The program that encourages conservation in the Amazon will be extended for another year and will add thousands of beneficiary families.
The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development announced the extension of the Conservar Paga program until December 2026an initiative that seeks to provide economic incentives to Amazonian communities for their work in forest conservation. With this decision, the Government ensures the continuity of the project within the term of the National Development Plan “Colombia, world power of life”, and guarantees payments to 9,000 families who work to protect the jungle.
The expansion will allow conservation agreements to be maintained on some 350,000 hectares of tropical forest in the Amazon region. According to the entity, the objective is to recognize the role of rural communities in containing deforestation and environmental restoration. Currently, 5,500 families are part of the program and receive an economic incentive for conserving 240,000 hectares distributed in the departments of Meta, Guaviare, Caquetá and Putumayo.
You may be interested in: “Gringos go home”: Minister Benedetti responds after being included in Clinton list
The coordination of the program involves several environmental institutionsamong them the Amazon Institute of Scientific Research (Sinchi), Corpoamazonia and the Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the North and East of the Amazon (CDA). These entities accompany the process of verifying commitments and monitoring the results obtained in the intervention areas.
Conservar Paga shows positive results after one year of implementation. According to reports from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam), the program registers 98% compliance by families linked to the Forestry and Biodiversity Development Nuclei. These nuclei have been defined as strategic areas to stop indiscriminate logging and advance the recovery of the Amazon Biome.
95% of the allocated resources go directly to peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant communitieswith the purpose of strengthening local economies, promoting sustainable production practices and contributing to food security and sovereignty in the territories. This approach seeks to balance environmental protection with improving the living conditions of families who live in the jungle.
The environmental portfolio considers that the program has been consolidated as a key strategy for sustainable development in the Amazon region. In addition to its environmental impact, Conservar Paga has become a model of recognition of community work in the management of the territory and in the promotion of new economic alternatives based on the conservation of natural resources.
More news: Government promotes transition towards electric taxis with new showroom in Bogotá
With the extension until 2026, the Ministry of the Environment intends to sign 9,000 conservation agreementsmaintain the protection of hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest and strengthen the participation of communities in the country’s environmental management. The measure is part of national policies to combat deforestation and promote an economy that values the ecosystem services of the Colombian Amazon.
Source: Integrated Information System
