Climate, environment, management of natural resources: Colombia – a treasure chest of biodiversity
Protecting biodiversity in Colombia: how GIZ is promoting sustainable farming in the Amazon.
Colombia, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, is home to an enormous range of ecosystems. Through its work, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is helping to protect those ecosystems and promote sustainable farming in the Amazon region.
With its Amazon rainforest, the Andes, Pacific and Atlantic coastlands and vast river basins, Colombia is a global biodiversity hotspot. The greatest levels of biodiversity can be found in the country’s forests, which cover roughly 52 per cent of the land. However, decades of conflict left a great number of these forested areas inaccessible. Although many roads and paths have been restored since the peace agreement was signed in 2016, they also facilitate uncontrolled deforestation. Cattle farms occupy over 65 per cent of all agricultural land in the central Colombian regions of Meta and Caquetá and are the principal cause of deforestation. This has negative consequences for biodiversity, the environment and greenhouse gas emissions.
Sustainable, deforestation-free cattle farming
To counter these harmful practices, GIZ has been commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to promote sustainable, deforestation-free cattle farming. With this goal in mind, we are working with 580 family-run cattle farms and 13 dairy companies. Smallholders learn how to protect the forest and its ecosystems, improve the welfare of their animals and at the same time boost their productivity. Take Liliana Casas, for example. Her cattle are now prospering, and by rotating and dividing up the land used for grazing, she is helping to conserve increasingly scarce water resources. ‘By applying the methods we’ve learned, we’ve increased our milk production from 26 litres to 40 litres a day and boosted our income.’ Liliana explains. The collaboration between agricultural organisations, such as FEDEGAN, Uniamazonia and the Caquetá Cattle Ranchers' Committee, has been so successful that 11,000 hectares of natural forest have been preserved on land occupied by 242 cattle-farming businesses. Altogether, 822 families in the cattle-farming sector have benefited from training on deforestation-free cattle farming and sustainable business models. As well as boosting their productivity, they are able to sell their produce at a higher price.
The cacay nut – forging a success story in the shadow of the cacao market
GIZ also supports new approaches in the forestry sector that help to maintain rainforest biodiversity. Acting on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), it supports measures to strengthen value chains and services based on environmentally friendly forms of economic activity, including products such as cacay and laranja nuts, açaí berries, copoazú fruit and honey, alongside tourism, in order to boost and diversify the incomes of those who depend on the forest for their livelihood.
For years, the cacay fruit market was overshadowed by cacao, which is a major export product. Cacay fruits were mainly cultivated as food for the local and indigenous population, although they also provided food for the region’s wildlife. Today, however, cacay nuts – collected from the wild rather than cultivated – can generate a secure income. That helps to protect the rainforest – where the cacay nut grows – from uncontrolled felling. Cacay trees also benefit the environment by absorbing large volumes of CO2. They can grow up to 40 metres high and produce around 80 kilos of nuts per year. Indigenous communities use the oil extracted from the nut as a medicine. Cacay oil is now a sought-after anti-ageing product all over the world and can be found in an ever-growing number of skincare products. This year, a single mature cacay tree could generate up to 1.2 million pesos – more than could be earned from cattle farming. In a good year, a cacay tree can generate as much income as a hectare of pasture using traditional cattle-farming methods. To date, 45 families have undergone training in proven cacay harvesting techniques that have delivered an average eight per cent boost to incomes.
Cacay oil – the ‘liquid gold’ of the Amazon
GIZ/Fernando Ramírez
Back in 2017, the Colombian family-run business CaryO took the bold decision to transform the farm’s grazing land into a cacay plantation. Since then, the family have planted over 13,000 cacay trees and use the nuts to produce cacay oil. The business works closely with farmers and indigenous communities in the Amazon to ensure that they can earn a living from collecting wild cacay nuts. Thanks to its partnership with GIZ, the company was also able to access the European market: ‘Selling our cacay oil on the international market is important because it allows us to carry on expanding our project and boost our income. In turn, that means the farmers who supply our cacay nuts get a better price, too,’ explains Camillo Camilo Bueno, CaryO’s managing director.
Both projects illustrate how preserving the environment and protecting people’s livelihoods can go hand in hand. GIZ is helping Colombia to protect the country’s unique biodiversity while also strengthening local economic activities and value chains in line with the principles of sustainability and inclusiveness. Last year, nearly 36,000 people benefited from training courses and other activities supported by GIZ and its partners in Colombia.