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Environment Minister Fabio Arjona announced the government will restart the process to declare environmental protection for the Santurbán páramo.

Environment Minister Fabio Arjona announced on Wednesday that the government will restart the process to declare environmental protection for the Santurbán páramo, a key environmental zone in the Andes mountain range. This move by the administration of Abelardo de la Espriella repealed the previous decision by the administration of Gustavo Petro to grant protection to 1,500 contiguous hectares. Arjona argued that the previous administration's decision was an "express" and improvised delimitation that failed to resolve outstanding recusations. The reopening of the debate on the exact boundaries of the protected area has aggravated a long-standing dispute over environmental, social, and political issues in Bucaramanga. The new administration's decision is supported by residents and small-scale miners in California. The move aims to more thoroughly address the issues surrounding the water source for the right-wing stronghold of Bucaramanga.

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