The Colombian Amazon, vital for the hydroclimatic balance of both the country and the planet, as well as for supporting the well-being of its local residents, faces severe risks due to forest loss from land use changes. According to the Mapbiomas georeferenced information platform, between 1985 and 2023, this region went from 42.3 million to 39.4 million hectares of natural forest, representing a nearly 7% loss of vegetation. What can be done to stop this trend?

The Escucha la Amazonía (ELA) Alliance, made up of eight civil society organizations from Colombia, presents the “Decalogue for Peace with Nature in the Amazon“, a series of recommendations directed at the Colombian government, the governments of the Amazonian states, and society as a whole. The goal of the roadmap is to take political and ethical responsibility for the care of this region, ensuring the well-being of its inhabitants, advancing peacebuilding, and avoiding the tipping point that would gradually or abruptly transform this territory into a tropical savanna. COP16 represents a unique opportunity for Colombia to: expand its commitment to protecting life in all its forms, advance the commitments of the National Development Plan (2022-2026), and become a global leader in the integration of biodiversity and climate change agendas.

This decalogue calls on the Colombian government to ensure an intercultural state that recognizes the contributions of Indigenous peoples, campesino (small-holder farmer or peasant) and Afro-descendant communities in protecting the forest and its biodiversity. Additional goals include: ending deforestation through ambitious and concrete strategies and goals, ensuring participatory land-use planning that protects the rights of those who inhabit and manage this territory, and closing the gender gaps that affect Amazonian women.

It is also a call to the public to understand their well-being’s dependence on the health of the Amazon. The balance of rainfall patterns in other parts of the country, such as the Andean region, depends on it. Citizens are encouraged to engage with and support the demands of social movements, Indigenous peoples, and NGOs working to protect the Amazon. Additionally, it is a call to the countries of the Amazon region to establish cooperation agreements in the fight against transnational crime.

Colonization, which has led to the expansion of extensive cattle ranching, land grabbing, the establishment of agro-industrial crops, and the construction of legal and illegal roads, are damaging one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Adding to these dynamics are legal and illegal extractive economies (mining, drug trafficking, wildlife and flora trafficking, hydrocarbon extraction), which not only contribute to deforestation and forest degradation but also deeply affect the human rights of local communities. Collective well-being is threatened by the degradation of ecosystem services provided by the Amazon, such as drinking water and electrical generation

Consequently, the Escucha la Amazonía (ELA) Alliance, which was formed more than two years ago to position the Amazon region on the national public agenda, in its “Decalogue for Peace with Nature in the Amazon,” calls on Amazonian states and society at large to:

1.

Ensure an intercultural state that respects the knowledge systems, autonomy, governance forms, and biocultural and territorial rights of Indigenous, campesino, and Afro-descendant communities. This includes formalizing the Indigenous Territorial Entities (ETI) according to Decree Law 632 of 2018 and enacting the Indigenous Environmental Authority Decree.

2.

End deforestation and promote forest restoration by integrating local knowledge systems with governmental efforts. This includes reporting the impact of deforestation drivers in IDEAM (Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies) reports and passing the livestock traceability law to prevent the consumption of meat from deforested areas and national parks, among others.

3.

Regulate financial mechanisms aimed at mitigating climate change and conserving biodiversity, in compliance with Constitutional Court rulings that require regulation of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiatives, and guarantee the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of the communities involved.

4.

Achieve participatory land-use planning in the more than 47 million hectares that make up the Colombian Amazon, emphasizing water governance and land-use management. This implies adequate coordination with Indigenous authorities and their own land management tools (Life Plans).

5.

Promote awareness that the Amazon is central to the climate crisis, which includes biodiversity loss, by strengthening a national environmental education policy focused on transforming social, economic, and cultural practices that degrade nature.

6.

Close gender gaps affecting women by incorporating a transversal approach in programs aimed at the Amazon. Women are key to biodiversity conservation, but they are also the most affected by violence and climate change.

7.

Ensure citizen participation and oversight to monitor official biodiversity conservation and climate change strategies. This is also crucial for tracking and influencing the reports of the Science Panel for the Amazon.

8.

Combat transnational crime through regional cooperation agreements between Amazonian states. Strengthen coordination between the authorities of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and activate the International Police Cooperation Center of the Amazon (CCPI-Amazon).

9.

Establish diplomatic cooperation agreements for the care of the Amazon biome and its people, in order to create monitoring systems and observatories with reliable, timely, and updated information, enabling the evaluation of pressures and threats to this biome to carry out preventive or counteracting actions.

10.

Follow up on the agreements of the Amazon presidents’ summit in Belém do Pará (2023), which seek to mobilize economic resources for Amazon protection, strengthen the institutional capacities of the region’s states, cooperate on environmental crimes, and promote a sustainable economy. Accountability for progress is essential.

ACCESS AND DOWNLOAD THE DECALOGUE HERE