experience that we have acquired both technically to be effective in planting, as well as humanly from the relationship with the communities, we are sure that it will be very valuable for this project in the southwest of Antioquia. This milestone represents the gateway of the watershed protection program to the department ”.

ReverdeC will allow effective protection of strategic ecosystems, also involving the population of the region. Owners and community members have voluntarily joined the program by providing lots for ecosystem conservation and restoration purposes.

“Companies, farmers and the community in general, we must join forces to conserve ecosystems and take care of streams and rivers, which will allow to reduce water pollution, take care of our crops and counteract the intense summers and times of heavy rain. One of the systems that will receive the most impact will be the Cartama River, one of the main tributaries of the Cauca River in the area, which we will benefit from with the reforestation of more than 2,000 hectares in the next seven years”, added Bernal.

With this project, it is expected that by having an associative scheme with which the actions of conservation, community strengthening, environmental education and alliances can be defined and amplified to benefit the protection and conservation of the country's biodiversity.

More about Pacific Connection 2

This fourth generation (4G) project, operated by La Pintada concession, with a majority stake in Odinsa, has an investment of more than COP 1.3 billion for the construction of 42.5 km of new roads, 2.5 km of double tube tunnel, 54 km of rehabilitated roads and 42 bridges distributed in five sections or functional units. Its lines of intervention in sustainability focus on the support of conservation initiatives, training actions, proposals for ecological tourism, environmental potential (flora and fauna) identified in the territory and the protection and reforestation of water basins.

More about ReverdeC

ReverdeC is the Celsia reforestation program, which is carried out with the support of the Corporación Autónoma Regional del Valle del Cauca, CVC, and which seeks to plant 10 million trees in 10 years, cultivated and cared for by the communities. The priority is to contribute to the conservation of the river basins, many of which supply the country's municipal and village aqueducts.

To date, the program carries 4 million trees planted in more than 3,000 hectares of Valle del Cauca, taking care of 22 river basins in 32 municipalities. 100% of the workforce of this program is local. Likewise, the program is committed to planting species in threat category and to date seven species have been planted.

Follow us on Twitter: @Grupo_Argos