Above: Representatives of indigenous peoples and the Catholic and Episcopal churches presented the Declaration of the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative at the public launch event in Bogotá, November 2018.
Bogotá, Colombia
The launch of the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative in Colombia took place in November 2018 in Bogotá in the first meeting of its kind in the country to bring religious communities together to find new ways to address the nation’s acute level of deforestation. Over three days, more than 300 religious leaders engaged with leaders of indigenous peoples’ organizations, NGOs, scientists, multilaterals, government, and others already working on forest protection efforts around the country. They convened for briefings, dialogues and planning sessions to consider how the commitment and influence of Colombia’s religious and spiritual leaders can contribute to the protection of the country’s rainforests, and the indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians that defend them. The public launch event, which took place at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, had the participation of high-level religious leaders of the Catholic Church, the Inter-Religious Council of Colombia, Religions for Peace, the World Council of Churches, national indigenous peoples’ and Afro-Colombian organizations, the Colombian Office of Religious Affairs, the Norwegian Embassy in Bogotá, and UN Environment-Colombia.
- The full declaration can be found here
- The Executive Summary of the event can be found here
- Press release of the event can be found here
- A full report of media coverage of the event can be found here
For more information on the IRI Colombia program, contact: colombia@interfaithrainforest.org
