Posted on diciembre, 22 2020

At the beginning of the year, the government declared a state of climate emergency in the department of Antioquia. As a response to this challenge, United for the Planet arose as an alliance between WWF and the department's governorate to promote solutions to deforestation, erosion, forest fires, and poor air quality, among other environmental problems.
 
46 institutions in the public, private, academic, and civil society sectors have joined this alliance, and together we have pledged to recover 7,800 hectares of degraded areas, to protect natural ecosystems, and to plant more than 25 million trees.
 
At the same time, we worked jointly with local community organizations in municipalities such as Guarne, La Ceja, Santuario, and Santa Fe de Antioquia and were able to have face-to-face meetings following all the necessary biosecurity measures. We had an impact on more than 50 municipalities through capacity building activities on issues such as active mobility and integrated solid waste management. 2,200 people benefitted directly from these spaces, as did 50,000 indirect beneficiaries.
 
During the first four months of the alliance’s implementation, we worked on strengthening Antioquia’s Regional Climate Change Node. To achieve this end, we helped review and structure its action plan and created spaces for dialogue among environmental organizations and communities in different subregions of the department as a way to strengthen governance and sustainability actions in these territories.
 
With the efforts we have put into this alliance, we seek not only to raise awareness about the need for immediate action to reverse environmental pressures in Antioquia, but also to help conserve 70 thousand hectares of protected areas by 2030.
 
Likewise, the alliance will help reduce the generation of solid waste, increase recycling rates by 30%, and promote the use of public transport and non-motorized means of transportation like bicycles.
 
Together for the Planet was yet another moment this year that made it clear to us: together it is possible!