Claudia López declares district schools as territories of water and life

As part of International Water Day, Mayor Claudia López participated in the discussion 'Building environmental citizenship together'. At the event, it declared 365 schools in Bogotá as territories of water and life and guaranteed a millionaire investment to promote environmental education in these spaces.

“Today is a very important day for the planet: we honor the fundamental element of life, which is water. We wanted to honor this day by declaring to the 365 schools in Bogotá environmental classrooms and environmental schools,” said the local president.

The announcement is made with the aim that these District institutions have the resources to transform themselves physically and pedagogically. The mayor assured that 4,317 million pesos will be invested to promote, “what schools in Bogotá have already been doing in environmental matters,” she added.

Claudia López also called on young people in the country to take care of the environment. “Adults come with very bad habits of environmental sustainability,” the mayor explained in the discussion. But you, young people, are much more aware, more educated, that is why we want all schools in Bogotá, teachers, principals and counselors, to be able to do much more for physical and pedagogical transformation in environmental matters.”

The president stressed, on the other hand, that 35 new educational institutions with bioclimatic standards are being built in the capital. “We are buying solar panels so that schools can achieve their energy self-sufficiency,” said López

This was the video shared on his social networks in which he made the announcement:

For her part, the Secretary of Education, Edna Bonilla, stated that “naming official schools as environmentally friendly is a source of pride”. The official stressed that the recognition goes hand in hand with the efforts that the District has made to “awaken the commitment and environmental reflection of our students” and thus be a sustainable society.

Along the same lines, the Secretary of Environment, Carolina Urrutia, celebrated the mayor's initiative. “With this idea we can (...) carry out this transformation that we need from citizens in environmental matters,” commented the official, who hopes for greater solutions to deal with the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity.

Water Day Activities

To commemorate this day, the Ministry of Environment, in the company of other district entities, will hold different conferences on environmental education and participation so that citizens can connect and learn about the importance of this resource.

Among the events are water singing and cleaning day in the Páramo Piedras de Moyas; a tour of recognition and observation of fauna and flora in the Fucha river channel; a tour of environmental interpretation and cleaning of the Arzobispo river. On March 23, in the Bogotá River and sub-basins of the city, there will be an activity with giant jegan in the Montaña Mirador de los Nevados Ecological District Park.

It is noteworthy that this celebration is an initiative of the United Nations (UN), which was created since 1993 to seek tools that allow adequate water management and guarantee access to this resource globally.

In the case of Bogotá, it is privileged for its water wealth, it has the Sumapaz and Chingaza moors, the latter providing drinking water to about 70% of the capital. In addition, it has four rivers that run through the city: Tunjuelo, Fucha, Juan Amarillo and Torca. Similarly, there are 17 declared wetlands and hundreds of streams and bodies of water that are born in the Eastern Hills.

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