Cali, October 19, 2024 - Prior to the start of COP16 and with the objective of protecting one of Colombia's greatest natural heritage, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad and the Director of the National Police, William Salamanca officially launched the Police for the Protection of Water and the Environment, a new specialized body dedicated to protecting water resources in the face of growing environmental threats.
“I want to recognize this initiative of the Colombian National Police. Because this, truly, is to build peace among us, to begin to materialize that which we longed for with the signing of the peace, to begin to see these new institutions and possibilities emerge, to have the National Police taking care of water, working articulately with the National Environmental System,” commented the Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad.
To this date, 8,000 police officers have been trained to provide protection to water sources in the national territory, such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, moorlands and wetlands.
In addition, the minister said that “I want to recognize this and more so in a COP where Colombia has called, at a time of war in the world, to make Peace with Nature as the main purpose. So today launching this Water Police is a pact of peace, there can be no better pact of peace than this launching before the COP16”.
On his part, the general and director of the National Police, William Salamanca, said that “the Water Police is made up of men and women specialized in the care of water resources who have the technical capacity and specific knowledge to generate educational, operational and anticipatory actions in the face of the main risks that may materialize against bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, moors and wetlands”.
The Water Police has an integrated center of terminal investigation and intelligence for the protection of water, which will allow us to have anticipatory knowledge to develop preventive strategies oriented to generate responsible behaviors with science and culture regarding the use, care and preservation of water resources, added Salamanca.
Board of directors for the launch of the Water Police, made up from left to right by: the mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder; the chancellor, Luis Gilberto Murillo; the Minister of the Environment; Susana Muhamad, the governor of the Valle, Dilian Francisca Toro; and the director of the National Police, General William Salamanca.
This is how this new police force will work
The new Water Police will play a fundamental role in the protection of Colombia's water sources, with functions that include the creation of institutional guidelines, intervention in contaminated bodies of water, and coordination with public and private entities to execute control and prevention plans. Activities will focus on patrols, institutional presence and awareness campaigns on the importance of sustainable water use with communities, focusing their efforts on regions with high levels of water contamination.
This new police force has the technical capacity and specific knowledge to generate educational, operational and proactive actions.
This effort by the National Government is not only limited to national borders; the Water Police will have the support of international agencies such as the United Nations, the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization, as well as cooperation agreements with police forces in other countries. International training programs will also be implemented through initiatives such as ICITAP.
So far in 2024, 8,000 police officers have already been trained in the recovery of water sources, a total of 412 arrests have been made, and 881 traffic tickets have been issued in Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Nariño. One of the most outstanding achievements is the recovery of 43 water sources throughout the country.
The Water Police will have the support of international agencies such as the United Nations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization.
The Water Police will work under five strategic pillars to ensure the protection of water sources
- Creation of the Water Police to address threats to water resources.
- Transnational integration for the control of environmental crimes in the Amazon region.
- Environmental treatment through the use of native plants for the absorption and stabilization of pollutants.
- Strengthening of the aerial fleet for fire prevention and environmental protection.
- Improvement of the environmental chemical laboratory, to identify and mitigate pollutants.
With the Water Police, Colombia reaffirms its commitment to the preservation of its water resources and the institutions' pact to make Peace with Nature.