Colombian Amazon

Participatory mapping is a tool to socially construct a geospatial visualization of infrastructure within a mosaic of protected areas, indigenous territories and other lands.  Participants in GIA workshops identified and mapped areas considered to be of high value, areas of perceived threats, and recommended actions.   Maps and textual analysis from the Colombian Amazon mosaic may be found here, while a cross-regional synthesis may be found here (Forthcoming).

The Colombian Amazon Community of Practice and Learning brings together a range of actors who work together in multiple ways to address shared challenges.  Understanding how collaboration occurs and how different organizations can work together to maximize their collective impact are important areas for analysis and reflection.

In addition, many other stakeholders such as financing, construction, political and economic actors influence governance, infrastructure development, and conservation and development outcomes.  It is important to understand who these actors are, their interests, sources of power, and opportunities to influence them.

For a more synthetic perspective on stakeholder analysis here (Forthcoming) , and for organizational analysis here (Forthcoming).
Learn more from our post-doctorate research projects and other analyses related to the Colombian Amazon CoP-L network and other infrastructure governance stakeholders below.

“Effective collaborative relationships and infrastructure challenges”
By Dr. Martha Rosero Peña

Given the important role of grassroots organizations in effective conservation strategies, as identified by GIA’s preliminary assessment, we have initiated research to learn lessons from collaborative efforts for environmental governance carried out among local communities, indigenous peoples and NGOs in the Colombia mosaic. This research seeks to understand how internal and external factors such as institutional, culture, organizational strategy, capacity, political factors and institutional relationships affect partnerships, and the practices that organizations and local and indigenous people have used to collaborate effectively. In addition to consulting widely among GIA partners from the Colombia mosaic, Martha will work jointly with Flora Macas and Waira Jacanamijoy, two indigenous Inga who are part of the Association of Cabildos Tandachiridu Inganokuna. As co-researchers, they will be talking with traditional authorities and leaders to hear an indigenous perspective about elements that are crucial for the parties involved in fostering productive collaborative relationships.

By Martha-Rosero- Penã (UF – GIA)

“Effectiveness of conservation strategies for infrastructure governance”
Dr. Jazmin Gonzales Tovar

Our preliminary assessment of conservation strategies identified several promising cases that offer opportunities for analysis and learning. By comparatively analyzing fours specific cases—one in each of the four GIA countries (Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru)—this research aims to assess the effectiveness of strategies aimed to promote infrastructure governance. The study takes a close look at contextual/exogenous factors (e.g. politics and governance), power dynamics, synergies among diverse types of strategies, political mobilization, and coalitions/collaborations. It will deeply explore how certain social-environmentally oriented actors faced specific infrastructure projects in a given Amazonian region; which strategies they utilized to advance their desired goals, how they exerted power to influence decision-making, how they built coalitions and interacted with actors that had different goals or priorities, what were the results, and why (e.g. what was the effect of contextual factors and power relations).

The chosen cases in Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil constitute successful stories of indigenous groups who managed to stop or pause infrastructure projects that would have impacted their territories and infringed their rights. For those three cases, this research aims to produce scientific evidence and communication materials that help these indigenous groups in their lucha.

For Bolivia and Colombia, Jazmin is working in direct collaboration with indigenous leaders from the studied communities. In Colombia, the project will benefit from the involvement of Nidia Becerra, an indigenous Inga and leader from Yunguillo. Yunguillo is an empowered indigenous resguardo known for its constant fight for their rights, successfully stopping two road projects. Nidia will work with the support of two community members, who will be field assistants. For the case of Bolivia, Jazmin is building a collaborative relationship with Valentín Luna Ríos and Domingo Ocampo Huasna, two indigenous leaders from the communities of the Madidi and Pilón Lajas region, in the Madera river basin. These indigenous communities, organized in a mancomunidad, fought to stop the hydroelectric project Chepete – El Bala. These indigenous leaders will participate in the study as co-researchers. They will be the key link with their communities, overseeing the interviews with the traditional and spiritual authorities and leaders, and contribute with writing the analysis and conclusions.

LA COLABORACIÓN EFECTIVA DESDE LA PERSPECTIVA DE LAS ONGS

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La Colaboración efectiva para la Gobernanza Ambiental en la Amazonía Colombiana

Perspectivas desde un Pueblo Indígena, ONGs y una veeduría ciudadana

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COLABORACIÓN EFECTIVA DESDE LA PERSPECTIVA DE UNA VEEDERÍA CIUDADANA

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GIA had a series of virtual meetings with each GIA mosaic-level Community of Practice and Learning to present results from GIA’s first year of activities and discuss next steps for 2020.

Please access the Colombian Amazon CoP-L meeting below.

Learn more about events, activities and additional studies being carried out in the Colombian Amazon here

Vanessa Luna Celino
Title: Opportunities for Local Participation in the Governance of Green Road Infrastructure in the Colombian Amazon

The current rush for road development reflects the urgency for state presence in the Colombian Amazon in the post-conflict context. For the past few years, some conservationist NGOs and the environment and transportation ministries have been promoting a green infrastructure framework to battle the increasing deforestation rates in the region. This participatory-action research will explore if and how this new policy will allow local participation and how this participation affects outcomes for the socioenvironmental governance of roads in their territories.