Raising the impact of circular economy and nature-based strategies to achieve climate resilience and equitable provision of public utilities in Colombia

About SSPD

Superintendence of Public Utilities (SSPD) is a technical agency created by the Constitution of 1991, which was delegated by the President of Colombia in Law 142 of 1994, exerts inspection, supervision and control of entities and companies providing public utilities.

SSPD promotes and is responsible for protecting the rights and duties of users and providers of public utilities: 1) Drinking water supply, 2) Sewage system and wastewater treatment, 3) Municipal solid waste management, 4) Energy supply and 5) Fuel gas supply, and the provision of these essential services in a sustainable and quality way, in order to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of Colombians, to competitiveness of the sector and the environmental, economic and social development of the country.

Local context

After the signing of the final peace agreement in 2016 ending 50 years of conflict in Colombia, the national government is committed at achieving stability, protecting the population and promoting sustainable development. SSPD is one of the most important national agencies that could help achieve Colombia’s peace targets. There is a need for the state to improve the provision and equitable access of public utilities aiming for a 100% coverage reaching rural areas, places of difficult access and areas that previously could not be reached because of violence and lack of peace.

The new administration which took office in 2022 has ambitious targets towards just energy transition significantly lowering the CO2 emissions in the country and has recently launched a comprehensive national climate mitigation and adaptation strategy. As a result of these national targets, SSPD is further mandated:

• To protect the water resource used both to provide water and to generate sustainable and renewable energy. 
• To sustainably and efficiently manage municipal solid waste aiming to close waste cycles.
• To implement circular economy strategies and nature-based technologies in the provision of public utilities in such a way that resources and the environment can be protected.
• To innovate in the provision of public utilities so that 100% of users are covered, especially in rural and/or isolated areas or zones that are difficult to manage and access. 
• To implement inclusive and participatory approaches in identifying the needs of the users as well as in the planning and implementation of basic public utilities programmes and projects.
• To create synergies and collaborate with other national entities in charge of generating national policies such as The Ministry of Housing, City and Territory; The Ministry of Mines and Energy; The Environment and Sustainable Development Ministry and The National Planning Department with the aim  of providing equitable and just access to public services.

For the agency to work towards achieving these mandates effectively and efficiently, there is a need to enhance its own institutional capacities to ensure these mandates are carried out.

Building SSPD Capacities

The tailormade training will develop and strengthen the capacities of SSPD staff by equipping them with the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies in the field of just energy transition, circular economy and climate change adaptation to address social and economic inequities in the access of basic public services in Colombia.

The training could hugely contribute to building the skills and technical know-how of staff in utilizing and implementing circular economy, nature-based solutions/ ecosystem-based approaches, and gender mainstreaming.

The course uses the concept of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) as an overall approach towards addressing multiple societal challenges such as water resource management, climate change adaptation, peacebuilding, social reconstruction, and economic development in Colombian municipalities.

IHS will train further the national agency’s staff on the concepts of circular economy and how to practically apply these concepts in the provision of basic public utilities in Colombia. Circular economy is all about making better use of natural and finite resources like water, soil, forests, air, metals and minerals. Applying circular economy principles to public utilities can lead to significant improvements in their overall efficiency, resource management, and environmental impact.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the training, the participants are able to:

1. Understand, discuss and define the implications of the “Colombia just energy transition 2050 targets to the water, sanitation, and energy sector”.
2. Understand and explain the impacts of climate change to the water, sanitation, energy and natural resources
3. Understand and discuss how to integrate gender equity and inclusive, participatory approaches towards equitable provision of public utilities in Colombia
4. Discuss how the concepts of circular economy and nature-based approaches can be applied to basic public utilities provision in Colombia
5. Apply analytical, assessment and planning tools in public utilities provision.

Training Modules

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the TMT will be implemented in a blended learning environment wherein knowledge related objectives will be given fully online and skills-related objectives will be implemented through face-to-face sessions. It is divided into two components comprising five modules explained below:

Component 1 (Online)
Module 1:  Impacts and Implications of Climate Change and Energy Transition Goals
Module 2: Inclusive, participatory and Gender-responsive approaches to Public Utilities Provision
Module 3: Theories & Concepts on Nature-based Solutions and Circular Economy

Component 2 (Face to Face)
Module 4: Application of  Analytical, Assessment and Planning Tools and Methodologies
Module 5. Action Planning Workshop