In 2012, Colombia’s National Natural Parks, with the support of the National Planning Department (DNP) and the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within the framework of integrating and positioning protected areas in Colombia’s general territorial planning policy, began exploring how to structure, politically, technically, and operationally, a collaborative border territorial planning scheme.
This scheme, whilst respecting national sovereignty, promotes joint work between territorial entities and neighbouring protected areas in a border region, recognising that nature (rivers, ecosystems, species) transcends political and administrative boundaries.
Building on the Trinational Program initiative born from the heads of the protected areas of La Paya National Park (Colombia), Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Ecuador), and Güeppi Sekime National Park (Peru), which evolved into a memorandum of understanding between these three governments which highlighted the experiences, policy impacts, challenges, and recommendations for managing ecosystems that cross political boundaries.
Thus, acknowledging and respecting the Trinational Program— this science communication project explores this further and, through a series of videos, you will meet and hear diverse voices sharing their experiences and recommendations on this process of border territorial association and its impact on public policy, as well as the challenges and recommendations it has presented.
Please visit the project website to find out more about this project.