Sergio Fajardo, the former mayor of Medellin and presidential candidate, has begun to reveal the first names of his cabinet. On March 16, he announced that biologist Brigitte Baptiste would serve as his future Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, should he win the Colombian presidential election.
“The decision to have @brigittelgb serve as my environment minister fills me with hope. Her knowledge, sensitivity, and commitment to life are essential for this position,” Fajardo stated.
From academia to research
Baptiste has spent decades at the intersection of biodiversity science, territorial policy, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. She studied biology at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and earned a master’s degree in Tropical Conservation and Development at the University of Florida, where a Fulbright scholarship funded her studies.
She worked for nearly 25 years at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Biological Resources, a Colombian organization dedicated to scientific research on continental biodiversity, hydrobiological, and genetic resources. There, she coordinated the Biodiversity Use and Valuation Program, then became Deputy Scientific Director in 2009, and finally served as the institute’s director from 2011 to 2019.
Leading the university
That same year, in September 2019, the Governing Board of EAN (Escuela de Administracion de Negocios) appointed her as university president, with the mission of consolidating sustainable entrepreneurship and renewing educational models — two of the institution’s core priorities.
During her tenure as rector, EAN achieved the highest five-star rating in the international QS Stars evaluation, an audit that assesses institutional quality based on 119 indicators, including teaching, online education, employability, sustainability, and good governance.
Whoever heads the Environment portfolio will face challenges related to the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, including the oceans, forests, the immense and valuable variety of wildlife, and the cross-cutting issue that affects them all: plastic pollution.
Implementation of the High Seas Treaty
The high seas lie outside the jurisdiction of any country and, until now, remain unprotected. The High Seas Treaty, formally known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, is an international instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in two-thirds of the ocean.
The United Nations adopted it as a legally binding treaty, and it entered into force on Jan. 17, 2026. Colombia signed it on Sept. 21, 2023, but has not yet completed its ratification.
The challenge facing the country with the treaty is twofold: By failing to ratify the treaty, it is sidelined from decision-making at a critical moment in ocean governance, despite bordering both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, which positions itself as an environmental leader.
Zero deforestation and forest protection
In Colombia, forests continue to disappear due to extensive cattle ranching, unplanned infrastructure, and illegal mining. These ecosystems are home to thousands of families and countless animal, plant, and fungal species, and play a central role in regulating the planet’s climate and water cycles.
The challenge for 2026 is to bridge the gap between commitments and reality. Colombia aims to reduce deforestation to 30,000 hectares per year — a 74% reduction from the 117,000 hectares deforested in 2024 — but progress continues to lag behind these goals.
Implementation, financing, and the Cali Fund
This challenge aligns with a global agenda: During COP17 in Armenia, Colombia, countries will review collective progress toward the proposed targets aimed at halting biodiversity loss by 2030.
Colombia now faces distinct political responsibility for the Cali Fund, which COP16 established to channel public and private resources toward biodiversity protection in megadiverse developing countries. Today, the fund holds almost no resources.
Plastics and pollution: a visible crisis that remains without a structural solution
Global plastic production continues to rise, and the Global Plastics Treaty faces an uncertain future following the stalemate in international negotiations. For Colombia, the challenge is clear: To move toward a treaty that reduces plastic production and addresses the entire plastic lifecycle, rather than relying solely on recycling.
This means confronting corporate interests and prioritizing prevention, reduction, and data transparency through the effective implementation of Colombia’s Law 2232, which aims to eliminate single-use plastics by 2030.
Major challenges and major responsibilities
Brigitte Baptiste arrives at this moment with a career that bridges science, the territorial, and public policy. During her years leading the Humboldt Institute and later at EAN University, she developed a vision in which sustainability is not the opposite of development but its very condition.
The digital media outlet Infobae reported on statements made by Baptiste during the 2025 Dialogos Mutis de Biodiversidad summit in Madrid: “Without involving and empowering those at the grassroots level — the communities on the ground — environmental change will not be possible.”
Faced with an agenda that demands real funding and structural decisions, Fajardo would choose a minister who is familiar with the issues, speaks with scientific authority, and understands that conserving biodiversity is also an economic and social decision.