Colombia: General Criteria for a Natural Resource Policy

Abstract

Several aspects of the current domestic and international context — interest in comprehensive agrarian development within peace negotiations, the threats posed by the "mining locomotive," and the imminent global energy crisis — call for defining a comprehensive natural resource policy that considers economic, ecological, and social criteria. Such a policy must address the problem of land concentration and allow for surface and subsurface land use that benefits society as a whole. It must also guarantee resource sustainability in order to preserve, for future generations, a base similar to the one we enjoy today. Finally, a democratic debate is needed that brings together the diverse actors of society in decision-making, in order to maximize social benefit in the sustainable management of natural resources.