Social and Economic Entrepreneurship For the Fight Against Deforestation

In Colombia, 123,517 hectares of land were lost to deforestation in 2022, 78% of which occurred in the Colombian Amazon, according to data from the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project and the Colombia Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. The most acute impacts of deforestation are borne by national parks and indigenous reserves.

ACDI/VOCA and Fundación ACDI/VOCA Latinoamérica (FAVLA) signed an agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank to implement the project “Social and Economic Entrepreneurship with Sustainable for the Fight against Deforestation”, an initiative prioritized by the Sustainable Colombia Fund and aligned with the environmental agenda of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia.

The project arose from the need to counteract the causes of deforestation through community consultation processes and the promotion of entrepreneurship in areas of two of Colombia’s National Natural Parks (PNN): PNN Paramillo and PNN Catatumbo Barí.

The project was awarded the prestigious “Superheroes of Development 2024” award, bestowed by the Inter-American Development Bank to projects that demonstrate innovation, commitment, and outstanding results.

Project Objectives

The Project co-created and implemented agreements with the rural population in vulnerable conditions, who:

Inhabit protected areas, and/or use traditional practices associated with the rural/artisan economy in protected areas,
Derive their sustenance from these practices, and
May be recognized by local entities as possessing an artisanal and traditional productive relationship with the protected area(s), and thereby may contribute to the resolution of the conflicts of use, occupation, and possession of lands that arise in these areas.

Project Activities

Create awareness among local communities on ways to stop deforestation and stabilize the agricultural frontier
Develop and implement agreements to use, order, and regulate productive activities in accordance with the conservation objectives and the living conditions of rural communities
Provide technical assistance and rural extension services for sustainable small-scale production of agricultural commodities and livestock.

Project Results

More than 2,000 hectares (ha) of small-scale farms under improved land management practices (899 ha under conservation, 64 ha under restoration, and 1,234 ha under sustainable farming systems)
78 conservation agreements were signed between institutional actors and local communities to reduce deforestation
486 families developed sustainable alternative livelihoods
29 commercialization agreements signed across 10 value chains for sustainably produced commodities, including peppers, eggs, bananas, and cocoa