Colombia

For more than 50 years Colombia has been the scene of an almost uninterrupted series of severe armed conflicts between the government, guerrillas and paramilitary groups. The structural causes of violence and armed conflict are social and economic inequalities and unequal access to land and natural resources, corruption, the state's lack of a monopoly on the use of force in individual regions, the weak judicial system, and the resulting impunity that prevails in some cases. In addition, there are conflicts over the drug business and illegal mining.

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and together with the Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) KfW supports the peace process, which made significant progress in 2016 with the signing of the peace treaty between the Colombian Government under President Santos and the country's largest guerrilla group to date, the FARC-EP.

The current challenges under the peace treaty include the restitution of land to victims of the conflict, the legal investigation of the crimes and the integration of former guerrilla members into society. With a total volume of around EUR 430 million KfW has been supporting the government since 2014 in implementing necessary policies through reform financing and the necessary investments in post-conflict areas.

Under the sector reform programme "Peace Agenda" reform steps for implementing the peace agenda were agreed in two phases in cooperation with the Colombian planning authority and successfully implemented during the first phase. The second phase of the FC programme "Sector Reform Programme Peace Agenda" is intended to continue supporting the Colombian government in its efforts to implement the peace agreement concluded with the FARC. Phase II is of particular importance in view of the government's critical attitude towards the peace agreement.

Since the FC programme contributes to reducing the structural causes of conflicts and thus to improving the living conditions of the population, it is highly relevant to the peace priority area (SGD 16). Furthermore, the project fits into the Development Cooperation programme in the sector and offers considerable cooperation potential between FC and TC in the medium term.

Colombia is the country with the second highest biodiversity worldwide after Brazil. 10% of the world's known species can be found among the species the country is home to. But biodiversity is under threat. Severe soil erosion, water loss and natural phenomena such as hurricanes and the El Niño effect are affecting biodiversity, and all this is exacerbated by climate change. Following the signing of the peace treaty, deforestation, which had previously declined, has also increased again. One reason for this is the power vacuum left behind after the demobilisation of the FARC-EP, which is now being used by criminal groups for drug cultivation and trade, among other things.

KfW supports the government of Colombia in forest and species conservation, thereby laying the necessary foundations for sustainable development, income generation, more justice in society and thus also for long-term peace in the country. It also helps Colombia to achieve the international climate targets the country has committed itself to.

With a total volume of almost EUR 500 million, KfW Development Bank has been promoting the fight against deforestation since 2014, for example by supporting coffee farmers in afforestation and agroforestry. The funds are also being used to expand national protected areas and improve their management. Investment programmes in municipal sewage treatment plants and credit lines for measures to conserve water resources also make an important contribution to environmental protection. This support has helped to fulfill important prerequisites for Colombia's accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2018.

The majority of Colombians live in cities. In 2018, only just over 20 % of the total population lived in rural areas. This poses enormous challenges for Colombia's major cities. Metropolies such as Bogotá and Medellín are struggling with alarming levels of particulate matter pollution. The reasons for this include the poorly developed public transport network and outdated vehicles.

Yet the country is facing an enormous potential for the expansion of renewable energies, which has hardly been exploited to date. Only 4 % of the installed capacity comes from renewable energy sources (excluding large hydropower).

Investments in sustainable urban development, energy saving programmes and renewable energies not only help Colombia to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, but also to create a fairer society in which access to public transport and clean electricity supply is not a privilege and where no one has to breathe unhealthy air.

Since 2014, KfW Development Bank has invested a total of around EUR 400 million, also in cooperation with national promotional banks, in the promotion of sustainable transport systems, renewable energies and energy saving programmes on the one hand while supporting the implementation of necessary policies through reform financing on the other.