Project/activity information

This proposal stems from a recommendation of Project PD 415/06 Rev. 2 (M) “Systematization and Modelling of Economic and Technical Information to Train Professionals Related to the Production, Processing and Marketing of Timber Products”, implemented by the University of Tolima under an Agreement with ITTO and the Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS) of the Republic of Colombia. The management of secondary natural forests in the collective territory of Bajo Calima, located in the Colombian Pacific plateau bio-geographic region, has been allocated to Afro-descendant communities through their Community Councils, but due to the lack of sustainable management, the natural environment in the area has been degraded. To address this problem, this project has the development objective of contributing to the implementation of management, conservation and restoration programs for the strategic ecosystems of the Colombian Pacific region based on enrichment planting and agroforestry systems established under a sustainable management approach.

The project seeks to help raise the living standards of the communities with a focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women in the collective territory of Bajo Calima. The actions considered in this project are aimed at promoting sustainable production alternatives that will contribute to the reduction of deforestation and strengthen institutional and local community capacities, as established in the recent policy for deforestation control and sustainable forest management issued by the national government in December 2020 (CONPES 4021 documents). This process will be accompanied by an action-research program with the participation of undergraduate and graduate students of the University, with particular emphasis on ecosystem services related to climate change.