In the ancestral territory of the Arhuaco people, forest protection is part of a worldview in which the Sierra Nevada is a living, sacred and irreplaceable body on which millions of people depend. Today, in the mythical highest coastal mountain on the planet, a strategy is being developed that combines conservation, purchase of priority lands, implementation of agroforestry practices, monitoring and direct support to communities.
Thanks to the initiative, promoted by the Association of Producers of the Arhuaco People (Asoarhuaco) and the international organization Sacred Forests, to date 9,933,000 trees have been planted and conserved in the Seynwrua and Duanawimaku forests, near the basin of the Aracataca River, in the department of Magdalena.
Community monitoring led by young forest rangers
As Arhuaco thought is based on communion with nature (the land is the mother, the rivers are its veins and the trees safeguard the water cycle and restore the balance of the territory), forest care is part of their spiritual and cultural practices. This vision, within the framework of the project, is expressed through community monitoring led by young Arhuaco forest rangers, who travel across the Sierra, verify alerts and accompany restoration and conservation processes.
The 77 forest rangers have digital tools and near real time monitoring systems, strengthening the capacity to respond to phenomena such as deforestation and fires. Thanks to this process, monitoring of 3,320 hectares of forest has been achieved, a task aimed at curbing environmental degradation and reaffirming the communities’ commitment to environmental restoration, also understood as the restitution of the spiritual meaning of nature.
The work of these caretakers is complemented by support for families, materialized in the delivery of tool kits for agricultural activities, kitchen supplies and the establishment of home gardens led by women.
One component of the initiative has been the recovery of ancestral territory. Between 2022 and the last quarter of 2025, 132 properties were acquired, equivalent to 11,030 hectares in areas prioritized for their environmental and cultural importance, especially due to their proximity to water sources, ecological corridors and sacred sites. Of this area, 9,402 hectares are distributed in the departments of Magdalena and La Guajira, and the other 1,628 in Cesar.
Significant social impact
Another aim is to promote forest regeneration based on the wisdom that the Arhuaco people have safeguarded for generations, together with the technical knowledge of the professionals supporting the project. In this line, 536 hectares of agroforestry systems have been established, 197 corresponding to coffee and 179 to cocoa, complemented by other alternatives such as the cultivation of timber and fruit species, which has improved community incomes in a sustainable way.
The social impact is equally significant. For Rogelio Mejia Izquierdo, legal representative of Asoarhuaco, the initiative has managed to align with the life plans of the communities and the well-being of their families.
“We have been able to reach more than 6,000 beneficiaries in 39 communities in Magdalena and Cesar, supporting families with productive projects, reaching 550 home gardens and the construction of their life plans such as the promotion of their own indigenous education, the strengthening of traditional medicine and the commercialization of their own products. We have also worked to guarantee food security, women’s leadership and the transmission of knowledge about cultivation, land care and its responsible use,” he said.