Iconic buildings and ordinary homes across Colombia went dark on Saturday night as the country joined 7000 cities in 160 countries to celebrate Earth Hour and raise funds for conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF). At 8.30pm local time on Saturday night, the Colpatria tower in Bogota went dark, as did other building in the center of Bogota and in the cities of Medellin, Cali , Bucaramanga and Barranquilla.
The symbolic one hour of darkness was to raise awareness of environmental issues, particularly climate change. Funds raised by the WWF during the hour will go towards monitoring the health of Colombia’s ecosystems, building a wildlife-livestock barrier and helping indigenous people to develop non-logging activities.
Medellin leads country
This year, Medellin was announced as the lead city for Colombia’s campaign and was also named one of the top “green cities” in the world.
The City Challenge also invited people around the globe to vote for their favorite green city in the people’s choice “We Love Cities” online campaign. Tied for first place were Medellin, Colombia Cape Town in South Africa and Khunhan in Thailand.
According to the WWF, Medellin was awarded for its commitment to sustainable development and mitigating and adapting to climate change.
“Medellin’s integrated public transportation system uses electrical energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, initiatives such as the Central Park of Antioquia, Medellin River Project or the metropolitan green belt are a sign of commitment from the city to the welfare of its citizens and the environment,” said the WWF in a statement.