Conservation International Colombia
 | |
| Abbreviation | CI Colombia |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1991 |
| Type | Country programme |
| Headquarters | Bogotá, Colombia |
Region served | Colombia |
| Fields | Biodiversity conservation; protected areas; watersheds; sustainable landscapes |
Parent organization | Conservation International |
| Website | www |
Conservation International Colombia (CI Colombia) is the Colombia country programme of Conservation International, based in Bogotá.[1] Conservation International began activities in Colombia on 19 December 1991.[1]
CI Colombia's work has included watershed conservation and restoration in the Bogotá-Region landscape (including the Chingaza-Sumapaz-Guerrero corridor developed with Bogotá's water utility), and initiatives in the Colombian Amazon (part of the Amazon rainforest) and the Andean-Amazonian transition region, including the Pacto HYLEA landscape programme in Huila.[2][3]
CI Colombia has also participated in conservation finance initiatives intended to support protected areas and tropical forest conservation in Colombia, including the 2004 debt-for-nature swap under the U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act and the Herencia Colombia project-finance-for-permanence initiative for the national protected areas system.[4][5]
CI Colombia has also been involved in policy discussions on marine conservation measures, including measures related to shark conservation and fisheries management.[6]
History
Conservation International began activities in Colombia on 19 December 1991 and established a country programme based in Bogotá.[1]
In September 1998, Conservation International established the Centro Ambiental La Pedrera in La Pedrera as a platform for community engagement and related activities in the Colombian Amazon.[7]
In 2004, a debt-for-nature swap under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act reduced Colombia's debt to the United States by more than US$10 million in exchange for funding local conservation projects intended to protect tropical forests. The agreement was signed by the governments of Colombia and the United States along with The Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International.[4]
Herencia Colombia (Heritage Colombia) developed as a project-finance-for-permanence approach for Colombia's protected areas system: Fondo Patrimonio Natural's 2016 management report referenced the initiative among efforts to strengthen long-term protected-area financing, and a subsequent memorandum of understanding was signed in 2020 by Colombia's environment authorities and partner organisations (including Conservation International Foundation) as a framework for implementation.[8][5] In 2022, a coalition of partners including Conservation International launched the initiative, described as securing about US$245 million in public and private finance to support long-term management of Colombia's protected areas system and to expand terrestrial and marine protected areas.[9][10][11]
During the 2024 UN biodiversity conference (COP16) in Cali, Conservation International was among organisations launching a coalition intended to develop practice standards for sovereign debt conversions aimed at supporting climate and nature commitments, building on debt-for-nature approaches used in Colombia and elsewhere.[12][4]
Activities by location
Bogotá and Bogotá Region
Watershed-focused work around Bogotá has included conservation and restoration planning in a corridor-scale landscape linking the Chingaza and Sumapaz areas, developed with Bogotá's water utility and partners and framed around biodiversity and water-related ecosystem services.[2][1][13][14]
Conservation and restoration of headwater ecosystems has been framed as a form of natural infrastructure for Bogotá's water system, including actions focused on ecosystem protection, restoration, and land management in strategic upstream areas.[15] High-mountain ecosystems in the tropical Andes, including páramo systems, play an important role in regulating runoff and sustaining water yield, and land-use change can affect hydrological functioning in Andean headwaters.[16][17]
CI Colombia has provided technical support related to integrating climate-change considerations into municipal land-use and development planning in parts of the Bogotá-Region landscape, including technical notes prepared for municipal planning processes under an adaptation programme focused on water regulation and supply in the Chingaza-Sumapaz corridor area.[18][19] Ecosystem-based adaptation approaches in the Chingaza Massif have been linked to water regulation and climate vulnerability for Bogotá, including conservation and restoration actions intended to maintain ecosystem services associated with water supply and regulation.[20]
Creek-recovery and restoration actions in Bogotá have included work in the Eastern Hills and other areas, including a participation strategy supported by Conservation International to involve social and institutional actors in watershed recovery.[21]
Huila (Andean-Amazonian transition)
In the department of Huila, CI Colombia has been involved in a sustainable-landscapes programme in the Andean-Amazonian transition region referenced as Pacto HYLEA.[3]
Colombian Amazon
Work in the Colombian Amazon has centred on the Centro Ambiental La Pedrera in Amazonas as a platform for community engagement and related activities.[7]
The programme has also participated in the Naturamazonas alliance, a public-private initiative focused on addressing deforestation pressures and promoting sustainable development approaches in the Colombian Amazon region.[22]
Putumayo
In Putumayo, the programme has supported a restoration project with the Siona people in the municipality of Puerto Asís, associated with locally led restoration and environmental planning efforts.[23]
Caribbean and Pacific coasts
CI Colombia has participated in national discussions related to shark conservation and fisheries measures affecting coastal communities on Colombia's Caribbean and Pacific coasts.[6]
On Colombia's Pacific coast, community members in the Gulf of Tribugá have carried out retrieval of abandoned fishing gear (ghost gear) from nearshore ecosystems and participated in diver training and reef-monitoring activities supported by Conservation International and local partners.[24]
National
CI Colombia has been associated with conservation-finance initiatives intended to support tropical forest protection and protected-area management, including Colombia's 2004 debt-for-nature swap under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act.[4]
CI Colombia has been among the partners involved in Herencia Colombia, a project-finance-for-permanence initiative designed to secure long-term financing for Colombia's protected areas system and to support expansion of terrestrial and marine protected areas.[8][5][9][10][11]
References
- ^ a b c d Construyendo resiliencia hídrica en la Bogotá-Región: Términos de referencia (Convocatoria No. 242 - Experto Mecanismos Financieros y Gobernanza) (PDF) (Report). Conservación Internacional Colombia. December 2024. pp. 1–2.
- ^ a b Corredor de Conservación Chingaza - Sumapaz - Guerrero: resultados del diseño y lineamientos de acción (PDF) (Report). Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogotá (EAAB) and Conservación Internacional Colombia. 2011.
- ^ a b "Pacto Hylea". Conservación Internacional Colombia (in Spanish).
- ^ a b c d "Debt For Nature Agreement For The Republic Of Colombia". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 23 April 2004.
- ^ a b c Memorando de Entendimiento - Herencia Colombia (PDF) (Report). Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia. 2 September 2020.
- ^ a b Zuleta Valencia, Juan Felipe (28 November 2020). "El país le pone escudo protector a sus tiburones". El Colombiano (in Spanish).
- ^ a b "Centro Ambiental La Pedrera". Conservación Internacional Colombia (in Spanish).
- ^ a b Informe de gestión 2016 (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Fondo Patrimonio Natural. 2016.
- ^ a b "Herencia Colombia Will Help Ensure Protection of Colombia's Natural and Cultural Heritage for Generations to Come". WCS Newsroom. Wildlife Conservation Society. 23 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Colombia, WWF and Partners Announce $245M Agreement to Permanently Protect Vital Systems of Nation's Protected Areas". World Wildlife Fund. 3 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Herencia Colombia: el programa que busca proteger más de 20 millones de hectáreas de áreas protegidas". El Espectador (in Spanish). 30 March 2023.
- ^ Griffin, Oliver (29 October 2024). "Environment NGOs launch coalition to aid debt-for-nature swaps at COP16". Reuters.
- ^ Construyendo resiliencia hídrica en la Bogotá-Región: Términos de referencia (Convocatoria No. 250 - Especialista de proyecto) (PDF) (Report). Conservación Internacional Colombia. 1 March 2025.
- ^ Caicedo, Edwin (9 September 2025). "Los páramos y su poco conocida cualidad: no solo nos proveen agua, también capturan CO2 y lo hacen aún mejor que la selva amazónica". El Tiempo (in Spanish).
- ^ Izquierdo-Tort, Santiago; Restrepo-Zambrano, Diego; Ozment, Suzanne; et al. (16 August 2023). Incorporating natural infrastructure in Bogotá’s water system (Report). World Resources Institute (WRI). p. 60. doi:10.46830/wrirpt.22.00046.
- ^ Buytaert, W.; Célleri, R.; De Bièvre, B.; Hofstede, R.; Cisneros, F.; Wyseure, G.; Deckers, J. (2006). "Human impact on the hydrology of the Andean páramos". Earth-Science Reviews. 79: 53–72. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2006.06.002.
- ^ Célleri, R.; Feyen, J. (2009). "The Hydrology of Tropical Andean Ecosystems: Importance, Knowledge Status, and Perspectives". Mountain Research and Development. 29 (4). doi:10.1659/mrd.00007.
- ^ Guasca, Cundinamarca: Ficha para la inclusión del cambio climático en el ordenamiento territorial (ecosistemas de alta montaña) (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (Colombia). 2014.
- ^ San Juanito, Meta: Ficha para la inclusión del cambio climático en el ordenamiento territorial (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (Colombia).
- ^ Building resilience to climate change: ecosystem-based adaptation and lessons from the field (PDF) (Report). IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2010. Chapter on the Chingaza Massif in Colombia.
- ^ "Emprenden acciones de recuperación en 19 quebradas bogotanas". Bogotá (Alcaldía Mayor) (in Spanish). 18 September 2014.
- ^ "Naturamazonas". Conservación Internacional Colombia (in Spanish).
- ^ "Si´aira". Conservación Internacional Colombia (in Spanish).
- ^ Khan da Silva, Danielle (11 July 2025). "One wrong move could be fatal: the divers risking their lives to save whales from 'ghost nets'". The Guardian.