Could 2021–2030 be the decade to couple new human values with ecological restoration? Valuable insights and actions are emerging from the Colombian Amazon

BACKGROUND

The department of Caquetá in southern Colombia encompasses the northwest area of Colombian Amazonia. It had the highest annual deforestation rate of 63,200 ha/year between 2000 and 2007, in the Colombian Amazon. In the 1900’s, the area was characterized by several armed conflicts and poor governance. In 2016, a national peace agreement was signed, followed by the development of a project called “Restoration of Disturbed Areas by the Implementation of Agricultural Systems in the Department of Caquetá”, to promote the restoration of severely degraded forests in participation with local farmers. This research seeks to understand social contribution in restoration efforts in this region. 

CONCLUSIONS AND TAKEAWAYS

The authors state that, human dimension should be a key objective in any restoration project. Including several social agents in the restoration process allows the formation of bridges to restore degraded forest and to produce shared ways of thinking about the forests. Human values must also be considered in the 2021- 2030 UN restoration project and must be constructed through a process of stakeholder-based problem definitions, combined with social representation, with consequences for legitimation as priorities for action.