Working Landscape Colombia

In recent years, Colombia has been confronted with very high rates of deforestation. Deforestation occurs in different parts of the country, but especially in the departments of Guaviare, Putumayo and Caquetá, where the Andean foothills and the Amazonian plains are connected. It is expected that further deforestation in this area will affect water supplies. Initially, deforestation took place in order to establish illicit coca crops. Later, widespread fumigation forced farmers to turn away from coca production, converting their fields and forests into pastures for cattle ranching. This process has transformed the vegetation cover, creating a mosaic of forests and areas with ever larger pastures. The guerrilla that dominated this area had imposed environmental rules that controlled deforestation and promoted the protection of water sources. But since the signing of the peace agreement the guerrilla became demobilized, while the state has very little control over the area. As a result, deforestation has been increasing. The National Development Plan estimates a loss of forest cover of 200,000 hectares per year for the next 4 years, contributing significantly to Colombia’s GHG emissions. The municipality of Solano, in the southern department of Caquetá, is located right on the edge of the deforestation border in the Colombian Amazon. The Solano landscape functions as an ecological corridor of two large National Parks, Chiribiquete and La Paya, which occupy more than 5 million hectares. The area represents the larger trend of expanding cattle production at the expense of forests. Solano is an interesting case, because it combines different types of land tenure: the indigenous resguardos with collective property titles on the one hand, and possessions of peasants and state forest lands on the other. Deforestation in the resguardos is much lower than in the other areas. We envision an intercultural climate-smart landscape with high forest cover that contributes to the connectivity and helps to maintain the ecological and climatic processes between the Amazon and the Andes. This landscape is shaped by intercultural participative inclusive governance that integrates different visions (including those of indigenous groups, peasants, women and youth) and production systems. The landscape consists of a mosaic of sustainable production systems, restoration initiatives, indigenous and peasant forest-use systems, diverse home gardens (chagras), and protected water sources and natural forests. There are financial mechanisms appropriate to the region that encourage the restoration and integration of the forest in different production systems. The landscape contributes to Colombia’s NDC and SDGs, by reducing deforestation and promoting an integrated model of mitigation and adaptation that values forests and trees.