Colombia and the OCDE: An environmental evaluation in the Barrancabermeja and Bucaramanga cases (Santander – Colombia)

Abstract

Environmental conservation is key within the economic balance for a better quality of life in Latin American countries. In Colombia, various environmental issues continue to persist despite the country’s affiliation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2018, which would imply significant environmental improvements. Therefore, this study focuses on diagnosing the environmental reality through the analysis of the plans and projects that were developed during Colombia’s admission and final accession to the OECD in the cases of Bucaramanga and Barrancabermeja. This research adopts a positivist epistemic position, a quantitative paradigm, and a descriptive research level, with a key emphasis on analyzing the knowledge and perception of different actors involved in the topic, such as public and private entities, the academic community, the adjoining community, and NGOs.

As a data gathering technique, a survey was employed; the instrument used was a polytomous questionnaire which encompassed four specific dimensions in the environmental field such as: (a) mining, (b) water sources, (c) landfills, and (d) air. Finally, it was possible to identify the environmental reality during and after Colombia’s admission process to the OECD; this reality continues to be at a disadvantage despite all the conditions set by the international organization. It is expected that with this OECD membership, Colombia --as a nation-- will be more committed and that better guidance will be received from the member countries, in order to collectively advance towards the sustainable development of the country.