As part of the implementation of the environmental investments established in our operations’ environmental license, we defined a strategy focused on the protection and restoration of natural habitats. In partnership with the Tauramena Mayor’s Office, the community and the Fundacion Orinoquia Biodiversa (FOB), we promoted the “Valuation of ecosystem services, characterization of biodiversity and wetlands as a baseline for comprehensive management of Tauramena municipality” project. The results of this study will make it possible to establish recommendations for decision-making, land use planning and planning of the use and exploitation of natural resources.

Together with the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP) of National Natural Parks of Colombia (PNN), we developed a strategy to identify areas of environmental importance owned by individuals within the Parque Nacional Natural Chingaza, enabling the Company to buy these lands and subsequently donate them to the Park, exclusively for conservation and preservation purposes.

In August 2019, GeoPark donated the 1,968-hectare La Esmeralda natural reserve -which is part of the National System of Protected Areas- to Paz de Ariporo municipality. Its unique flora and fauna classifies the La Esmeralda reserve as a perpetual conservation area.The donation meets the obligations in Law 99 (1993) for companies to invest no less than 1% of an operating area as an environmental compensation measure, and corresponds to the La Cuerva block in Paz de Ariporo.

Support from the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA) and Orinoquia Regional Autonomous Corporation (Corporinoquia) helped us make the donation. Together with GeoPark, these organizations worked in identifying a property with a high ecosystem value that would contribute to the region’s environmental heritage.