IRI-Colombia is moving forward with the second training cycle of 2025, which focused on the department of Putumayo during the month of October. On October 23, religious leaders, community action board presidents, indigenous authorities, teachers, and representatives of social organizations that make up the local IRI chapters in Puerto Asís, Piñuña Blanco, and El Águila gathered at the Heliconia auditorium in Comfamiliar to participate in this new training session dedicated to forest protection and water defense.
“The local chapters are the heart of our strategy. They embody the union of faith, science, and community action to address the environmental crisis,” said Blanca Lucía Echeverry. Additionally, the director of IRI-Colombia emphasized that the Amazon needs committed voices that position the defense of tropical forests as an ethical and spiritual imperative.
For his part, the executive secretary of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network offered a theological reflection on the symbolic value of water. It is not just a resource: it is the mirror in which God reminds us of the fragility of life. In every polluted river and every dry stream, a spiritual bond with creation is broken, said religious leader Juan Felipe Martínez, who gave the lecture “Water, God’s precious gift.” “To care for it is to restore that sacred relationship between human beings and the Earth,” he added.
In addition, the scientist and professor at the District University delved into the role of the Amazon in the water cycle and its relationship with the climate. “Every tree is an invisible bridge between the ground and the sky. The forest produces the rain that sustains us. To preserve it is to protect the water cycle and our own existence,” he explained.
“The economy of those who inhabit the forest depends on its well-being. Conserving it is not stopping progress; on the contrary, it is redefining it from life, promoting green economies that are born from the forest,” emphasized Belén Ojeda. During her presentation, “Nature-based Enterprises,” the senior bioeconomy consultant at GGGI Colombia highlighted that conserving the forest is also an opportunity to strengthen the economy of Amazonian families.
The day in Puerto Asís ended with a presentation by the geographer. This training session reaffirmed that defending the Amazon is a moral responsibility and a collective task that brings together spirituality, science, and community action.
