Monteria is the capital city of the Córdoba province in northwestern Colombia. The municipality lies along the Sinu River, 50 km from the Caribbean Sea, at an altitude of 20 m above sea level. Its population is close to 500,000, with 75% of the residents living in the urban center and 25% in rural areas. Historically, the city has been affected by conflicts, a high concentration of poverty, and a lack of planning, leading to the establishment of several informal settlements along the river as well as in hilly areas exposed to a high risk of flooding and landslides. Because of these factors, as well the city’s high degree of economic dependence on agricultural and livestock industry, climate change is a clear threat to the municipality.

The city was one of the three Colombian cities that signed the Mexico City Pact during the World Mayors Summit on Climate in November 2010. The summit brought together over 100 mayors from cities all around the world to make voluntary commitments to combat climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and adapt the territory of their cities to the effects of climate change. Following this commitment, the city of Monteria partnered with the water and sanitation company Proactiva to measure its greenhouse gas emissions and develop a strategic plan for the city.

The resulting climate change master plan “Monteria Green City 2019” set an ambitious goal of reducing the city’s emissions by 20% between 2009 and 2019 and identified 15 challenges and 26 actions which have guided the development of the city in the last decade.

In a first phase, the city needed to measure its carbon footprint and identify the primary sources of its emissions in order to meet the target of “voluntarily reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” The company Proactiva, using its previous experience in measuring its own carbon footprint, developed a protocol to measure the city’s emissions based on a mix of methodologies (GHG protocol, UK Carbon Trust, IPCC) adapted to the local/city scale. The company then worked with its headquarters in Spain and universities and experts in Colombia to measure the level of emissions in the city and determine the main sources of GHG in its territory: the livestock industry and land-use changes in rural areas and cars in urban areas.   

Following these baseline measurements, the city and the company organized a series of consultations with relevant social and private stakeholders in the city, in which potential measures and initiatives were discussed. This process culminated in the elaboration of the climate change master plan, which identifies 15 challenges and 26 concrete actions that the city can take towards mitigation, adaptation, raising awareness, and compensation. The actions described in it cover a range of thematic areas such as construction of parks, widening of the river’s flood basin, and management of water resources, agricultural production, waste management, urban development, and public transportation.

The actual implementation of this master plan was carried out by the city administration, which included key aspects of this master plan in the legally binding development plan of the city as well as other sectoral plans and projects. This led to improvements in the following areas:

• Efficiency of the city’s transport system and public space network
• Reforestation projects to recover areas of erosion along the river
• Better management of the city’s stormwater canals and drainage system
• Implementation of a sustainable building code and better management and planning of the city’s land use

Risk management is now an overarching theme in the city’s development plan as well as in other sectoral plans that were recently developed. More specifically, the city established a risk management and local emergency plan, developed an environmental information system to support decision making, and put together a network of environmental advocates to engage and reach out to the various communities within the city. Other projects implemented in the areas of biodiversity and ecosystemic services also support the city’s risk management measures through restoration of river basins and maintenance of ecologically important areas. These actions are managed by the planning department, as the city does not have enough resources to establish a separate environmental department.

Elaboration of Monteria’s climate change master plan was possible through a public-private partnership between the city and the company Proactiva Medio Ambiente. Proactiva Medio Ambiente is part of the Proactiva group, which provides water and sanitation services in the city of Monteria, and it was itself a sponsor of the World Mayors Summit on Climate, at which the city signed on to the Mexico City Pact.

The company provided its technical expertise in the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions, while the city gathered the necessary information to prepare the baseline studies and coordinated the consultation process with relevant stakeholders. By supporting the city in building its strategy to meet a pioneering international commitment, the company was able to develop its expertise in the field of GHG measurement as well as gain recognition for its corporate social responsibility.

The actual implementation of key actions and projects identified in the master plan was made possible in large part thanks to financing from the “Ciudades Competitivas y Sostenibles” program of the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) and the Financial Corporation for Territorial Development (Findeter). National resources, both financial and technical, have also been key to the implementation of projects in the city since the city lacked financial resources to implement them by itself.

The 2011 Master Plan, followed by the various projects implemented by the successive administrations in agreement with it, have allowed the city to achieve visible results linked to a long-term vision for the city. Climate change has become part of the discussions to update the city’s territorial development plan, the main long-term urban planning tool of the city, which has ensured the continuity of these actions. Along with the institutionalization of climate change action in the various planning tools of the city, the continuity of the city’s technical staff, together with oversight by external citizen and academic organizations, have been key to ensuring the implementation of this ambitious master plan.

Some of the key projects that have been implemented to date include:

• The construction of over 40 km of bicycle lanes (one of the largest networks among mid-sized cities in the country) and the implementation of the BiSinú public bicycle system, contributing to an increase in the city’s cycling mode share to 9% (a very high percentage for a hot tropical city).
• Remediation of 6 km of riverfront, including restoration of 130,000 m² of public space and relocation of a key market area.
• Implementation of the Strategic Public Transportation System, which includes the construction of public spaces along key transit routes, and formalization and restructuring of the city’s fluvial transportation system along the Sinu River.
• Installation of solar panels on schools and other public facilities.
• Recovery and maintenance of the canals and drainage system.

One the greatest barriers to the implementation of the long-term vision presented by the climate change master plan was the difficult social and financial conditions of the city going into the decade starting in 2010. Since 2004, the city had been under bankruptcy law 550. As a condition of the restructuring of its liabilities, the city was prevented from initiating new expenditures or hiring in the public sector. This was a huge challenge, as the city was not able to allocate resources for key planning tools such as hydrological risk studies. However, the city was able to forge alliances with the private sector and institutions on the national level to develop some basic studies that provided guidelines for its risk management strategy. It was also able to find international and national resources to fund some of its key projects while raising its tax revenue collection capacity and improving its fiscal management mechanisms. In 2019, after tripling its revenue streams for discretionary spending between 2007 and 2018 and paying off debt of over 100 billion Colombian pesos, the city was able to exit the bankruptcy law control.

Another key challenge for the implementation of the climate change master plan and the reduction of GHG emissions is the prominent role of the livestock industry in the city’s economy. The industry was included in consultations for the master plan, and close work with some key stakeholders in the sector led to the implementation of silvopasture systems, which help sequester carbon, as well as other environmental initiatives.

Now that the 2019 timeline set for the plan has been reached, the city will need to evaluate the progress achieved so far and update its strategic vision while continuing its commitment to responsible use of public resources and evidence-based decision-making. The issue of climate change has been introduced into its legally binding planning documents, but political leadership will still be necessary to make sure adaptation, mitigation, and risk management continue to be overarching priorities for the local administration as well as the community.

The climate change master plan “Monteria Ciudad Verde 2019” has been successful due to a combination of factors. Political leadership and resourcefulness were key not only to making an issue like climate change a priority within an economically struggling city but also to forging a public-private partnership that allowed the city to create a long-term strategy with concrete plans and actions. The willingness of the subsequent administration to take this vision and include it in the city’s formal planning mechanisms was also central to guaranteeing its implementation and the sustainability of the strategy. In both stages, the role and continuity of technical staff was particularly important, allowing for the city’s plans and projects to be based on technical evidence and built upon the work previously done.

A key lesson identified by actors involved in the master plan’s implementation is the need for a long-term comprehensive vision to be accompanied by short-term policies and projects that provide tangible benefits to citizens. In Monteria, the upgrading of the public transportation system and the riverfront promenade helped gain understanding and support for this strategy. It is also important to base these strategies on technical studies, engage the community and key stakeholders in transparent processes, and integrate these plans in legally binding documents, such as the POT (Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial) in the case of Colombia.

The public-private partnership with a service provider used for this case is a strategy that can be replicated in other cities, whether with a private company or a public municipal enterprise. Provision of public services and infrastructure are often directly affected by extreme weather events and involve long-term investments which could be affected by the impacts of climate change. Therefore, a partnership between the local government and the service provider is an efficient way of pooling resources and working together to strengthen the climate resilience of the entire city.

- UCLG Peer Learning Note #26: Climate Resilience and Urban Development