Characterisation, appropriation and assessment of the ecosystems at the Betania plant on the western bank of the Magdalena River. Emgesa, in conjunction with the Natura Colombia Foundation, has embarked on an environmental recovery project in the catchment area of the Betania plant on the western bank of the Magdalena River to characterise and assess the biodiversity richness of the forests in the area to then inform people about the territory and ensure it is cared for.
The forests within the catchment area of the plant, in one of Emgesa's nature reserves, are highly valuable ecosystems due to the large amount of wildlife species and because they are among the few such systems left in the region, which has been severely deteriorated by farming.
See Betania pictures (Biodiversity Album)
The project is being carried in four stages:
- Characterisation of the plant and animal life: only the most representative plants and animals in the area, not a census of all species present there. 58 species of bird, 7 species of reptile and 3 species of amphibian have been recorded. Based on the results of the vegetation study, it was recommended to begin an ecological restoration process so that certain species could be introduced or their densities increased to promote the development of the ecosystem and increase the habitat and food of its typical animal life.
- Awareness-raising of company staff: this initiative mainly aims to raise awareness about the environment among people involved in the area around the reserve: companies, their employees and, ultimately, citizens. Plant workers went on trips to scout the forests and helped make decisions on the project, e.g. about the trail route, recreation areas and the debris removal strategies.
- Clean-up of the area, where some seven tonnes of scrap and other metal material is being collected.
- Construction of a trail: design and construction of an environmentally-friendly trail through the area for people to take in and enjoy the different ecosystems.
Restoration, characterisation and landscaping of the Cartagena power station lagoon and mangrove swamp (Emgesa). The thermal plant in Cartagena of the Indies, capital of the Bolivar department, is located in northern Colombia on the edge of the Caribbean Sea in the Mamonal industrial park. It has 187 MW of net installed capacity and three gas- and fuel oil-fired generating units.
On the grounds of the plant are a lagoon and a mangrove swamp, which have been deteriorating for years due to the build-up of non-degradable waste, abandoned infrastructure, interruption of water flow and the impact of the electricity substation's activity on animal life.
The environmental restoration project arose from collaboration between Emgesa and Endesa's Environment and Sustainable Development Division, with work performed by the Natura Colombia Foundation. The aim is to recover the wetland (lagoon) and the area around the Cartagena plant and design a programme of participatory research, environmental education, ecological interpretation and landscaping of the area based on the wetland's biological and cultural values.
Carried out in different stages, the project has achieved improvements in: awareness, by improving employees' ecological knowledge through volunteer groups set up to carry out restoration activities: clean the lagoon area by removing non-biodegradable material and sowing native plants; characterise the area by documenting the plants and animals existing in the lagoon and its environs; and landscape the industrial complex's entire green space.
See Cartagena pictures (BIodiversity Album)
The Codensa Forest: planting native trees in Colombia (to make up for paper usage). Codensa, together with the Al Verde Vivo Foundation, is carrying out a project to plant native trees in the Cundinamarca department in Almeidas province to voluntarily make up for all the paper consumed in its administrative activities. The following conversion factor has been defined in order to know how many trees to plant: 1 tree for every 50kg of paper consumed.
Planting sites were chosen based on: the impact of human activity, forest reserve areas and influence on natural water courses. In 2008, they decided to plant trees in Cerro de Majuy, a reserve that suffered a major forest fire in 2007. They also decided to plant around the Bogota River in the towns of Villapinzón and Suesca, as this river is the main waterway and an essential part of the district capital's water system. In all, 10,000 indigenous trees will be planted in Cerro de Majuy and 15,300 upper Andean forest species in the upper basin of the Bogota River.
Planting in 2008 and 2009 has had a positive impact on both the communities in the catchments areas of the planting sites and the ecosystems involved, the ecological structure of which was seriously affected by human activity.
In 2010, Codensa began measuring the carbon footprint not only of the paper consumed in administrative and billing activities, but also for the company as a whole. This figure will be one of the parameters used to calculate the quantity of trees to be planted to offset emissions.