Colombia Program

As a strategy for the territorial and cultural strengthening of indigenous peoples and the establishment of connectivity corridors for conservation between the Andes-Amazon transition region and the Amazon Plains region in Colombia, in conjunction with the national land titling agency INCODER, the Colombian National Land Agency, the Colombian Ministry of Interior, and local communities, we are supporting processes for the establishment and expansion of indigenous reserves, land zoning efforts, and the signing of sustainable land management agreements.

In the Andes-Amazon transition region, in strategic territories for the conservation of the páramos and upper basins of the Putumayo and Caquetá rivers, we have worked to achieve the legalization of the Sibundoy, Colón, and San Andrés indigenous reserves, and the rings of reserves of the Ring Sibundoy Valley. Through joint efforts between local communities, government agencies, and ACT, by the end of 2015 the legalization of 42,625 hectares was achieved in the Sibundoy reserve and 1,531 hectares in the Colón reserve.

In 2015, the fivefold expansion of the Inga reserve of Yunguillo in Putumayo was achieved, from 4,320 to 26,716 hectares in connectivity with the Complejo Volcánico Doña Juana Cascabel National Park. The expansion of the Inga reserve of Yurayaco in Caquetá is nearing completion, and the expansion process for the Brisas indigenous reserve is commencing, while in the San Miguel indigenous reserve, an expansion was achieved from 924 to 1837 hectares; these three reserves exist in connectivity with the Alto Fragua Indi Wasi National Park. In the Amazon Plains regions, expansion of the Puerto Sábalo Los Monos and Monochoa reserves was achieved, in connectivity with the Chiribiquete National Park.

Currently, in collaboration with INCODER and the Colombian National Land Agency, we are supporting the process leading to the official establishment of the Mapayerri reserve in the department of Vichada, in connectivity with the Tuparro National Park, and the expansion of the Kogui Malayo Arhuaco reserve in connectivity with the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park.

The Alto Fragua Indi Wasi National Park, designed for joint management by the Inga indigenous communities and the Colombian National Park Service, was created in 2002 with our support. The Park helps protect important montane rainforest ecosystems in the Andean Amazon transitional region. The eastern buffer zone of the park contains highly fragmented forests that face high colonization pressures. We work with indigenous and family farming communities in this region to promote the creation of territorial management plans and the implementation of agro-forestry systems that will connect fragmented forest patches.

In 2008, we worked with indigenous communities and government officials to create the Orito Ingi-Ande Medicinal Plant Sanctuary. The sanctuary extends over 10,000 hectares and contains native forests with high levels of biodiversity, including a wide variety of plants fundamental for the medical practices of Kofán communities. We are now working with the Kofán to consolidate their territory in the buffer region of the Sanctuary.

In 2013, we joined with the Kogi community of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Ministry of Culture, and INCODER, the national land titling agency, to acquire a coastal site sacred to regional indigenous groups, Jaba Tañiwashkaka. The land was declared a site of national cultural interest, an innovative conservation designation for the nation. We are now working with the Kogi to aggregate the original acquisition with adjacent lands to facilitate protection of the coastline and the associated estuary, and is providing the means for the gradual ecological recovery of these lands.

In the Colombian Andes-Amazon transition region, we have provided the sole institutional support for two allied associations of traditional healers and their apprentices/assistants, one for men (UMIYAC) and one for women (ASOMI). Both associations derive their membership from the Inga, Siona, Kofán, Koreguaje, and Kamentsá ethnic groups. While training young healers and community leaders, UMIYAC sends health brigades to remote communities to provide traditional health services and work with local indigenous reserve schools to increase community awareness of traditional healing practices. ASOMI’s 60-strong members, meanwhile, work to strengthen traditional gardens and to transmit traditional medicine knowledge from one generation to the next through education programs and annual gatherings.