COLOMBIA

Suggestions from the Openness in Natural Resources Working Group

Background to Suggested National Action Plan (NAP) Commitments:

The Openness in Natural Resources Working Group has made a number of proposals for
Natural Resource commitments to the Colombian Government in the area of mining licensing,
public access to mining information, and mining concession details. We believe that the OGP
can serve as a platform to boast opportunities for effective expansion of good governance in
the areas of transparency and public participation consistent with the goals of OGP. In addition
we believe that these commitments have the potential to have transformative outcomes as well
as build on ongoing national and international priorities including the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals.
Commitment I: Divulge specific data about each mining project on a publicly
accessible and thoroughly promoted interactive portal with geo-tagged maps of
each project
Generating and sharing data on mining projects provides a useful tool for stakeholders. The
creation of an information portal can benefit anyone from foreign direct investors, to local
peoples, to mining agency assessors. This data portal should be interoperable; meaning it can
be integrated with future concession transparency initiatives in Colombia and other emerging
data maps from OGP participating countries. This portal can be used as a tool for Colombia to
achieve (and maintain) national EITI objectives and leverage new EITI requirements. Its goal
would be to ensure sustainable development and enable equal access to information and
publicity as should be guaranteed in the Cdigo de Minas vigente, Ley 681 de 2011.
OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covered by commitment #1

Goal 6: Water and Sanitation for all
6.1
6.3

By 2030 achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water
By 2030 improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing the release of
hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater

12.2
12.4
12.6

By 2030 achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
By 2020 achieve the sound management of all chemicals and wastes throughout their lifecycle
By 2030 ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable
development

Goal 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production

Goal 15: Forests, Land Degradation, and Biodiversity

15.9

By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning and
development processes

Suggested details:
Establish a public data portal and online indexing and mapping system which is both
geographically navigable and searchable using data categories and key words
Machine-readable data to include, but not be limited to:
o Company(s) operating on the concession and their: official company identifier
number, national affiliation, parent companies and subsidiaries, other projects in
Colombia, and beneficial ownership information
o Project Characteristics: type of mine or mining facility, mineral being extracted,
current (and past) stage of the mining process, area of the concession, quantity
extracted to date, total quantity allowed to be extracted, production volumes and
values, payments by year/commodity/revenue type
o Financing: Origin of the projects capital, social or environmental stipulations of the
financing
o Licenses, contracts and other supporting documents: requests for licenses, licenses
granted, duration of license, and the full text of contracts, including any annexes,
addendums and amendments
o Environmental Data: inventory of chemicals and hazardous substances used, map of
potential contamination points, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), processes
used to extract the minerals, assessments of surrounding water and air quality (with
at least one baseline assessment before the projects onset), environmental and
social management plans, reports based on the management plans
o Local Content Data (as required): local content plans and reports
o Spending Data: data on the use of extractives revenues, including subnational
allocations and data visualizations showing extractives revenues compared to public
spending and key sectors (health, education, infrastructure)

OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group

Suggested performance indicators:

Creation of the data portal
Number of visitors to the data portal
Ability of the portal to uptake new information, especially Open Data sets from citizens and
other OGP governments
Average number of criteria disclosed per project
Reuse of visualizations through image downloads, widgets or similar tools
Relevant Goverment Agencies:
Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible
www.minambiente.gov.co
Ministerio de Minas y Energa
www.minminas.gov.co
Agencia Nacional de Minera
www.anm.gov.co
Consultation with other OGP government commitments:
For additional counsel and knowledge exchange, other OGP governments which are
implementing (or have implemented) a similar commitment can be contacted
Mexico
Commitment #23 (2nd NAP)
Mining for all
Based on a diagnosis, guarantee the access to information in a manner which is: timely, appropriate,
attached to concept of open data, and within the regulatory framework valid from November 2013 to
October 2015.
Secretara de Energa
Armenia
Commitment #1 (2nd NAP)
Digitization and publication of Republican Geological Fund SNCO
The program is expected to digitize over 12,000 geological reports on approximately 750 mines and 600
mineral occurrences and 8,000 mapping and drawing packages, to create a website where all the
materials will be posted (in PDF, JPG, EXEL and other formats), using the information search principle.
Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources

OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group

Sierra Leone
Commitment # 7 (1st NAP)
Establish an open data portal to improve transparency in fiscal and extractive transactions
a) Open data readiness assessment completed in collaboration with development partners.
b) Experts on the design of an open data portal with development partners and Non-Governmental
Organizations engaged.
c) Source funding to establish a data portal for pilot Government documents such as budget, 70% of
mining and agricultural contracts and 20% of Laws of Sierra Leone that have been gazetted.
Trinidad and Tobago
Commitment # 4.2 (1st NAP)
To make publicly available the cadastre of licenses and contracts for the exploration and
production of oil and gas in Trinidad and Tobago
Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs
Mongolia
Commitment # 3.3.1.4 (1st NAP)
Develop central information database of minerals and oil license owners, open to the
public
Disclose general information on Special Licenses of minerals, oil and Land tenure ownerships
Ministry of Mining & Mineral resource authority

Commitment II: Mining Licensing Procedure Reform

The Colombian government can make improvements in the mining licensing process by
scheduling adequate time for sub national governments and multi-stakeholder groups to engage
with the process. Granting adequate time for collaboration will help to avoid long term
negative impacts on: social unrest, the environment, company profits, and government
windfalls.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covered by commitment #2

Goal 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production
12.8

By 2030 ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable
development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

Goal 15: Forests, Land Degradation, and Biodiversity

15.9

By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning and
development processes

Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development
16.7

Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group

Suggested details:
Improve local and regional governments participation in the process of granting
environmental licenses for mining concessions
Set reasonable timelines and mechanisms which allow for broader public participation in
environmental impact assessments (EIA)
Require a license for companies conducting exploration of minerals1
Suggested performance indicators:
Size of multi-stakeholder group consulted prior to the granting of a license
Removal of fast-track licensing procedures which dont give adequate time for meaningful
stakeholder engagement
Number of exploration licenses requested and granted
National Laws:
Environmental Licensing Law Decree 2041 of 2014
Relevant Goverment Agencies:
Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible
www.minambiente.gov.co
Ministerio de Minas y Energa
www.minminas.gov.co
Colombian Geological Service
http://www2.sgc.gov.co/
Agencia Nacional de Minera
www.anm.gov.co
Additional References:
Red por la justicia ambiental en Colombia Decreto 2041 of 2014

This recommendation has been made to the Colombian Government by the OECD (2014) which specifically suggested it
"demand environmental licenses for mining exploration" in its evaluation of environmental performance of Colombia.
Summarized here on page 14

OGP Openness in Natural Resources Working Group