The protected area is part of the decontaminated sectors of Santa María, Huila, which are presented free of suspicion of antipersonnel mines.
The Non-Technical Studies teams of the Humanitarian Demining Engineering Battalion No.5, were working since July 2018 to liberate that municipality.
Some of the hamlets under tudy are: Bélgica, Buena Vista, El Cedral Alto, Divino Niño, El Censo, Las Juntas, La Cabaña, La Esperanza, La María, La Neira, Los Andes, Los Pinos, San José, San Miguel, Santa Helena, Santa Lucía, Bachesito, Buenos Aires, Canaan, Carmen Bolívar, El Cedral, El Bache, El Cisne, El Placer, El Sinaí, El Socorro, El Vergel, Jerusalén, La Esmeralda, La Pradera, La Primavera, Las Mercedes, Mesitas, Mirador, Miraflores, San Francisco, Santa Librada, Santa Teresa, Centro Poblado y San Joaquín, as well as the urban area of Santa María and the Nevado del Huila National Natural Park.
The suspicion of anti-personnel mines in 5,819 square meters was cancelled in the park, the work led to the liberation of 51,823 square meters of the municipality.
The importance of liberating part of the second largest glacier in the country lies in that now it will be possible to strengthen the protection of animals of fauna such as the Condor of the Andes, the Oso de Anteojos, the Puma and other wildlife, which, according to environmental authorities, are frequent in the area.
In the same way, the work of the mine clearance specialists strengthens the conservation activities carried out by park rangers, who through educational and scientific operations tend to preserve the Páramo vegetation and the regulation of the hydroclimatic cycle.
The declaration favors more than 1,346 inhabitants of Huila who will use their land to transit or increase their agricultural and livestock production.
Source: Press-National Army
