Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

30 per cent of Colombian territory is under the figure of collective territories which have their own systems of management and governance and are of great importance for the management of biodiversity, for its extension and for the great variety of ecosystems that it encompasses [ ] 80 Strengthening conservation in protected areas through the Conservation Mosaic strategy The Natural Heritage Fund through various initiatives, especially the Mosaics of Conservation Programme funded by the GEF through the World Bank and the Conservation Land- scapes Programme funded by USAID, has promoted a landscape-scale conservation approach that integrates an area protected with the surround- ing social and economic landscape, and strengthens local capacity and the generation of social agreements for conservation and local development. Over the last seven years Colombia has worked on 22 conservation mo- saics in various regions and ecosys- tems of the country. In conservation landscapes, comprehensive actions of conservation and sustainable production are promoted, generating changes in land use with less impact on biodiversity, as well as the develop- ment and application of appropriate technical solutions to local contexts. In addition, conservation landscapes necessitate the adoption of sustaina- ble use practices, an improvement in connectivity as well as decision-mak- ing exercises on the territory and its management by its inhabitants. In the last two years, this approach has had the additional funding of the GEF / World Bank and USAID to scale it to regions with strategic ecosystems. Namely, the Colombian Massif, where its aim is to contribute to the conservation of forests and aq- uifers where the most important riv- ers of the country are born. Colombia has worked in five mosaics in alliance with SIRAP Macizo. Likewise, from the ‘Paisajes Caribe’ Programme, the conservation and recovery of the dry forest and its connectivities are promoted in this region of great economic importance. This approach allows the genera- tion of fundamental elements, con- tributing to the financial sustainabil- ity of conservation management and ecosystem services. On one hand, conservation/production agreements are generated to link actions within the protected areas with those outside them and the actions of the various conservation actors, making inter- ventions more effective. On the other hand, conservation and manage- ment strategies are developed, while promoting processes of sustainable local development that respond to the expectations of the inhabitants. The strengthening of social capital and leadership by social organi- zations and community groups generates social commitment while promoting territorial roots. Also, in- stitutional alliances facilitate coordi- nated management, greater synergies and the articulation and leveraging of resources. Colombia has a patrimo- nial fund of the Mosaics of Conserva- tion Programme that supports, with sustainable financing, two conser- vation mosaics around the Galeras Flora and Fauna Sanctuary and the Las Orquídeas National Natural Park. D iversity and complexity are the two words that best describe the biological heritage in Colombia. The country occupies 0.22 per cent of the world’s land surface and houses more than 10 per cent of its currently known species. As a mega-diverse territory, it is classified within the group of the 14 countries that have the highest index of biodiversity on earth. This is superimposed on a political, economic and social history, equally complex and diverse. The country has five terrestrial ecoregions: Chocó biogeographic; Plains of the Caribbean; Amazon; Orinoquia and the Andean Region. There are two marine-coastal regions: Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, with a maritime area equal to that of its land territory. The country contains over 300 types of continental and coastal ecosystems. Rio Magdalena, San Augustin Alexander Schimmeck on flickr Colombia