On February 24, the French Secretary of State for Development, Francophonie and International Cooperation, Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, and the French Ambassador to Colombia, Frédéric Doré, together with the Secretary of the Environment of Bogotá, Carolina Urrutia, visited La Esmeralda neighborhood and learned about the sustainable practices developed by the community.
Thanks to these good practices, in October last year La Esmeralda neighborhood received the EcoQuartier lebel, which the French government awards to communities that implement eco-sustainable practices in their territory. During this visit, the French dignitary presented the Ecobarrio Phase II certificate that this community received thanks to the community work of several years and the implementation of social processes based on sustainability.
During her intervention, the State Secretary of France recognized the work developed by the community. "This is an excellent example of what we call the sustainable city. I am very happy, on behalf of the French government, to support this project that creates aa sense of fraternity. You can count on us, because we will continue to support all these projects," Chrysoula Zacharopo stressed.
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Following this, a tweet from the Ministry of Environment about the certification of the eco-neighborhood La Esmeralda.
#AEstaHora Frederic Doré, embajador de @France_Colombia, y Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, secretaria de Estado de Desarrollo, Francofonía y Colaboración Internacional, visitan el Ecobarrio La Esmeralda, en la localidad de Teusaquillo. pic.twitter.com/yW0b7SnePb
— Secretaría de Ambiente (@Ambientebogota) January 24, 2023
La Esmeralda is a neighborhood that has adopted sustainable practices to minimize its impact on the environment and adapt to climate change through social appropriation, with the purpose of building a healthy and friendly environment to live in, with the active participation of all sectors and members of the community. In Colombia, the development of eco-neighborhoods has been supported by the French government through its Ministries of Energy and Ecological Transition.
The Secretary of Environment of Bogotá thanked the contributions of the French government and recognized the community work developed in La Esmeralda. "The eco-neighborhoods are an initiative in which communities define how to face the climate crisis. We support these initiatives to enrich them technically and we thank the Government of France for this recognition, as it is a way to ensure that future leaders also adopt spaces like this", highlighted Urrutia.
Bogota's strategy focuses on the implementation of community practices to combat the effects of climate change through responsible resource consumption and waste management, and the city is counting on French support to achieve these goals. The French government accompanies the efforts undertaken by the Mayor's Office of Bogotaá and local agents in favor of the sustainable city and in terms of energy transition and decarbonized mobility, and reaffirms its support to the city of Bogota on its path to strengthen its sustainable city policy and improve the quality of life of its citizens.
The eco-neighborhood La Esmeralda is a clear example of the fruitful cooperation between France and Colombia in sustainable city matters to mitigate the environmental impact in the city.
The certification awarded in October and reaffirmed in this event recognizes the social management around community gardens and the utopian garden, the work with rescued animals in an urban farm that is now part of the ecobarrio and the projects.
