On the other hand, currently the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cundinamarca (CAR) is evaluating the proposal of re-categorization, expansion of its areas and subtraction of the RFRPN that was presented in 2018 by the Mayor's Office of Bogotá.

In accordance with the above, on November 19 of 2019, the Corporations’s Board of Directors received from the Corporation, the technical concept of a request to subtract significant areas from the reserve (subtraction request) submitted by the Mayor's Office of Bogota. With this technical concept, the Corporations’s Board of Directors may decide in depth on the request for the said subtraction, thus complying with the court order that had imposed a peremptory term to issue the mentioned concept. (CAR, 2019).

In this concept, the team of professionals grouped for this purpose, presents the considerations, the environmental and technical valuations as well as the legal ones, regarding the withdrawal request of the Reserve for the expansion of three routes (Carrera 9, Avenida Boyacá and Avenida Suba - Cota). The technical concept concludes that it is not possible to recommend this subtraction process, since the elements for the study, brought by the District Administration are insufficient and incomplete; being necessary to complement and perfection several essential topics, including citizen participation (CAR, 2019).

On the other hand, the elected mayor of Bogotá signed an environmental commitment for Bogotá, before being elected, in which she undertakes to “withdraw or request to cease, if applicable, the requests for realignment and subtraction of the Thomas van der Hammen Reserve registered by the Mayor's Office before the CAR and to advance in the implementation of its environmental management plan (CAR Agreement 021 of 2014) in accordance with the goals and deadlines of its 23 projects. Prioritize the execution of the Suba - Cota road, in accordance with the Management Plan and adopt alternatives that improve physical and biotic connectivity on the roads that will be expanded, such as the Autopista Norte and the Carrera Séptima Avenue” (Environmental commitment by Bogotá, 2019).

Likewise, the elected Mayor's Government Program proposes “to move forward with the first stage of restoration of the Thomas van der Hammen Reserve” (López, C. & Program Team, 2019).

In order to compensate this problem and avoid the imminent loss of biodiversity associated with this ecosystem, in 1993 a process of citizen initiative aimed at the defense, ecological recovery, conservation and sustainable management of this wetland and the other ecosystems that make part of its micro-basin (La Salitrosa ravine, La Conejera hill, Las Mercedes forest and Bogotá river) (Galindo, 2015). This process was led by the La Conejera Wetland Foundation with the support of other entities and organizations of national and international order and was framed within the Environmental Management Plan formulated for this wetland (Galindo, 2015).

Thanks to this process, it was possible to stop the degradation of these ecosystems, caused by processes of housing construction and transformation of these into recreational parks. In the case of the wetland La Conejera, the actions implemented for its ecological recovery were fundamental for the restoration of some of its ecological functions, which allowed to redirect the ecosystem towards more desirable trajectories, favoring its conservation and the preservation of its associated biodiversity (Galindo, 2015).

Currently, the wetland is managed by the Bogotá Aqueduct Company and the District Department of Environment and has the Conejera Network, which is made up of neighbors of the wetland micro-basin. On the other hand, in the year 2019, in a ruling of the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca, the wetland La Conejera was recognized as a subject of rights.

In this wetland 115 species of birds have been registered, two endemic species of the wetlands of the high Andean region of Colombia (Rallus semiplumbeus and Cistothorus apolinari) and three endemic subspecies (Oxyura jamaicensis andina, Porphyriops melanops bogotensis and Chrysomus icterocephalus bogotenslus). Some of these species are threatened and in danger of extinction. It is also home to species of forest birds equally endemic to the eastern Colombian mountain range, including Synallaxis subpudica. In the same way, in this ecosystem it is possible to observe boreal migratory species (Anas discors, Pandion haliaetus, Porzana carolina, Tringa solitario and Empidonax alnorum, among others).

Due to the priority bird species for conservation that this wetland has, it has been declared as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). (Galindo, 2015).

According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), this ecosystem provides different ecosystem services, including:

• Regulates hydrological flows (groundwater recharge and discharge).

• Purifies water and treats waste (retention recovery and elimination of excess nutrients and other contaminants).

• Supports trophic chains.

• Regulates the climate through the capture of greenhouse gases. It influences precipitation, temperature, etc. at local and regional level.

• Controls flooding.

• Retains sediments and accumulates organic matter.

• To be a habitat for wildlife, which allows it to have a unique biological diversity, with endemic species as "indicators" of the state and quality of the ecosystem.

• Provides important aesthetic, educational, cultural and spiritual benefits, as well as a wide range of opportunities for recreation and nature tourism.