Colombia occupies approximately 420,00 km2 of the Amazon rain forest. This is a territory of numerous indigenous cultures and of forests that thrive with an unmatched diversity of plants and animals. An important part of the conservation of all the cultural and biological diversity is carried through indigenous reserves and national parks. Indigenous reserves, known nationally as resguardos, are areas of collective property where the territory and the indigenous political and cultural autonomy are recognized by Colombian law. Almost half of the Colombian Amazon territory is resguardo and another 15% is National Park. These conservation areas are being threatened by the advancement of the agricultural frontier, illegal crop plantations and poverty, as well as other more local problems.



The TBI-Colombia programme has constructed a platform of local environmental institutions for discussing these conservation threats and searching for solutions. This platform is built upon continuity and integration, inter-institutional relations and promotes dialogue between scientific and indigenous knowledge. TBI-Colombia, together with academic institutions, policy-makers and indigenous people, works on capacity building, helps the development of research programmes and develops mechanisms for the recognition, recuperation and protection of traditional knowledge.



Mayor areas of interest are:



- Structural and functional ecology of tropical rain forest ecosystems

- Research in support of management planning of nature reserves

- Territorial planning (land use planning with indigenous communities)

Indigenous research for cultural recovery