The 16th edition of the Annual Meeting of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF) will take place in Florencia, capital of Caqueta, from May 18 to 22, 2026. In this way, the department that stretches from the Andean foothills to the cliffs of Araracuara, deep in the Amazon rainforest, is placing itself on the world map.
The GCF is recognized for facilitating the political participation and leadership of governors and their senior staff in national, regional, and international processes. Since 2009, this has included the annual meetings and technical exchanges of the GCF, where member governors and their teams participate and interact with leaders from other governments, the private sector, civil society, and indigenous and local communities.
The most recent annual GCF meetings preceding the one to be held in Florencia were organized by Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico. Now it will be the turn of the department that in Colombia is known as the “Golden Gateway to the Amazon,” recognized for its rich biodiversity and abundant natural resources.
Florencia, epicenter of the world’s environmental diplomacy
This year’s theme will be “New forest economy for climate action: territorial development and innovation,” and it will promote Caqueta’s objective of building a new forest economy that protects intact forests, restores degraded lands, and creates fair and sustainable jobs and economic opportunities in tropical areas.
“Today, the world is not only watching us: the world is visiting us to learn from us,” Caqueta governor Luis Francisco Ruiz Aguilar proudly wrote in Semana magazine. “Florencia will cease to be just a regional capital and will become the epicenter of the planet’s environmental diplomacy.”
The satisfaction is understandable, since he holds the presidency of this network that brings together the most important forest states of Latin America, Africa, and Indonesia. As for the country, the governor assures that it has been possible to unite the Amazonian departments and the Pacific bloc, forming a front that represents almost half of Colombia’s territory. Thus, he says, the nation is given “unprecedented political weight in climate governance.”
He also summarizes his proposal in the implementation of a new forest economy. “We must break, once and for all, the false paradigm that dictates that in order to grow economically the forest must be destroyed. Quite the opposite; the standing jungle is our greatest wealth and the most sustainable engine of development for our communities.”
Ruiz Aguilar hopes to demonstrate at the upcoming summit, before investors and foreign governments, that the bioeconomy, innovation in Amazonian fruits, and silvopastoral systems are not dreams, but tangible realities that generate green jobs and social well-being.
The GCF theory of change
“We want Caqueta to be recognized as a living laboratory of climate solutions,” he adds in his text. “Every world leader who travels through our lands will be able to witness the majesty of sanctuaries such as the Portal del Fraguas. My objective is for this event to serve as the definitive platform to catapult our tourism potential, positioning birdwatching and high-mountain hiking as real alternatives for peace and rural development.”
All this is in line with the GCF theory of change, which starts from the premise that the main challenges facing efforts to protect forests and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a large scale are political and legal fragmentation at different levels of government, limited incentives and insufficient support for political leaders and public officials to focus on sustainable forest and land use, and the lack of institutional capacity.
But this theory also understands that participatory approaches to forest protection and greenhouse gas emission reduction continue to be an important complement to traditional and hierarchical approaches.
In fact, the Paris Agreement recognizes this, and subnational governments are considered key actors in implementing much of the international climate policy agenda. The challenge lies in developing institutional frameworks capable of motivating, supporting, connecting, and expanding these subnational efforts.
Participating governors:
• Governor Luis Francisco Ruiz Aguilar – Caqueta, Colombia (host)
• Governor Gabriela de Paiva – Pando, Bolivia
• Governor Clecio Luis – Amapa, Brazil*
• Governor Carlos Orleans Brandao Junior – Maranhao, Brazil*
• Governor Marcos Rocha – Rondonia, Brazil*
• Governor Wanderley Barbosa – Tocantins, Brazil*
• Vice President ATTOUMBGRE Rovia Roger – Belier, Ivory Coast
• Vice President Joseph GOULOTEHE – Cavally, Ivory Coast
• Prefect Magali Orellana – Orellana, Ecuador*
• Prefect Andre Mauricio Granda Garrido – Pastaza, Ecuador*
• Prefect Tiyua Uyunkar Kaniras – Morona Santiago, Ecuador*
• Prefect Karla Reategui Encarnacion – Zamora Chinchipe
• Governor Antonio Leonidas Pulgar Lucas – Huanuco, Peru
• Governor Manual Gambini Rupay – Ucayali, Peru
• Jorge Rene Chavez Silvano – Loreto, Peru
• Governor Oscar Enrique Sanchez Guerrero – Amazonas, Colombia
• Governor Arnulfo Rivera Naranjo – Guainia, Colombia
• Governor Yeison Ferney Rojas Martinez – Guaviare, Colombia
• Governor Jhon Gabriel Molina Acosta – Putumayo, Colombia
• Governor Dilian Francisca Toro Torres – Valle del Cauca, Colombia
• Governor Luis Alfredo Gutierrez Garcia – Vaupes, Colombia
• Governor Joana Cabrera Pimentel – La Libertad, Peru
• Governor Avelina Del Rosario Palacios Palacios De Lama – Tumbes, Peru
• Governor Jorge Octavio Guzman Gutierrez – Cauca, Colombia
• Governor Nubia Carolina Cordoba Curi – Choco, Colombia
• Governor Luis Alfonso Escobar Jaramillo – Narino, Colombia
• Prefect Jose Toapanta Bastidas – Napo, Ecuador
• Prefect Ing. Yofre Martin Poma Herrera, Mgtr. – Sucumbios, Ecuador
- Pending confirmation.