Over the course of three days, members of Congress, scientists, religious leaders, and local officials toured the Amazon, observed the impact of deforestation from the air, and participated in a co-creation exercise that integrated science, spirituality, and territorial knowledge to advance a legislative agenda aimed at curbing deforestation and strengthening Amazonian governance.
Home to a cultural legacy spanning thousands of years and unparalleled biological richness—yet also facing the highest rates of forest loss in the country—the municipality of San José del Guaviare hosted the Amazonian Scientific Immersion Workshop, organized for the second consecutive year by the Interreligious Initiative for Tropical Forests (IRI-Colombia).
Held from June 11 to 13, this experiential gathering represents a high-impact methodological innovation designed to bridge the gaps between science and public policy; territory and legislative decisions; and scientific evidence and ethical responsibility.
This year’s edition was conceived as a space for dynamic dialogue among science, public policy, spirituality, territorial knowledge, and legislative action. The main objective of this workshop was to strengthen the capacities of the congresspeople-elect for the 2026–2030 term, focusing on strategic decision-making and leadership of a transformative legislative agenda centered on effectively controlling deforestation and transitioning toward a zero-deforestation Amazon—an indispensable condition for ensuring Colombia’s climate, water, and socioeconomic stability.
The event brought together 12 elected members of Congress and their staff, scientists and experts, religious leaders, and local authorities, who spent three days immersed in a transformative learning experience grounded in scientific knowledge as well as firsthand experience of the region.
“Forums like this strengthen dialogue and discussion, and offer the opportunity to coordinate actions that reflect a commitment to protecting the region,” said Willy Alejandro Rodríguez Rojas, mayor of San José del Guaviare.
This major educational and experiential gathering was structured around four main themes. The first consisted of high-level lectures that provided participants with the conceptual tools needed to understand the biological, ecological, and cultural richness of the Amazon, as well as the dynamics of deforestation, climate risks, and public policy alternatives.
The second was a firsthand experience of the Amazon that allowed participants—through a guided tour of the Serranía de la Lindosa and an aerial tour—to translate technical information into a concrete understanding of the reality of the territory and the impact of deforestation.
“Legislating today on the Amazon means legislating on water, climate, territorial stability, and the very future of the nation,” said Blanca Lucía Echeverry, director of IRI-Colombia.
The third was a reflection session where spirituality and public ethics converged to address political responsibility in the face of the environmental crisis, linking decision-making to principles of intergenerational justice. And finally, a space for co-creation where specific legislative actions were identified, aimed at generating a real impact for the Amazon through parliamentary work.
“Colombia today needs leaders capable of understanding that protecting the Amazon is not merely an environmental agenda, but a strategic priority for the country’s water, climate, economic, and democratic security,” emphasized Blanca Lucía Echeverry. The director of IRI-Colombia led the event, whose ultimate goal was to promote the collective development of a legislative coordination initiative for the defense of the Amazon through the creation of a special bicameral commission of the Congress of the Republic.
“Seventy percent of our department is still forested. However, cultural dynamics and land-use patterns are leading to the annual loss of approximately 20,000 hectares of forest,” said Albeiro Pachón, a representative of the Guaviare Governor’s Office, who drew attention to the rising deforestation rates in the department and the arrival of the “Super Niño” (an El Niño phenomenon), which threatens the region’s water security. For this reason, he welcomed the creation of a coordinated working group to promote the protection of the Amazon.
Some of the participants in the 2026 Amazon Scientific Immersion Workshop, organized by IRI-Colombia. Photo: IRI-Colombia.
Key Topics for Understanding the Amazon
The ethics of care, the environmental priorities that must be addressed to defend the Amazon, and the implementation of Indigenous Territorial Entities as a strategy for preserving this important biome were the central themes of the first session of the Amazon Scientific Immersion Conference.
“The global climate crisis confronts us with an ethical dimension that must guide our collective decisions,” emphasized Reverend Loida Sardiñas. In her presentation, “Caring for Creation: Ethics, Spirituality, and Historical Responsibility in the Face of the Climate Crisis,” she proposed the ethics of good living and coexistence as a response to the moral crisis of civilization posed by the global climate crisis, which stems from the extractivist development model that humanity has been implementing.
In turn, Juan Camilo González contrasted this ethical crisis with Indigenous thought based on reciprocity and interconnection with nature—factors that have enabled ancestral peoples to preserve 99.5% of their territories. At the conference, “Territorial Entities and Indigenous Governance: Pillars of Amazonian Stability,” the director of the Territorios en Común Foundation addressed the concept of biocultural governance and highlighted the Territorial Entities (ETIs) as one of the country’s most important political and administrative transformations, indispensable for ensuring the protection of the Amazon.
For his part, biologist and limnologist Carlos Alberto Rivera warned of the serious environmental impacts affecting the region, such as deforestation—which is bringing the biome close to a point of no return estimated at 25% loss of forest cover—heavy metal pollution from mining, forest fires, and territorial fragmentation. In his presentation, “A Critical Agenda for the Amazon,” the professor and researcher at Javeriana University outlined the priority issues that the legislative agenda should address to ensure the protection of the Amazon biome.
“Cultural dynamics and land-use patterns mean that we lose around 20,000 hectares of forest every year. Our concern is that, despite institutional efforts involving international cooperation and various organizations, these figures continue to rise,” said Albeiro Pachón, a delegate from the Guaviare Governor’s Office.
A Window into the Past
Known as the “Gateway to Chiribiquete” due to its geological and cultural similarities to the Serranía de Chiribiquete National Park, Cerro Azul is one of the country’s most important natural and archaeological attractions.
Located 46 km from San José del Guaviare, in the Serranía de La Lindosa, it served as the venue for the second session of IRI-Colombia’s Amazon Scientific Immersion Workshop.
During a nearly five-kilometer hike, participants explored the tropical forest while witnessing a cultural legacy captured in more than 1,200 meters of cave paintings dating back over 12,000 years and preserving the history of hundreds of cultures that have inhabited this region.
Before embarking on this immersive expedition, Angélica Medina Mendoza, deputy director of Social Engagement at the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH), and Edwin Agudelo Córdoba, director of the Guaviare branch of the Amazonian Institute for Scientific Research (Sinchi), provided participants with a panoramic view of the territory through an anthropological and cultural lens, as well as an overview of the region’s hydrological network and its biological and ecological characteristics.
This experience of exploring the natural and cultural legacy of the Guaviare Amazon stood in contrast to the impressions gained from the aerial flights conducted during the third session of the conference.
Flying at an altitude of 8,500 feet (more than 2,500 m), the representatives and their advisors witnessed the scars left on the territory by deforestation and the fragmentation of forested areas. They also had the opportunity to identify zones where some of the drivers of deforestation that threaten the vitality of the Amazon biome were evident.
“The dialogue between science, ethics, and ancestral knowledge will allow us to speak of the deep respect our natural world deserves and to make significant progress on the strategies and decisions necessary for this region,” said Willy Alejandro Rodríguez, mayor of San José del Guaviare.
A Legislative Agenda Grounded in Science and the Territory
“The goal of this session is for us to define a roadmap for legislation, political oversight, and territorial management through collaborative work,” said Javier Eduardo Mendoza, an expert in climate change, biodiversity management, and sustainability, who served as facilitator for the ‘Legislative Clinic.’
Named as such by IRI-Colombia, the third session of the Amazon Scientific Immersion Conference became a space for dialogue and collaborative creation, in which members of Congress and their advisors reflected on the priority issues that should be addressed through legislation and took the first steps toward creating the Ad Hoc Bicameral Commission “National Coordination Table for the Amazon.”
In addition, three experts contributed to the discussion: in the lecture “The Amazon and the Constitutional Order: Structural Framework, Law, and Territory on the Brink of the Climate Crisis,” Érika Castro Buitrago, the Deputy Ombudsman for Collective and Environmental Rights at the Ombudsman’s Office, addressed the need to include the rights of nature in legislative action.
For her part, María Constanza Meza, Deputy Director for Disaster Risk Reduction at the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), gave a presentation on comprehensive fire management; and Natalia Acero, Program Manager for Integrated Watershed and Water Resource Management at The Nature Conservancy, delivered the lecture “Water, Territory, and Climate Security: The Framework Colombia Must Achieve,” on the role of the Amazon in the country’s water, energy, and economic security.
“For the Catholic Church, it is a great honor and privilege to continue committing to everything that contributes to the care of our common home—that legacy left to us by Pope Francis to care for this earth we inhabit,” said Father Fredy Eduardo Vanegas, director of Social Ministry in Guaviare.
What actions are needed to incorporate scientific evidence on the Amazon into current or future legislation; what key questions should Congress ask during a political oversight debate to verify that the Executive Branch uses scientific evidence in the design and implementation of environmental policies for the Amazon; and how to coordinate science, territory, and governance to ensure coherence between legislation and local dynamics in Amazonian territories—these were the questions that guided the reflections of the members of Congress, who committed to creating the Ad Hoc Bicameral Commission “National Coordination Roundtable for the Amazon.” Through this initiative, it is hoped that coordinated collective efforts will strengthen a legislative agenda that promotes and consolidates the protection of the biome and its inhabitants.
In the words of Joseph Corcoran, through the Amazon Scientific Immersion Day, IRI-Colombia is building a serious and urgently needed intersectoral platform for the region. “It brings together science, faith, the territory, and public policy in the service of the Colombian Amazon, indigenous peoples, and climate stability,” noted the director of the global Interreligious Initiative for Tropical Forests.
“Today, the Corporation is reaching places it couldn’t before, thanks to international cooperation and our coordinated work with the communities. The pastors, priests, and various religious leaders from IRI provide us with this vital support,” noted Felipe Esponda, regional director of the Corporation for the Development of the Northern and Eastern Amazon (CDA).
