IRI Colombia participated in the key meeting of technical and management teams held by the Listen to the Amazon alliance, with the purpose of outlining its strategic plan for 2025, which will contribute to aligning efforts to maximize the Alliance’s impact on the protection and sustainable development of the Amazon.
The agenda of the meeting, held on February 10 in Bogotá, focused on collaborative work and the definition of strategies. It also offered a space for dialogue and collective construction to agree on priority activities and define the roadmap with the Amazon Conservation Initiative (IPA), in the field of advocacy.
The follow-up to the implementation of the national development plan “Colombia Potencia de la Vida” is one of the activities that presents significant opportunities for the Alliance. Undoubtedly, the existence of a group of allied congressmen and the availability of platforms for exchange with them, allows us to evaluate the real impact of the plan on the protection and restoration of the Amazon and determine if it is generating the expected results. In addition, the government’s need to show results in this matter opens a window of opportunity to pressure the fulfillment of commitments to the Amazon.
Reflections on the importance of valuing compliance with the development plan’s programs related to the Amazon allowed the Alliance to recognize that a crucial moment is approaching to replicate the successful advocacy campaign that gave rise to it during 2022, focused on promoting the prioritization of the protection of the Amazon in the plan. The lessons learned back then point the way to getting presidential and congressional candidates to make stronger commitments to the Amazon.
These lessons also indicate that the upcoming election campaign presents significant challenges. Among these, the need to avoid the adoption of regressive measures and targets in relation to the control of deforestation and the protection of biological diversity in the 2026-2030 development plan. The Alliance is aware that this horizon requires building a robust communication strategy that allows, on the one hand, to maintain the Amazon as the central axis of the electoral debate and, on the other, to achieve concrete agreements that transcend declarations of will and translate into effective actions for the defense of this vital ecosystem.
Different incidence scenarios
The designation of Colombia as the venue for the Fifth Summit of States Parties to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), which will take place next August, offers the Alliance another important field of action to promote the Amazon agenda at the regional level. This space for action is further strengthened because Colombia plays a privileged role on this occasion. In effect, the Colombian State is in charge of the technical secretariat of ACTO. This, coupled with the successful participation of the Alliance’s organisations in the preparatory meeting for the IV Summit that took place in 2023, opens up a range of possibilities. In addition, the existence of spaces for civil society participation, such as regional dialogues, offers valuable platforms to channel the voices and proposals of Amazonian communities.
Of course, these scenarios also pose significant challenges: the Alliance must clearly define the areas of impact in the framework of the next presidential summit, to ensure that its actions have a real and sustainable impact. It is also crucial that it clarifies its role within the network of civil society networks, strengthening coordination and collaboration with other key actors. The definition of a clear and effective strategy will be essential to make the most of the opportunities and overcome the challenges that arise on the occasion of the Fifth Summit.
Similarly, the next COP 30, to be held in Brazil (Belém do Pará), presents an unparalleled opportunity. The vast experience of the members of the Colombian Amazon Alliance can significantly enrich global debates on the role of this ecosystem in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
To capitalize on this opportunity, Listen to the Amazon must be clear about its aspirations in this international scenario, sufficiently know the status of the negotiations that are being advanced within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and determine the type of presence it wishes to project. This will allow you to fine-tune your COP 30 engagement strategy, which involves determining the specific objectives you want to achieve, key messages and concrete actions to be taken.
In addition, it is essential to prepare and study in depth a detailed document on the current state of negotiations and identify the relevant issues discussed in the international climate change and biodiversity agendas. This analysis will allow the Alliance to anticipate possible scenarios and adjust its strategy accordingly.
A new ally
The Alliance has a new partner who will help overcome these challenges by contributing its expertise in advocacy and campaigns related to the design of Amazonian government agendas. This is the Pan-Amazonian Initiative (IPA), which promotes the articulation of regional civil society and provides a technical alliance with ACTO and the Colombian embassy in Brazil.
IPA will promote, among other activities, the articulation of Amazonian regional networks and the holding of Amazonian regional dialogues whose recommendations should promote agreements and goals to guarantee the integrity of the Amazon in the agreements that produce the V Summit and COP 30.
For its part, the Interreligious Initiative for Tropical Forests, IRI-Colombia, will contribute to the realization of the Alliance’s 2025 strategic plan an ethical and spiritual vision that complements the Alliance’s technical and political strategies, its capacity to mobilize faith communities and raise awareness about the importance of the Amazon and its experience in dialogue and consensus-building among different actors.
The Initiative will also contribute its experience in terms of capacity and competence development, and political advocacy and communications strategies, with which it seeks to make Colombians who live geographically and emotionally disconnected from the Amazon understand the consequences of their imminent disappearance.
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