Green Livelihoods Alliance 2 Colombia

Colombia is the second most biodiverse country on the planet, and has the privilege of being among the nine countries that share territory in the Amazon: the largest rainforest in the world. The Amazon region in Colombia covers 44.3%, and 64 of the country’s 115 native indigenous peoples live there. This natural and cultural heritage is invaluable for humanity and yet it faces great pressures that require diverse protection strategies to maintain its biological and cultural connectivity. Today, the Amazon region is facing a rapid transformation driven by the construction of legal and illegal routes and hydroelectric plants, as well as the exploitation of hydrocarbons and mining, agricultural activities and illegal economies. In the scenario of these pressures, forest loss stands out as one of the most pressing challenges. According to the Atlas 'Amazonia Bajo Presión' - “Amazon Under Pressure” 2020, deforestation in the region reached 511,787 km2 in the last twenty years, (covering an area similar to the size of the continental territory of Spain), and 87.5% of this loss occurred outside Indigenous Territories and Natural Protected Areas of the Amazon. The Colombian case is no less dramatic. For several years, Colombia has been part of the world ranking of countries with the greatest loss of forests, and in 2020 it ranked number six. In the midst of this breaking context, , the Colombian Amazon concentrates the greatest loss. For example, between 2000 and 2018, 66% of the country’s total deforestation occurred in this region, according to data from the Ideam Forest and Carbon Monitoring System. Indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems have protected these vast territories for millennia, demonstrating that the most effective strategy to govern them, to protect the planet’s biodiversity and the health of ecosystems, is based on the traditional management derived from such systems.