Strengthening and Transforming Colombia’s Air Quality Monitoring System: Toward a Comprehensive Approach to Public Health Risk Management

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive analysis and a proposal for restructuring Colombia’s Air Quality Monitoring Systems (SVCA). It identifies that current coverage is insufficient and unevenly distributed, concentrated mainly in large cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali, and leaving a significant portion of the urban population unprotected. The assessment reveals that, although there are 23 reported ACMS, many do not meet the minimum technical design criteria, such as the number and appropriate type of stations according to regulatory guidelines. Current regulations, based on resolutions such as Resolution 650 of 2010 and Resolution 2254 of 2017, require the implementation of SVCA only in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, which excludes the vast majority of the country’s municipalities (only 9.3% are required to do so) and limits the ability to detect cross-border pollution problems or issues in smaller areas. To address these shortcomings, the research proposes an ambitious, nationwide expansion of the system. The central proposal is the creation of an “Initial” SVCA covering all urban centers in the country, categorizing municipalities by population ranges and proposing a specific minimum number of stations (fixed automatic and indicative stations with electrochemical sensors) for each category. This entails moving from the current 209 stations to a system with more than 5,000 stations, divided into three operational regions (North, Central, and South). A new type of “Environmental” station is included to measure mixed pollution sources, and the use of low-cost electrochemical sensors is recommended to expand spatial coverage. The total estimated investment for this implementation is approximately 720 billion pesos, a figure comparable to other major national infrastructure projects, justified by the goal of protecting public health and establishing an early warning system for air pollution.