The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) is a set of ecosystems unique in the world, featuring a gradient of natural environments spanning, in less than 50 km, from perpetual snow at 5,800 m altitude down to the Caribbean Sea. Its exceptional biodiversity is threatened by marijuana and coca cultivation, the massive use of chemical products, and other factors. Over the past 40 years, more than 70% of the SNSM’s forest areas have been destroyed.
Deforestation has dried up numerous water sources, leading to the installation of water catchments and dams further upstream, to the detriment of local populations, often Indigenous. These populations are forced to retreat further uphill and clear the last remaining forest areas. The project’s ultimate aim is therefore the comprehensive restoration (forest, water, cultural) of geographically coherent areas (valleys, watersheds), through an appropriate “socio-cultural” approach embraced by local stakeholders, essential for the success and long-term sustainability of the process.
The association TIA has, for 9 years, been implementing a biodiversity preservation/restoration process, based on land rights and culture, social organisation, and the specific knowledge and practices of the Indigenous Kogi community.
This project aims to consolidate the process across the territories already involved and to rapidly extend it to new territories.