Image of a large field surrounded by mountainous, green terrain.

Mitigating Climate Change in Colombia .

Environment and Natural Resources | Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management | Land Tenure and Resource Governance | Natural Climate Solutions
Latin America and the Caribbean

Páramos and Forests Activity

Project Dates: March 2018 - March 2023
With progressive policies and private sector and community engagement, Colombia is turning its international greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitments into action.

In Colombia, a country highly dependent on natural resources, climate change will have significant consequences. As the country consolidates a historic peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), it must also prepare for potential environmental deterioration as former combatants and displaced people resettle in rural areas. These challenges call for early action to reduce human, economic, and ecosystem vulnerability. The tropical forests of the Pacific Coast are among the most biodiverse in the world and the páramos (highland Andean wetlands and forests) are the source of 70 percent of the freshwater used by Colombians. Communities can be the best guarantors of these resources if they receive tangible benefits for their efforts through results-based conservation payments like reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) and water funds. The USAID Páramos and Forests Activity responds to these challenges and opportunities to make economic growth and sound environmental stewardship compatible goals in a post-conflict scenario.

Project Goals


  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve water resources in strategic watersheds
  • Open opportunities for “green” production and payment for environmental services
  • Support policies to induce private investment and reward communities for sound conservation practices
Video screenshot of Camilo Arreaza Chaparro talking, wearing a brown hat and coral t-shirt

Colombia’s Carbon Stewards: Sustainable Ranchers in the Savannas

This video is part of our docuseries on Communities and Carbon in Colombia and highlights the experience of cattle ranchers in the savannas.

Colombia’s Carbon Stewards: Piangueras in the Pacific Coast

This video is part of our docuseries on Communities and Carbon in Colombia and highlights the experience of Afro-Colombian clam harvesters and those protecting against deforestation and forest degradation on Colombia's Pacific coast. 

A woman holds a plant in a greenhouse

Colombia’s Carbon Stewards: The Misak in the Páramos

This video is part of our docuseries on Communities and Carbon in Colombia and highlights the experience of the Indigenous Misak community in Colombia's high Andes ecosystems (páramos).

Luis Fernando Jara speaking in a Colombian forest

Nature-based Solutions for Scaled Impact

Luis Fernando Jara, Chemonics’ Chief of Party for the USAID Páramos and Forests Activity, explains how the project is supporting the Colombian government’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions 51% by 2030.

A lush green forest with a trail running through it. A man can be seen leading a donkey carrying cargo down the trail.

Colombia’s Sonic Forest

For almost a decade USAID has worked with Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities to protect their way of life. Learn how the pacific forest communities in Colombia are safeguarding the most biodiverse rainforests in the world.

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