Colombia Environmental and Climate Change Policy Brief

The Swedish Government has identified environment and climate change as one of three thematic priorities for development cooperation. This is reinforced in the Swedish policy on environment and climate change in development cooperation concluding that these aspects are a “central point of departure for all development cooperation” . The Policy further requires that environmental impacts, effects of climate change and associated risks are assessed and integrated in analysis, planning, strategies, implementation and follow-up in Swedish development cooperation – including in the formulation of results strategies.

An analysis of environmental and climate change aspects is a key basis for a well-informed results strategy process. The Swedish Embassy in Bogotá therefore commissioned Sida’s Helpdesk on Environment and Climate Change to elaborate an Environmental and Climate Change Policy Brief as a tool to address these issues. The assignment was carried out as a desk study by ORGUT in collaboration with Gothenburg Center for Environment and Sustainability. Sida’s Helpdesk for Environment and Climate Change is commissioned by Sida to assist Sida staff in integrating environmental (including climate change and disaster risk reduction) perspectives into Swedish development cooperation. The Helpdesk gives support, on demand, by providing advice and strategic guidance on environmental integration at policy, program and project level. It also supports capacity building, development of tools and methods for environmental integration and dialogue concerning environmental issues. The Helpdesk is managed by Gothenburg Centre for Environment and Sustainability (GMV) and the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences (SLU) in collaboration with ORGUT.

The Policy Brief took as a point of departure the Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability, and aims to briefly summarise the key environmental challenges, constraints and opportunities and their links to development, poverty reduction, conflict and human rights in Colombia. The brief aimed at providing analytic input related to the Swedish results strategy process and in preparation of a new result strategy proposal for Colombia. In accordance with Sida’s ToR, it was written considering that the main objective of the Swedish development cooperation with Colombia, as outlined in the current strategy, is to contribute to national efforts for a peaceful solution of the internal armed conflict, thus including support in the areas of peace and security and human rights and democratic governance.