What Cornare does

Cornare (Corporación Autónoma Regional de las Cuencas de los Ríos Negro y Nare) is a Colombian regional environmental authority established under Law 99 of 1993 and headquartered in El Santuario, Antioquia. It exercises exclusive statutory jurisdiction over environmental licensing, water resource management, biodiversity protection, and environmental enforcement across 26 municipalities in the Negro and Nare river basins in Eastern Antioquia, serving municipal governments, regulated industrial and commercial enterprises, and the general public. Its functional mandate covers environmental impact assessments, pollutant discharge tariffs, water usage fees, waste management (RESPEL, RCD, healthcare waste via GIRAS RH1), climate change mitigation and adaptation, air quality monitoring, wildlife rehabilitation (CAV), and regional environmental planning instruments (PGAR, POMCAS, PORH).

The entity operates a proprietary digital platform architecture built around interconnected information systems. Core operational systems include SILCAU (environmental licensing and urban control), SILOP (electronic operations registry), and CONNECTA (procedures management), supported by monitoring and data platforms — MRV (climate change MRV), MARCO (environmental alerts), SIAR (regional environmental information), Geoportal/MapGIS (cartographic data), and Infocornare (thematic cartography). Specialized modules handle healthcare waste (GIRAS RH1), environmental investment projects (BPIAC), IT service management (SUMATI), online certifications, and citizen self-service (Mis Servicios Cornare, PQRSD). The platform integrates with the national VITAL portal managed by MinAmbiente and with SECOP I/II for procurement, and the laboratory holds IDEAM accreditation for environmental analysis.

Cornare's revenue model combines statutory government budget allocation (recurring baseline) with usage-based retributive tariffs on pollutant discharges (BOD, TSS), water usage fees, transactional permit and licensing fees, and service charges for laboratory analyses, certifications, and administrative procedures. Distribution is delivered through the El Santuario headquarters, five regional offices (Bosques, Aguas, Porce-Nus, Páramo, Valles de San Nicolás), online self-service portals, and public engagement channels including a weekly radio program, a TV microprogram, an institutional newspaper, official bulletins, environmental education programs, and public accountability hearings. The entity is state-owned, supervised by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, and operates without private equity or venture capital backing.

Name

Cornare

Legal name

Corporación Autónoma Regional de las Cuencas de los Ríos Negro y Nare

Website

https://cornare.gov.co

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cornare is the Colombian regional environmental authority for the Negro and Nare river basins, exercising exclusive statutory jurisdiction over environmental licensing, water resource management, and monitoring across 26 municipalities in Eastern Antioquia, serving municipal governments, regulated enterprises, and citizens via a proprietary digital platform suite.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

El Santuario

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Environmental Tariffs (Tasas Retributivas): Fees charged for environmental pollution and resource use based on pollutant loads discharged into water resources
2. Water Usage Fees (Tasas por Uso): Fees for water resource usage permits and concessions
3. Environmental Permits and Licensing: Fees for environmental licenses, permits for construction, operation, and environmental impact assessments
4. Government Budget Allocation: Annual budget from Colombian government for regional environmental management functions
5. Public Service Fees: Fees for various environmental services including certifications, laboratory services, and administrative procedures

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cornare provides environmental governance services for the Negro and Nare river basins in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia, including environmental licensing and permitting, water resource management, waste management oversight, wildlife protection, climate change monitoring, and air quality surveillance for 26 municipalities. The entity operates multiple proprietary information systems (SILCAU, SILOP, MRV, MARCO, SIAR, Geoportal) and an IDEAM-accredited environmental laboratory to deliver regulatory services to municipal governments, industrial enterprises, and citizens within its jurisdiction.

Product overview

Cornare operates a platform-based architecture centered on environmental management and regulation for the Negro and Nare river basins in Antioquia, Colombia. The core infrastructure consists of multiple interconnected systems: SILCAU (environmental licensing), CONNECTA (procedures management), and SILOP (operations registry) form the primary operational backbone. Supporting systems include MRV (climate change monitoring), MARCO (alert and monitoring), SIAR (environmental information), and Geoportal (geographic data). Additional specialized modules handle healthcare waste management (GIRAS RH1), environmental certifications, investment project management (BPIAC), IT service support (SUMATI), and citizen self-service (Mis Servicios). VITAL integrates with the national Ministry of Environment portal. The Laboratory provides IDEAM-accredited environmental testing services, and the Virtual Experience Room offers environmental education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SILCAU (Sistema de Información del Licenciamiento y Control Ambiental Urbanístico) Online system providing environmental licensing and urban environmental control procedures for municipal governments, enterprises, and developers requiring environmental permits in Eastern Antioquia.
• VITAL (Ventanilla Integral de Trámites Ambientales) National integrated portal for environmental license applications and procedures, connecting Cornare's jurisdiction with the Ministry of Environment's national system.
• SILOP (Sistema de Libro de Operaciones) Electronic operations book registry system for tracking and managing operational records of regulated industrial and commercial enterprises within Cornare's jurisdiction.
• MRV (Monitoreo, Reporte y Verificación) Climate change monitoring, reporting and verification system for tracking mitigation and adaptation actions within the region.
• MARCO (Sistema de Alerta y Monitoreo de Cornare) Environmental alert and monitoring system for regional risk management, providing early warning for environmental risks across Cornare's jurisdiction.
• SIAR (Sistema de Información Ambiental Regional) Regional environmental information system providing air quality data and environmental metrics for public access and regulatory oversight.
• Geoportal Cornare Geographic information portal providing basic and thematic georeferenced environmental data queries for the Eastern Antioquia region.
• Laboratorio Ambiental (Environmental Laboratory) IDEAM-accredited environmental laboratory services for water quality testing and environmental analysis, serving regulated industries, municipalities, and citizens.
• CONNECTA Online platform providing centralized access to Cornare's environmental licensing and management services for citizens, businesses, and municipalities.
• GIRAS RH1 (Gestión Integral de Residuos generados en la Atención de Salud) Comprehensive waste management system for healthcare facilities, providing tracking and reporting of hazardous waste generated by healthcare establishments.
• BPIAC (Banco de Proyectos de Inversión Ambiental) Environmental investment projects database and management system for tracking and managing environmental investment initiatives within the jurisdiction.
• Certificaciones en Línea (Online Certifications) Online certification portal for downloading tax certificates and official documents related to environmental obligations and payments.
• Mis Servicios Cornare Self-service portal for citizens to track and manage their environmental procedures and service requests with Cornare.
• Sala de Experiencia Virtual Ambiental Virtual environmental experience room providing immersive environmental education and awareness content for citizens, students, and community groups.
• Infocornare Thematic cartographic information system providing geographic and environmental spatial data for researchers, municipalities, and the general public.
• Environmental Licensing Services (Licencia Ambiental) Environmental licensing service providing environmental impact assessments, permits, and licenses for development projects requiring regulatory approval in the jurisdiction.
• Water Resource Concession Services (Recurso Agua) Water resource management service providing water extraction permits, concessions, and oversight for users of water resources within the jurisdiction.
• RESPEL Registration Service Registration service for generators of hazardous waste (Residuos o Desechos Peligrosos) operating within Cornare's jurisdiction, enabling waste tracking and compliance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Environmental management for 26 municipalities covering the Negro and Nare river basins

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered moderate and core.

• BanCO2moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with BanCO2, a conservation finance initiative that protects the environment while transforming lives through carbon credits and environmental conservation projects.
• VITAL - Ventanilla Integral de Trámites AmbientalescoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with the national environmental procedures platform managed by the Ministry of Environment, providing unified access to environmental permits across Colombia.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IDEAM (Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales): National-level Colombian environmental authority that accredits Cornare's laboratory and sets national environmental standards; a broader incumbent operating as the apex regulator and data authority across all regional CARs.
• Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible de Colombia: National ministry that supervises Cornare and operates the VITAL national environmental procedures portal integrated with Cornare's CONNECTA platform; the apex policy and regulatory body for the entire Colombian environmental authority system.

Direct peers

• CAR Cundinamarca (Corporación Autónoma Regional de Cundinamarca): One of the largest and most established Colombian CARs, operating the same regional environmental authority model with licensing, water resource management, and protected-area stewardship — highly comparable in mandate, scale of operation, and digital service delivery.
• Corpocaldas (Corporación Autónoma Regional de Caldas): Colombian CAR with the same statutory mandate, fee structure (tasas retributivas, tasas por uso), and digital licensing platform under Law 99/1993; comparable operating model, headcount range, and revenue mix to Cornare.
• Corantioquia (Corporación Autónoma Regional del Centro de Antioquia): Another Colombian regional autonomous corporation operating under Law 99/1993 with parallel environmental licensing, water management, and conservation mandates; directly comparable governance model and service mix to Cornare, just in a different Antioquia sub-region.
• Corpourabá: Regional autonomous corporation serving the Urabá sub-region of Antioquia; identical institutional model to Cornare with environmental licensing, watershed management, and biodiversity protection functions in an adjacent jurisdiction.
• Codechocó (Corporación para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Chocó): Colombian regional environmental authority with parallel environmental licensing, watershed management, and conservation functions; structurally identical to Cornare but operating in a different (and more biodiverse) geography.
• CVS (Corporación Autónoma Regional de los Valles del Sinú y del San Jorge): Colombian CAR operating the same regional environmental governance model — licensing, water resource management, environmental monitoring — as Cornare, providing a directly comparable institutional peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cornare
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CornareMasCerca
• Facebookfacebook.com/Cornare
• Instagraminstagram.com/cornare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cornare

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cornare