The recommendations of the Ministry of the Environment of Bogotá not to affect nature with the rites of Holy Week

The Ministry of Environment calls for the non-use of wax palm and wine in the celebration of Palm Sunday. In addition, the consumption of iguana eggs and turtle meat is avoided, and that travelers do not extract wildlife from their ecosystems when returning to Bogotá.

“We remind citizens that there is the practice of celebrating Palm Sunday with arrangements made of wine palm or wax palm. This is prohibited, these palms are home to birds and other elements of our biodiversity and are also under threat of extinction. These palms can be replaced with ameros (from the cob) or other living plants that are not threatened and that are not a threat to our biodiversity,” said Environment Secretary Carolina Urrutia.

Raising awareness about the care of species of wild flora and fauna is the objective of the campaign “May your promise be with nature at Easter”.

Easter has become a sensitive time for biodiversity. Wild palms, occasionally wax and wine palms are illegally marketed for the weaving of bouquets used in the religious celebration of Palm Sunday. In addition, individuals such as the turtle turtle and iguanas are extracted from their natural environments for illegal consumption or possession.

For next week's religious celebrations, the Secretariat asks all citizens to report to Line 123 any activity that violates wildlife, whether its extraction, marketing or illegal transport.

In the case of palm protection, the environmental authority invites people to make the bouquets in alternative materials such as the shell of amero, the same of the ears and envelopes, or to use foliage or live plants planted in nurseries, such as robelina or areca palms. The fact is that wild palms, especially those made of wax and wine, play a fundamental role in ecosystems as a refuge and source of food for different species of fauna.

What alternatives do citizens have for Palm Sunday?

• Leaves or bouquets woven in robelina palm

• Woven bouquets in amero — capacho de la corca

With regard to the extraction of wildlife, the entity emphasizes that it has irreversible consequences: it generates loss of biodiversity, imbalance in ecosystems, impact on animal welfare and, sometimes, species extinction.

“It's absolutely forbidden, always remember: we have to leave our wildlife free and at home. Bringing into the city wildlife: parrots, any birds offered to them, bears, reptiles, any wild animals belong to their natural space, is prohibited. And we ask that you please don't buy them, don't get them and don't bring them to the city,” said Environment Secretary Carolina Urrutia.

It should be noted that during Easter, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals are more vulnerable due to the erroneous habits of people who use specimens as pets or their meat for consumption, especially turtles and iguanas, because they are considered white meat.

“Unfortunately, some traditional or ancient practices lead people to consume reptile meat — iguana, turtle or their eggs — this season. These habits are totally prohibited and also affect, not only the functioning of our ecosystems, but also the recovery of reptile populations that have been affected, and some of them are in conditions of extinction,” added Secretary Urrutia.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Environment and the Environmental and Ecological Police will operate at different points of entry into the city such as transport terminal, El Dorado airport, the vicinity of temples and different market places, to detect wildlife traffic.