Decree 0545 of 2026, Issued May 29, 2026

“Whereby guidelines for the environmental planning of the Bogotá Savanna are established”

The National Government issued Decree 0545 of 2026 for the purpose of establishing guidelines for the environmental planning of the Bogotá Savanna, pursuant to the mandate set forth in Article 61 of Law 99 of 1993, which recognizes this region as an area of national ecological interest.

These guidelines constitute binding environmental planning criteria and rules of superior legal hierarchy that must be incorporated by territorial entities and considered by environmental authorities in the exercise of their respective powers.

The Decree applies to Bogotá D.C., the municipalities that comprise the Bogotá Savanna, and the authorities and entities responsible for territorial planning and land-use management.

The Bogotá Savanna encompasses 31 municipalities. The Decree applies in its entirety to: Cajicá, Chía, Cota, Funza, Gachancipá, Madrid, Mosquera, Nemocón, Sopó, Tabio, Tenjo, and Tocancipá.

It also applies partially to: Bogotá, Bojacá, Chipaque, Chocontá, Cogua, El Rosal, Cucunubá, Facatativá, Guasca, Guatavita, La Calera, Sesquilé, Sibaté, Soacha, Subachoque, Suesca, Tausa, Villapinzón, and Zipaquirá.

The Decree organizes its guidelines into five strategic components:

• Biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation: promotes ecological connectivity, ecosystem restoration, and the protection of strategic areas.
• Integrated water resources management: strengthens the protection of aquifers, recharge areas, and surface and groundwater sources, prioritizing regional water security.
•  Soil protection and conservation: establishes environmental criteria for urban expansion processes, preventing the degradation of land with high ecological and agricultural value.
• Sustainable infrastructure and green cities: requires new infrastructure projects to incorporate environmental criteria from the earliest stages of project planning, promoting sustainable mobility systems and nature-based solutions.
• Governance, information, and ancestral knowledge: incorporates mechanisms for interinstitutional coordination, open access to environmental information, and recognition of the traditional knowledge of Indigenous communities, particularly the Muisca people.

Key issues

• The Decree requires the updating of environmental mapping and watercourse buffer zones within specified timeframes.
• It promotes the ecological restoration of degraded areas and the protection of strategic ecosystems such as wetlands, Andean forests, and páramos.
• The Decree establishes a transition regime and clarifies that it does not alter vested legal rights or previously adopted planning instruments.

The environmental planning criteria must be incorporated into POTs and other planning instruments within twelve (12) months of the Decree’s effective date, beginning on May 29, 2026. During this period, priority will be given to environmental mapping, zoning, and the corresponding regulatory adjustments.

The Decree does not automatically modify projects that are covered by final administrative acts or environmental permits issued prior to its effective date, provided that such projects are carried out in accordance with the conditions established therein. However, these projects must assess related environmental risks and, where required by the competent authorities, adopt additional mitigation or compensation measures.

The municipalities identified in the Decree may face significant constraints on their autonomy to determine land use and guide their own development under the framework established by the Decree.

Property owners may face restrictions on land use and on the development of new urban projects within protected areas. Although ownership rights remain intact, owners may not freely develop, subdivide, construct on, exploit, or alter the use of their land when it is subject to environmental planning criteria. This is because the guidelines established by the Decree constitute binding criteria and rules for territorial and environmental planning and are considered rules of superior legal hierarchy within their respective spheres of competence.

The importance of protecting the Bogotá Savanna, its ecosystems, and its communities is beyond dispute. The legal issue, however, is whether the Decree maintains the constitutional balance between environmental protection of national significance and municipal autonomy.

The Constitution requires these two principles to coexist harmoniously. Therefore, the debate is not about the State’s authority to intervene, but rather whether certain provisions of the Decree exceed that authority and, in practice, displace decisions that the Constitution reserves to municipalities. This issue will likely be adjudicated by the courts, whose interpretation will ultimately define the boundaries between environmental powers and municipal autonomy.