Colombia Environment Minister recused from Santurbán paramo decisions

Colombia's Minister of Environment, Fabio Arjona, has been declared recused from making decisions regarding the delimitation of the Santurbán paramo. The Council of Ministers accepted the impediment on September 10 following a challenge by the Committee for the Defense of Water and the Santurbán Paramo.

The committee argued that Arjona showed partiality toward Aris Mining and its Soto Norte mining project. Specifically, the recusal prevents the Minister from intervening in matters related to the delimitation of the Santurbán–Berlín Jurisdictional Paramo Complex and the management of the La Baja stream micro-basin.

Local community leaders and groups, such as Asomineros Vetas, have expressed that while they respect the legal procedure, the government must ensure that this administrative impediment does not delay the protection of the territory or the fulfillment of Constitutional Court orders. They have called for a swift appointment of a successor to manage the process without further delays, emphasizing the need to balance environmental protection with formal mining activities and the prevention of illegal mining.