Biodiversity and protected areas in Colombia

The project "Protected Areas and Biodiversity" is administered by GFA Consulting Group in support to the National Natural Parks (PNN) Leadership of the Colombian Ministry of Environment.

Project start date:

01/03/2015

Project end date:

31/03/2019

Objectives

The project "Protected Areas and Biodiversity" aims to consolidate and expand the national system of national parks, mostly in the management efficiency of protected areas, as well as the creation of new marine protected areas and strenghtening their institutional and financial sustainability.

Location

Caribbean Region and British East India

Description

This project was born from the observation of the loss of representativeness and effectiveness of the national system of protected areas in Colombia, following the abandonment throughout all the years of the Uribe Presidency (2002-2010) during which priority was the fight against the guerrillas. The project is therefore to improve the efficiency and sustainability of protected areas through dialogue reconnection with local actors and populations, and institutional strengthening. The challenges are mumerous, not only methodologicals to develop starting-line basis, identify conservation priorities, manage conflicts and resume dialogue and identify bottlenecks that limit the effectiveness of conservation. They are also socioeconomics in a country that restards to learn to live together and for which development issues are heavily focused on the exploitation of renewable natural resources or not. Finally, they also are policics to a new Ministry of Environment that has a critical need for strengthening of its capacity and consolidation or enlargement of its influence including the creation of new protected areas. The project is based within the national leadership of national parks and carries out its activities in the Andean and Caribbean countries in support of northern regional directions. The first phase of 4 years is expected to significantly improve the effectiveness of conservation in those regions where the pressure on natural resources is particularly strong.This project was born from the observation of the loss of representativeness and effectiveness of the national system of protected areas in Colombia, following the abandonment throughout all the years of the Uribe Presidency (2002-2010) during which priority was the fight against the guerrillas. The project is therefore to improve the efficiency and sustainability of protected areas through dialogue reconnection with local actors and populations, and institutional strengthening. The challenges are mumerous, not only methodologicals to develop starting-line basis, identify conservation priorities, manage conflicts and resume dialogue and identify bottlenecks that limit the effectiveness of conservation. They are also socioeconomics in a country that restards to learn to live together and for which development issues are heavily focused on the exploitation of renewable natural resources or not. Finally, they also are policics to a new Ministry of Environment that has a critical need for strengthening of its capacity and consolidation or enlargement of its influence including the creation of new protected areas. The project is based within the national leadership of national parks and carries out its activities in the Andean and Caribbean countries in support of northern regional directions. The first phase of 4 years is expected to significantly improve the effectiveness of conservation in those regions where the pressure on natural resources is particularly strong.

Partners

GFA Consulting Group

National and regional direction (Caribbean, eastern Andes) of National Nature Parks (NNP).

Fundings

Financing from the development bank KfW Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau ("Credit Institute for Reconstruction").