Securing Clean Water for 46 Communities

New protected area in Colombia’s Andes secures clean water for 46 communities.

Your support created a NEW protected area in the Andes of Colombia. Páramo de Vida Maitamá-Sonsón Regional Protected Area conserves one of Colombia’s most critical ecosystems – the source of water for 46 communities.

Spanning 100,400 acres, Páramo de Vida safeguards paramo grasslands in Antioquia, Colombia. Sometimes referred to as “water factories,” paramos act like sponges, absorbing rain and moisture from the air. They are essential for providing clean, abundant water for surrounding communities. In fact, researchers have estimated that 40 million people depend directly on Andean paramos for their water resources.

Páramo de Vida spans over 100,000 acres of Andean forests and paramo grasslands.

Páramo de Vida also secures habitat for an array of wildlife, including the endangered white-footed tamarin, the threatened red-bellied grackle, and the endemic Colombian chachalaca. These species are increasingly threatened by deforestation and agricultural expansion in the region.

“This area marks an important milestone – 500,000 hectares [1.2 million acres] have now been protected in Colombia with Nature and Culture’s support. In particular, the paramos and cloud forests of Maitamá-Sonsón are irreplaceable, providing refuge for more than 160 species of endemic flora and fauna (found nowhere else),” said Felipe Serrano, Nature and Culture Country Director.

In order to create this new reserve, extensive community buy-in was needed. With the support of our donors, Nature and Culture provided a training program for local communicators to develop materials to promote the declaration of the area and sustainable activities.

In collaboration with Nature and Culture and the Regional Environmental Authorities (CORNARE), local communities declared Páramo de Vida a protected area and committed to sustainable development activities so that all life can flourish in the region – human and white-footed tamarin alike.

Nature and Culture worked with local communities and the Regional Environmental Authorities (CORNARE) to declare the area.

Nature and Culture is grateful to our donors for making this achievement possible! We hope that this bit of good news inspires you to continue fighting for nature and culture.

Check out a map of the area here. You can also learn more about our work in the paramos.