Posted on marzo, 27 2018

• Citizens, private companies and official and third-sector entities came together in the National Movement for Forests, promoted this year in Colombia as part of the global WWF Earth Hour campaign.

 

• A record was broken: over 9,000 Colombians took part in the activities organized in 25 towns and cities throughout the country that included bicycle trips, concerts, theater performances and hikes, to mention just a few.

 

•  Between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., more than 50 emblematic buildings and monuments throughout the country switched off their lights in response to the campaign’s worldwide call to action.

Colombia, March 2018. Colombians are showing the world that they care about forests and are committed to their conservation. On Saturday, March 24, as part of the 2018 Earth Hour celebrations, the response throughout the country to this year’s campaign for the country’s forests was massive and focused on creating a national movement to conserve these valuable ecosystems.




Earth Hour celebration in Cali, Colombia /  © Carmen Ana Dereix-WWF-Colombia
 
From the Caribbean coast, the Pacific region, and Andes to the Amazon and Orinoco, more cities came out to participate than ever before. In 25 towns and cities. dozens of activities were offered in which more than 9,000 Colombians had the opportunity to express their commitment to the environment and to our forest heritage. They did so by pedaling energetically on the organized bicycle trips, but also by taking part in various kinds of environmental and cultural activities designed to raise awareness on the importance of forests. There were concerts, such as by the EAFIT University Symphony Orchestra in Medellín, the city where the principal act of the day took place in the presence of leading figures like the Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Luis Gilberto Murillo, the mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutiérrez and other leaders, as well as WWF-Colombia’s highly-committed ambassador, Claudia Bahamón. In Barranquilla, seeds were distributed to create urban vegetable gardens, in Neiva aerobic sessions, poetry about environmental issues in Valledupar, dance performances in Ibagué and Cali, drama by the Green Theater initiative in Bucaramanga, a performance by the Nariño drama Group in Pasto and a play presented in the Botanical Gardens in Bogotá, where a musical act was also offered. There was even a flashmob –a seemingly random performance by a public gathering– in Tunja, presented by the Shake Up Studio.



© WWF-Colombia
 
When night fell, dozens of representatives from public entities, private companies and civil organizations symbolically joined in the central act of the day and signed up to the National Movement for Forests. And at 8.30 p.m. the central act of Earth Hour was celebrated, switching-off the lights during an hour, an act that 50 emblematic buildings and monuments throughout the length and breadth of the country joined in with.



Earth Hour celebration in Neiva, Colombia /  © Laura Garzón-WWF-Colombia

 
Digital mobilization
 
Digital mobilization was also massive, where in just two weeks before Earth Hour 20,520 people joined the National Movement for Forests via the conectadosporlosbosques.com website, where they can take on a series of symbolic commitments to conserve Colombia´s forest treasure. The campaign also recorded 1,875,785 social media impressions, 10,574 likes and an astonishing 58,477 clicks on the two websites associated with the campaign: conectadosporlosbosques.com and lahoradelplanetacolombia.com. The event was also a trending topic on the initiative’s two hashtags: #LaHoraDelPlaneta and #ConectadosPorLosBosques.

 
Shared success
 
In promoting the National Movement for Forests, WWF-Colombia joined forces with Forests - Territories for Life, the Comprehensive Strategy for the Control of Deforestation and Forest Management in the country. This is headed by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development with support from the UN-REDD program, and is implemented by UNDP, FAO and UN Environment with support from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, the World Bank, and the Action Fund. The strategy’s fundamental aim is to strengthen sustainable development that includes forests as a focal point of the economy, thereby guaranteeing that the target of zero net deforestation for the whole country is met by 2020.


 
Earth Hour celebration in Mocoa, Colombia /  © Stefany Olaya-WWF-Colombia


The National Movement for Forests, promoted as part of 2018 Earth Hour, was able to rely on valuable support from strategic partners from the national government, the EAN University, Bavaria, the Colombian National Police and Valle de Aburrá Metropolitan Area, as well as Discovery as the official media outlet and the efforts of partner media like Publimetro, BIBO, Caracol Televisión Te Inspira, Canal Uno, El Colombiano, Telemedellín and Publik. Meanwhile, the campaign currently boasts more than 37 multiplier entities in the public and private sectors, and 25 partner cities. These entities are thus part of the fight to protect Colombia’s forests.

Latin America also showed its support
 
More than 20.000 people from different cities and places in Latin America switched-off the lights and joined various activities as part of the 2018 Earth Hour celebrations. Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, Panama and Mexico celebrated the campaign that was also a trending topic in more than four countries in the region. Diverse activities also were realized to raise awareness on conservation topics such as: the importance of becoming sustainable cities in Bolivia; a call to action to raise awareness on the importance of forests in the Peruvian Amazon; activities to connect with nature as ecological walks in Suriname. And more than 200 buildings and monuments in the region switched off their lights. A great example of the strong commitment that Latin America has with Earth Hour.



Earth Hour celebration in Valledupar, Colombia /  © Juan Simón Hernández-WWF-Colombia


And in the rest of the world?
 
Various records were broken. Millions of people were mobilized in 188 countries and regions. Over 17,900 buildings and monuments switched off their lights. Earth Hour was a trending topic in 33 countries due to immense digital mobilization and the work of more than 250 initiative influencers and ambassadors.