Comunidades Rurales por los Bosques.

Climate Change and Biodiversity: Interconnected Challenges

Overview of Climate Change and Biodiversity Initiatives

• Climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected challenges that require integrated action to mitigate their impacts.

• Strategies implemented in Caquetá, Guaviare, Nariño, and Putumayo focus on conserving agrobiodiversity, maintaining ecosystem services, and strengthening community resilience.

• Local knowledge about biodiversity is being rescued to empower indigenous communities like Huoto, Corebaje, and NASA through sustainable forest management practices.

Community Engagement in Environmental Restoration

• Community governance has been strengthened for environmental management, including ecological restoration efforts across deforested areas.

• In Nariño, initiatives led by the Andean Pastos people and Afro women from Tumaco have enhanced recognition of biodiversity through traditional ecological knowledge.

• Ecological restoration activities include improving agricultural diversity and agroecological practices while enhancing livelihoods for local communities.

Capacity Building for Biodiversity Conservation

• Twelve community co-guardians were trained to conserve biodiversity while adapting to climate change.

• A community environmental plan was developed that respects local worldviews and promotes sustainable ecosystem management.

Indigenous Knowledge in Climate Adaptation

• In Putumayo, strategies emphasize adaptation to climate change using ancestral knowledge from indigenous peoples with a focus on women and youth involvement.

• Traditional chakras are being restored by CAMS and Inga peoples using biocultural practices that enhance food sovereignty and preserve cultivated biodiversity.

Sustainable Practices in Resource Management

• Activities aimed at restoring wetlands and recognizing non-timber forest resources have been initiated in Putumayo.

• The recovery of the Iraca palm species highlights the importance of artisanal uses among the Inga people while promoting native species planting by the Pastos community.

Strengthening Community Organizations for Future Sustainability

• Efforts in Guaviare focus on reinforcing indigenous knowledge systems related to conservation practices for climate adaptation.

• The Tucano people's agricultural methods have revived lost species linked to their cultural heritage while contributing positively to their livelihoods.

• The UN Development Program (PNUD), through various initiatives, supports community organizations reflecting a growing awareness of the need to care for forests and biodiversity.