During 2018 the topic of air quality in the two most important cities of Colombia, Bogotá and Medellín, was intensively discussed among EfD researchers, policy makers, representatives from the civil society and other stakeholders.
In the first semester of 2018, EfD Colombia organized two events to discuss this topic. In the first event EfD Director made a presentation at the REES-EfD environmental economics seminar with the title: “Should we blame buses? Bus strikes and air quality”. The second event was a workshop with several stakeholders and it had the purpose of answering this question: What do we know and what don’t we know about air quality in Bogotá? One of the main conclusions was that it is important for society that research results reach citizens and policy makers, because research results would work as inputs for the formulation of public policies, and likewise well-informed citizens could ask for their right of a healthy environment.
In the second semester, EfD Colombia supported the organization of the launch of the air quality report for Colombia 2017 (here). In October EfD Director Jorge Bonilla traveled to Medellin to participate in a discussion panel with stakeholders and researchers from Universidad Eafit about the connection between land use and air quality in the second most important city of Colombia and its metropolitan area.
Our EfD center has increased its visibility inside Colombia. The Director’s research on air quality problems in Bogotá was mentioned in several newspaper articles (see the list at the bottom), he was also interviewed by a news channel (here) and he was invited to participate in a televised discussion panel on the possibility that Transmilenio (Bogota’s BRT) has a better environmental performance (here). As part of our communication strategy, we published a podcast and a journalistic article about the policy challenges to reduce air pollution and reduce congestion. Both publications play a key role in increasing the visibility of our EfD center (here).
Newspaper columns on air quality (in spanish):
1. Diésel, aniquilador del medio ambiente
2. Uso del diésel en Colombia perjudica la calidad del aire
3. Optimizar las políticas de transporte ayudaría a mejorar calidad del aire en Medellín
4. La calidad del aire: un derecho y una prioridad
5. ¿Por qué le debería interesar el debate de los buses de Transmilenio?
6. Bogotá y Medellín siguen siendo las ciudades con peor calidad del aire
7. Bogotá y Medellín, con las zonas de más alta contaminación del aire en el país
8. ¿Qué posibilidad hay de que Transmilenio tenga un mejor desempeño ambiental?
9. Jorge Bonilla: con el aire, el Valle de Aburrá halló la receta
10. El reto de fortalecer la gobernanza del aire
11. Medellín Cómo Vamos: Testimonio para la mesa de trabajo sobre calidad del aire. Nov. 7, 2018.