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Locals in Casanare and Santander denounced that they are feeling displaced by the industry, and demand that companies like Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC), Hocol and Perenco answer their calls. The development of these and more stories in our periodic Eco summary.

Earlier this month, 2,000 doctors sent a letter to President Santos asking him to rule out fracking. The Colombian Association of Petroleum Engineers (Acipet) replied.

The government created the carbon tax with the aim of generating resources for the protection of the environment, but a conflict has arisen between the Ministry of Finance (MinHacienda) and the Ministry of Environment (MinAmbiente) over the use of this tax.

Despite political and social problems, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) remain firm in their decision to bet on Colombia’s potential.

Tourists found a dark spot in Coveñas, and although environmental authorities visited the area and confirmed that it was not an oil spill, local tourism and animals were affected by the issue. The development of these and more stories in our periodic Eco summary.

Representatives of Frontera Energy, Mansarovar Energy and Gran Tierra Energy (TSX: GTE) spoke about their efforts to protect biodiversity in their fields and preserve Colombia’s natural resources.

The ‘Alianza Colombia Libre de Fracking’ Environmental Movement sent a letter to President Juan Manuel Santos, asking him to reject fracking because according to several scientific studies, there is enough information to determine that this practice is harmful for Colombians health.

The development of unconventional projects is the main strategy to increase oil reserves in the short, medium and long term. However, this alternative is resisted or even rejected by many local communities. The business paper La Republica held a forum to talk about this situation.

Seems like the actions taken by Hocol and Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) to control environmental emergencies in Purificación (Tolima) and Tumaco (Nariño), have not been enough for their communities. The development of these and more stories in our periodic Eco summary.

Last week the United Nations mission of environmental experts published its preliminary report on the La Lizama well, giving the ‘scandal’ another mediatic bump. This may be the last such flurry for a while, but the industry will be paying the consequences for some time.