Deforestation free rural development in Meta and Caquetá (Colombia)

Colombia is one of the 17 countries with the greatest biodiversity worldwide. However, the biodiverse forest areas are being converted to other forms of land use to a high degree. The share of land use change in national greenhouse gas emissions is estimated at about 55 %. Extensive livestock farming is one of the main drivers of deforestation. It occupies the largest share of agricultural land in Colombia, about 34 million hectares, and accounts for about 60 % of the deforested area in the Amazon. In 2020, Colombia lost 166,000 ha of primary forest. Colombia has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51 % (national NDCs) and to ending gross deforestation by 2030. The national development plan (Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2018-2022) sets the goal of reducing deforestation by 30 % in this period. The so-called "Pact for Rural Areas" (Pacto por el Campo) defines as a line of action the harmonization of agricultural use with the protection and sustainable use of natural resources. The new forest policy formulated by the National Council on Economic and Social Policy (Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y Social, CONPES 4021) also provides lines of action for the promotion of sustainable production systems to consolidate the agricultural front and sustainable rural development. Colombia is a regional pioneer in the development of approaches to sustainable livestock management (ganadería sostenible). The anchoring and widespread implementation of these approaches has a high potential to reduce the poverty-induced pressure of livestock farming on forest ecosystems. Agreements on deforestation-free production (Acuerdos para la no deforestación de bosques naturales) have been concluded between the government and private companies for various agricultural value chains (VC). The German Cooperation, through GIZ, is implementing the project " Deforestation-free rural development (ProRural)", in close collaboration with its Colombian partners, notably Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (Agencia Presidencial de Cooperación Internacional, APC) as the political executing agency and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural, MADR) and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, MADS) as the implementing agencies. The overall objective of the program is as follows: " The implementation capacities of key actors in the public sector, civil society and the private sector for deforestation-free rural development are strengthened ". To achieve this, the project will strengthen the regulatory framework and capacities of actors in dairy and meat value chains for sustainable, deforestation-free cattle production and improvement. The target group is the rural population in the departments of Caquetá and Meta along the milk and beef value chains. Intermediaries are private sector companies, consultants, NGOs, employees of regional governments and municipal administrations. The Program's efforts are focused on the following three main thematic areas: (1) Improving production, marketing, and income generation which aims to value the organizational, technical, and entrepreneurial capacities of actors along the dairy and meat value chains. (2) Strengthening the capacities of actors at the regional level which is focusing on strengthening operational and technical capacity for the implementation of sustainable, deforestation-free livestock management at the regional level. (3) Improving the regulatory framework which is aiming to improve the regulatory framework at national level that promotes sustainable and deforestation-free rural development.