As part of the National Tree Day commemoration, Mayor Claudia López presented the 5X1 planting strategy, which consists of planting 5 new trees for each tree that has to be cut down for city development works. The launch of this plan was made during the beginning of the planting of 10,000 trees and plants in the vicinity of the Doña Juana landfill.
The planting of the new trees was led by the mayor and was accompanied by communities from the Mochuelo Bajo village, in the town of Ciudad Bolívar.
“The reimbursement is measured in the number of hectares that we have to re-populate. There are 170 hectares in total, last year we made 20, this year we are going to buy 50, next year another 50 and in 2024 they will buy the last remaining ones; per hectare, we can plant 2,500 trees. In the case of Doña Juana's compensation, the UAESP bought the properties and the botanical garden program and does its planting. In this property alone, we will plant 10,000 trees”, assured the mayor of Bogotá Claudia López.
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In the absence of public spaces for intervention to re-populate the most critical areas in terms of environmental indicators, among them, Ciudad Bolívar, the Botanical Garden of Bogotá and the Special Administrative Unit of Public Services (UAESP), have prioritized the intervention in 15 hectares in rural areas, where 50 thousand trees will be planted during this term. This will contribute to the application of the strategy that Mayor Claudia López has prioritized, according to which, for each tree that is been cut down, five new ones are planted in its place.
Mayor Claudia López participating at the launch of the 5X1 planting strategy. PHOTO: Mayor's Office of Bogota
“It’s important to invite the community to plant because cutting down trees hurts us all, planting is starting over and we can see the tree over time. But let us know where it is, where it was replaced so that we do not keep the pain that we saw trees being cut down but not replanted and no one did anything," said López, who in turn reiterated that the trees that are cut down in Bogotá will be the result of a technical analysis that determines the infeasibility of other treatments such as blockades, transfers or conservation in the project.
This activity is part of the Bogotá Reverdece strategy, proposed by the District Administration and whose purpose is to plant 802,000 new trees in the city. “Bogotá Reverdece is an initiative of the district government in which the Ministry of the Environment, the Botanical Garden, the EAAB, the IDU, the Ministry of Mobility and Transmilenio have tasks such as electrifying transport, improving coverage, logging reasonably and to re-plant whenever possible, "said Carolina Urrutia, Secretary of the Environment.
Carolina Urrutia, Secretary of the Environment planting in Mochuelo. PHOTO: Mayor's Office of Bogota
The intervention process in the Mochuelo sector corresponds to one of the strategic alliances between the Botanical Garden and the UAESP through which the properties acquired by the latter to mitigate the impact of the sanitary landfill must be recovered and restored to their prime conditions.
This area has historically been affected by agricultural and livestock activities that have deteriorated its functionality, impact and benefit. On top of that there are other factors such as mining and, of course, the presence of the Doña Juana Landfill. This is why the District is making progress in the strengthening of a “green belt” that allows consolidating the expansion of the city, it consolidates the urban-rural transition and mitigates the environmental impact.
A District functionary sowing at Mochuelo. PHOTO: Mayor's Office of Bogota
Projects led by the IDRD, the IDU or the Aqueduct -- which carry out large infrastructure works for the improvement of the city -- have to re-route several trees; and to date there isn’t another way to manage this and they must be re-planted. “there will be many more days of planting like we did today, for the works on Ave. 68, for those that we will eventually do for the Metro, all those changes mean that we are going to accept the loss of some trees, but we must replace and multiply them in that 5 x 1 strategy”, stressed Secretary Urrutia.
This re-planting initiative echoes the commitment of Mayor Claudia López with leaders, organizations and the community in the area. The seminar also aims to mitigate the social and environmental impact of the Doña Juana landfill and strengthen citizen capacities in the management of their territories.
