On June 12, on the Island of San Andrés, the Italian Embassy in Colombia and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) officially presented the project “Biodiverse, Sustainable, Resilient, and Inclusive Cities,” an initiative that reaffirms Italy’s commitment to biodiversity protection and the sustainable development of Colombian cities. The project is part of a broad and multifaceted multidimensional cooperation program promoted by Italy in support of Colombia, which was recently designated as a priority country in Latin America.
Coordinated by Italian Cooperation, with the institutional support of the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and local partners Coralina and SINCHI, the initiative—backed by an investment of nearly 3 million euros—will be implemented on the Caribbean island of San Andrés and in the Amazonian city of Leticia, two urban areas of high strategic and ecological value.
The project has three main goals:
- To strengthen urban planning processes with an environmental and gender-sensitive approach;
- To promote environmental education, knowledge, and community participation;
- To encourage solutions for the development of sustainable infrastructure and the promotion of green jobs.
Specific objectives include the restoration of the mangrove ecosystem in the Old Point Regional Park on San Andrés and the upgrading of Leticia’s port and marketplace according to sustainability standards.
The launch event was attended by Mauricio Cabrera Leal, Vice Minister of Environmental Policy and Regulation; Giancarlo Maria Curcio, the Italian Ambassador to Colombia; Mario Beccia, Director of AICS Bogotá; as well as representatives from the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of San Andrés Island, partner Coralina, and local communities.
In their respective remarks, the Vice Minister, the Ambassador of Italy, and the Director of AICS emphasized the importance of this project, which promotes a model of development that is inclusive, competitive, and deeply connected to environmental protection. With this new initiative, Italian Cooperation reaffirms its strategic partnership with Colombian authorities to help build a more resilient and inclusive society, where biodiversity is seen as a fundamental and lasting opportunity for development.
