El papel del periodismo público frente a la problemática del parque ecológico distrital de humedal el Salitre, ubicado en la localidad de Barrios Unidos

Abstract

In 2008, the inhabitants of the Barrio Modelo Norte and José Joaquín Vargas, located in the town of Barrios Unidos -and with the accompaniment of the Association of Friends of Salitre, AmiSalitre-, who fought for the conservation of the -now- Ecological Park Distrital de Humedal, were affected by interests at the hands of the company OCESA, which planned to create a multipurpose tent for events in the city on the forest area. The consequences would be the destruction of habitat for more than 100 species and the felling of more than 800 trees; so the community decided to come together to defend their rights as citizens. In mid-August 2011 it was decided to work on the problem and in this way, the respective theoretical documentation was made on the meaning of wetlands as an essential part of an ecosystem. The term wetland encompasses a wide variety of environments, which share a property that differentiates them from terrestrial ecosystems: the presence of water as a characteristic element plays a fundamental role in determining its structure and ecological functions. After several draft agreements presented by the Bogotá Council, citizen voices were heard. In the period from September 24, 2010 to December 31, 2011, the agreement No. 487 on December 27, 2011, the Bogotá Council declared the floodplain area _'El Salitre '' located inside El Salitre Park, as a District Ecological Park of Wetland. With this, the _'Humedal El Salitre '' is achieved for the city and for the town of Barrios Unidos.