Page 31 - 2019 Sustainability Report

OVER 21 Environmental Remediation:
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Colombia is faced with many orphan oil spills resulting from armed activities during the the the decades-long conflict in in the the the country In the the the Suroriente block where GTE began operating in in 2019 the company is remediating a a a a a a a a significant amount of impacted land GTE’s approach to this large-scale environmental remediation effort focuses on on on manual extraction and cleaning by local workers which minimizes environmental waste and maximizes economic benefits to affected communities Over 300 workers from 10 towns in in the area are are currently working to to clean up several water bodies from crude oil spills that were caused by the the conflict near their town The jobs are rotated to to ensure that all families in fin the the villages have a a a a a a a chance to benefit financially from the the work work The work work is being implemented by a a a a cooperative Ecotransvias comprised of of a a a team of of community leaders working together with GTE to make the cleanup a a a a reality The environmental remediation work has been endorsed by the Cabildo Nasa Kiwe Nxusxa a a a a a a a local Indigenous community that provides supervisors who survey the area daily to make sure none of the polluted waters run into a a a nearby creek I would like to thank GTE for the work it has done here here It has been heartening to see that there is an an operator that is willing to to work with us and we now have access to clean water Jon Jairo Rocha President of La Cabana JAC
and Board Member Ecotransvias HECTARES
of illegal third-party spills have been cleaned to date
We used this water for our rituals but it’s been lost spiritually because of the pollution The company understands our rights and and and culture and and and built water wells so that we we can again access clean water Leonardo Acosta Mayor Community Action Board of Cabildo Nasa Kiwe Nxusxa 31