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The Amazon covers about 40 percent of Colombia and holds over 60 percent of its natural forests. As one of the world’s major biodiversity reservoirs, the Colombian Amazon plays critical roles in regulating the hydrological cycle, capturing carbon, maintaining regional ecological connectivity, and supporting more than 300 Indigenous and rural communities. Yet, the region is experiencing rapid deforestation, with 113,000 hectares lost in 2021 alone.

Today, the Global Environment Facility announced the approval of $15.6 million to support the initiative, “Beyond 30x30: Ensuring Resilience in the Eastern Tropical Pacific through Greater Cross-Border Cooperation,” which aims to improve the resilience of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR).

The Colombian high-mountain region is constantly affected by the advance of urban footprints and the expansion of the agricultural frontier, which significantly contribute to the loss of biodiversity and the ecosystem services provided by the páramos.

In February, Gustavo Petro, the President of the Republic of Colombia announced that Cali will be the host city for the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) to be held from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1, 2024.

This publication provides an overview of initiatives under the GEF Small Grants Programme's (SGP) climate change portfolio which fall under the following thematic areas:

The Global Environment Facility joined other partners and supporters to celebrate the achievements of Herencia Colombia (HECO) on the margins of the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon. HECO plans to ensure the conservation and long-term financing of nearly 30 million hectares of protected landscapes and seascapes, equivalent to 14 percent of the Colombian territory.  

A broad coalition of philanthropic, government, and non-government organizations pledged technical and financial assistance totaling more than $150 million in private and public funds, to support Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama in strengthening the Eastern Tropical Marine Corridor (CMAR) by creating a transboundary biosphere reserve that will connect and protect biological hotspots and encompass 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles) of ocean – an area slightly larger than Spain.

Under the seventh GEF replenishment, GEF-7, Impact Programs (IPs) on Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR); Sustainable Forest Management (SFM); and Sustainable Cities are being developed to address the drivers of environmental degradation, and to support transformational change in these key systems.