Heritage Colombia (HECO): Maximizing the Contributions of Sustainably Managed Landscapes in Colombia for Achievement of Climate Goals

Climate change projections in Colombia show an increase in temperature and more unpredictable precipitation patterns, thereby increasing the likelihood of droughts, floods, landslides, and fires that contribute to the destruction of the country’s already threatened protected areas. Achieving water security is a top priority in Colombia where the agricultural sector and rural communities are heavily reliant on ecosystem services and up to 80 per cent of the urban population are affected by water scarcity during dry years. Heritage Colombia (HECO) aims to introduce a paradigm shift towards a more sustainable management of the country's ecosystems by employing a public-private partnership model that will secure financing in perpetuity for the sustainable management of key ecosystems and large-scale landscapes across the country, from the Heart of the Amazon to the Caribbean coast. The proposal will empower local governments by improving the institutional structures meant for surveilling and monitoring resource management, thus securing the most sustainable and effective future governance of these resources benefitting both adaptation and mitigation efforts in the region. The project relies on already tried and tested conservation, restoration, and rehabilitation instruments that have proven successful across a diverse set of ecosystems and social settings. By securing the water first, a wide range of co-benefits spanning from biodiversity and clean water provision can be unlocked from this single project.