This document summarizes the efforts of residents' organizations in Bogota, Colombia to defend the city's wetlands through collective action and participation in policymaking. It describes how residents organized networks to preserve wetlands that were being degraded by urban expansion. The methodology included social network analysis of residents' organizations and their relationships with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. The document outlines the objectives of studying these networks and their role in developing Bogota's wetland protection policy through a collaborative process.

1. DOLLY CRISTINA PALACIO , Researcher – Social processes, territories and environment group, Centro de Investigaciones sobre Dinámica Social, Universidad Externado de Colombia, [email_address] RAFAEL HURTADO , Professor – Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, [email_address] SOCIAL-NETWORKS TO DEFEND BOGOTÁ’S WETLANDS: A PARTICIPATORY POLICY BUILDING EFFORT OF URBAN PROTECTED AREAS

2. Protected Areas (PA), historically speaking, have been identified with and defined as part of the rural and wilderness public policies People’s participation on conservation of urban protected areas and public policy making is relatively new in many political contexts and, particularly, in Latin America.

3. First, we want to underline the key role played by the relationships between residents and wetlands. Specifically, showing residents’ actions to defend and preserve these natural areas, which resulted in their organization and alliance with governmental and non governmental actors to achieve their goal. Secondly, we want to illustrate this process by applying conceptual and analytical tools from Social Network Analysis –SNA - that facilitates the study of collective action. OBJETIVES

4. The information used for this study was gathered through a research of the network of community organizations called ‘ Red de Humedales de la Sabana de Bogotá’ (RHSB) , carried out between 2001 and 2003; the participation on consensus seeking processes in policy making from 2004 to 2005; and the involvement in the writing committee of the policy’s final document in 2005-2006. The methodology combined qualitative and quantitative research methods such as direct and participative observation, structured interviews with actors, SNA for exploring and identifying social structure and dynamics (Wasserman and Faust, 1994; Borgatti, Everett and Freeman, 2002), and discourse analysis.

6. Traces of interventions over Bogotá’s wetlands

7. Urban expansion and Wetlands’ problems at present

8. Wetlands and residents’ organizations Cabildo Verde de Soacha W. Neuta Corgualí W. Gualí - Tresesquinas AMVIDA (en formalización) W. Capellanía Fundación La Tingua W. Santa María del Lago ASINUS W. El Burro (Tintal) Fundación Humedales El Tintal W. El Tintal Fundación Torca - Guymaral W. Torca - Guaymaral ADESA W. Jaboque La Tibanika Fundación Ambiental W. Tibanica AUNAR W. Tibanica Corpomilenio W. Juan Amarillo Centro Mixto de Conserv. Ambiental W. Juan Amarillo JAC Niza W. Córdoba Fundación Humedal La Conejera W. La Conejera Residents’ Organizations Wetlands

9. Residents organizations network for defending wetlands in Bogotá

10. Institutional affiliations of the network for defending wetlands in Bogotá

11. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, Alcaldía Mayor, EAAB, CAR, Tribunal de Cundinamarca, Alcaldías Locales, Policía, Bomberos, Juzgados, Organismos de Control del Estado, Instituto Distrital de Cultura y Turismo, Instituto Distrital de Recreación y Deporte, Instituto de Desarrollo Urbano, RHSB, Colegios Vecinos, Departamento Administrativo del Medio Ambiente, Comunidad Perimetral, Juntas de Acción Comunal, Aseo Total, LIME, Grupos Ecológicos Locales, Urbanizadores Locales, ABO, Planeta Paz, Red Paz, Fundepublicos, Ecofondo, Comité Técnico de Humedales de Bogotá, Predios Aledaños, Universidades, Contratistas del Estado, Paz Verde, City TV, Jardín Botánico de Bogotá, Comité Pro-árbol, Juntas Administradoras Locales, Corpotibabuyes, Fundación amigos del planeta, Biblioteca el Tintal, Maloka, Embajada de Alemania, FIDAT, Empacor RHSB’s Institutional and social milieu

12. Network of the institutional and social milieu of the network for defending wetlands in Bogotá

16. Restoration models of resident’s organizations and environmental local authorities’

17. Wetland’s restoration model of the Mayor in 2001

18. The process took two years and the document states the agreement of constructing “a dynamically oriented document, self regulated by collaborative monitoring by all actors involved, under the purpose of making Bogotá’s wetlands a network of protected areas, recognized as natural and cultural heritage of the city and committed to the human development of its citizens” (DAMA, 2006:22). Bogota’s Wetland Policy Ceremony