About the project
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Deforestation in Colombia threatens both biodiversity and the well-being of rural communities and Indigenous Peoples who depend on forests for their livelihoods. Through initiatives such as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), the country promotes the conservation, sustainable management, and restoration of these ecosystems, fostering sustainable alternatives that benefit communities and help mitigate climate change. This supports communities in their role as guardians of the forest, seeking a balance between sustainable development and the protection of their territories and cultures.
The 2015-2016 REDD+ Colombia Results-Based Payment project, known as GCF-Visión Amazonía, contributes to reducing deforestation in the Colombian Amazon biome by strengthening and monitoring forests at both the national and local levels.
In addition, through the “Forests, Territories of Life” strategy and the Integrated Plan for Deforestation Containment (PICD), it seeks to transform Active Deforestation Nuclei (NAD) into Forestry and Biodiversity Development Nuclei (SFMN). This transition not only promotes the closure of the agricultural frontier but also offers economic and social opportunities to rural and indigenous communities.
It also works on territorial governance and strengthening the capacities of Indigenous Peoples for sustainable forest management and conservation.
Focus point
Collaborative implementation
The GCF-Visión Amazonía Project is implemented in Colombia by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MinAmbiente), the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) and the rural communities and Indigenous Peoples of the colombian Amazon Biome.
Safeguards approach
The project has been reviewed in accordance with FAO environmental and social standards, ensuring its consistency with the objectives of the GCF Performance Standards and promoting responsible, inclusive, and environmentally and community-friendly implementation.
According to the FAO's environmental and social safeguard rating list, the GCF-Visión Amazonía Project has been classified as MODERATE RISK (Category B) and the following safeguards have been activated:
SAS2: Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Natural Habitats
SAS4: Animals - Livestock and Aquaculture - Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
SAS7: Decent Work
SAS8: Gender Equality
SAS9: Indigenous Peoples and Cultural Heritage
The project has an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) that aims to establish the strategies and measures necessary to adequately manage social and environmental risks. This plan guides actions to prevent and mitigate adverse effects, while maximizing the environmental, social, and cultural benefits of the activities implemented.
As part of the risk management system, the project conducts a quarterly review of the intervention sites, ensuring continuous monitoring, timely identification of new risks, and updating of the necessary management measures to keep the risk level under control throughout implementation.
Full and effective participation
A stakeholder participation mechanism has been developed to ensure full, effective, and equitable participation at both the programmatic and operational levels. This mechanism follows the guidelines established in the Stakeholder Participation Plan for the Development of the National REDD+ Strategy. The mechanism guarantees social inclusion and participation, public-private coordination, and the necessary institutional adaptation to ensure the project's legitimacy and consistency with national, regional, and local interests and priorities.
Results-based financing
Colombia made progress in its preparations for REDD+, fulfilling all the requirements established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
These requirements include: a National REDD+ Strategy, a National Forest Monitoring System, a Safeguards Information System, and a Forest Emission Reference Level. In this last area, Colombia presented a reference level for the Amazon Biome.
Regarding the Forest Emissions Reference Level, the country submitted its technical annex of REDD+ results to the UNFCCC, which demonstrated a reduction in deforestation in the Amazon Biome in 2015-2016, and therefore in emissions. As a result, the country became eligible to access the GCF's results-based payment window. To advance this process, in March 2019, the Government of Colombia designated FAO as the Accredited Agency to develop a proposal for the GCF's REDD+ results-based payment window.
Following the regulatory process, on August 21, 2020, the GCF Executive Board, at its 26th meeting, approved Colombia's proposal for US$28.2 million.