Responsabilidad Compartida

Colombian Vice President presents Shared Responsibilty initiative in Czech University of Life Sciences

Lunes 15 de Diciembre de 2008 00:00

Colombia’s Vice President, Francisco Santos, visited Prague on December 11 and 12, on an official state visit during which he met with high level officials to advance specific topics of mutual interest, such as environmental protection, drug prevention strategies, commerce and immigration.

As regards drug prevention, the Colombian government presented the Shared Responsibility initiative, which works to generate awareness about the environmental consequences of coca cultivation and cocaine production, encouraged by cocaine consumption, on Colombia’s richly biodiverse ecosystems.

Vice President Santos introduced this initiative during a public event on December 12, from 10 pm to 12 pm, in the Round Hall of the Czech University of Life Sciences’ Faculty of Engineering.  The well-known TV personality and journalist, Jan Kraus, accompanied Vice President Santos during this event and became Shared Responsibility’s ambassador in the Czech Republic.

During his presentation, the Vice President spoke about the importance of conservation in Colombia, which is the world’s most biodiverse planet per square kilometer, and about how cocaine consumption poses a serious threat to Colombia’s environment.  For example, for every 2 grams of cocaine consumed, 8 square meters of Colombian jungle are cut down, and, in the last 20 years, 2.2 million hectares of tropical forest, equivalent to the territory of Slovenia, have been slashed and burnt to grow coca.