A sustainable forest economy is key to meeting the country’s environmental goals
Colombia has about 60 million hectares (ha) of natural forests. However, according to IDEAM and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in the last two decades, 3,182,876 hectares (ha) of forest have been deforested in the country.
Colombia is currently working to comply with the commitments established in the Paris Agreement and for this purpose, it has established adaptation goals and mitigation measures that guide its actions in the 2020-2030 period through the so-called Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). A roadmap that will allow you to face and adjust to the global reality of climate change.
To achieve the established goals, sustainable forest management and management in the country is vital and the BIBO campaign and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) come together to carry out the next 2 March event entitled ‘Climate Bets 2023: progress and challenges of the sustainable forest economy in Colombia in the face of the NDC’.
It will be a space for dialogue in which actors from the National Government, international cooperation, third-sector organizations, and representatives of some communities will analyze how the Nationally Determined Contribution – NDC for mitigation and adaptation to Climate Change is being fulfilled, through actions associated with sustainable forest management implemented from various sectors.
Attendees will be able to learn about the guidelines for Colombia in terms of a sustainable forestry economy by 2023, the commitment of the National Government and other sectors to comply with the NDC, and the concept that communities have of working within the framework of sustainable forest management.
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This event will be chaired by Diego Mora, Program Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – FAO Colombia, Nhaydú Bohórquez, Expert in REDD+ and Sustainable Forest Management of FAO; Lucio Santos Acuña Forestry Officer, FAO Rome, who will have a speech on the importance of the forest economy in Colombia and NDC and the central panel will have the participation of Adriana Rivera Director of Forests, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Ministry of Environment; Tobias Biermann Attaché for Environment, Climate, and Employment of the European Union; Graciano Caicedo legal representative of the Community Council of the Community of YurumanguÃ; Juan Miguel Vásquez National Executive Director Fedemaderas; Carlos Robinson Quiro representative of the Indigenous Community, Calle Santa Rosa. And moderated: Maya Takagi Representative a.i. FAO Colombia.
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This event will be held virtually, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 a.m. through the BIBO social networks Facebook and YouTube.
More than 3 million hectares have been deforested in Colombia in the last two decades.
Colombia has about 60 million hectares (ha) of natural forests. However, according to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, after analyzing the reports of the Forest and Carbon Monitoring System (SMByC) of the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) in 2022, in the last two decades, 3,182,876 hectares (ha) of forest have been deforested in the country.
According to the figures for the first quarter of 2021, 45,500 ha were deforested, and the figure increased to 50,400 ha during the same period in 2022. In the second quarter of 2021, 1,580 ha were deforested, and the figure rose to 2,060 in the same period of 2022. The most affected departments are Meta, Antioquia, Guaviare, Putumayo, Caquetá, and Norte de Santander.
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Of the total number of hectares of forests in the country, around 31 million are within territories titled to indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and more than 1 million hectares are in the territories of peasant communities. These forests have contributed to satisfying the basic needs of local populations as well as have generated an important set of ecosystem services, provisioning, and support.
Given these figures, community forest management presents itself as a valuable opportunity not only to reduce deforestation and conserve standing forests but also to promote a sustainable forest economy.
For this reason, the National Government developed the Comprehensive Strategy for the Control of Deforestation and Forest Management -EICDGB “Bosques Territorios de Vida”, with which it is committed to reducing deforestation and forest degradation, promoting its management based on comprehensive forest management and rural development and through the development of intersectoral actions that contribute to the good living of local communities, which in turn contributes to local development and increases ecosystem resilience by promoting mitigation of climate change.
Within the strategy, the National Community Forestry Program is implemented, which seeks to promote a sustainable development model in local community territories that contributes to improving the quality of life, livelihoods, the local economy, and collective reincorporation, based on the conservation and sustainable use of the goods and services of timber and non-timber forests. In this way, it seeks to give value to forests and their biodiversity and influence the reduction of deforestation and degradation and the conservation, use, and sustainable management of standing forests.
Finally, and as a relevant point of the event, we will have the launch of the first chapter of a plasticine miniseries called “CRAX’s journey through the Andean and Caribbean regions of Colombia”, which seeks to publicize the importance of the National Forest Inventory ( IFN) for the conservation and proper use of forests in Colombia.
Its protagonist is the Colombian Curassow, CRAX Alberti species, a Colombian guan that is in danger of extinction due to hunting, deforestation, and poor management practices in the territories.
That content was created within the framework of an agreement entered into by the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies- IDEAM and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-FAO and as of this March 2, you will be able to see the five chapters on the YouTube channel of FAO and BIBO El Espectador.
