Advancing Landscape Management to Reduce Emissions, Safeguard Biodiversity, and Support Livelihoods

“Very few projects transform a region culturally like Biocarbono”. While not my quote, it reflects my sentiment entirely. The Low Carbon Development Project in the Orinoquia region of Colombia, better known as the Biocarbon Project, was closed in October 2024 after six years of operation. The project aimed to create the institutional, regulatory, and logistical conditions for the region to implement sustainable and low-carbon productive agricultural practices. But what happened in these six years?

The Biocarbon Project in the Colombian Orinoquia has driven behavioral change among governments, forest communities, and agricultural producers across a vast region of more than 25 million hectares, home to diverse ecosystems and peoples. Six years ago, the Orinoquia was a region of fragmented planning, prioritizing large-scale agro-industrial development that risked encroaching on its unique ecosystems while benefiting only a fraction of its population.

Today, the Orinoquia’s people and institutions have a new perspective. They value what they have in terms of natural and cultural resources and recognize the value of conserving vital ecosystems and developing low carbon agriculture practices at all scales-small, medium and large. This transformation is supported by innovative policies, regulations and partnerships across the public, private and community sectors. The region still has a variety of planning instruments, though still varied, are now better aligned to reflect the territory’s particular needs. 

The promise of potential future carbon payments has been an incentive for this shift. These payments offer additional income to producers and local communities while delivering non-carbon benefits such as improved livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, land rights, gender and social inclusion, and better governance.  

What Did It Take?

This transformation took six years, US$20 million, and the commitment of numerous stakeholders, including two national ministries, multiple government agencies at all levels, the private sector, rural and indigenous communities, and international partners. The alignment with other cooperation initiatives and an extraordinary level of political has positioned Biocarbono as a national policy framework. It now serves as a model for the whole country on how to promote sustainable land and forest management to reduce emissions, protect biodiversity and improve livelihoods.  

Who were involved?

The Project was implemented by the Colombian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development together with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) in association with national, departmental and local public institutions. During this time, more than 46 partnerships were established with and between the private sector and 68 with non-profit organizations, and more than 41 multi-stakeholder platforms were created and strengthened, such as NORECCO - the regional climate change node- and the departmental sustainable livestock roundtables, the forestry roundtables, the agro-climatic roundtables and others that have enabled a fluid dialogue between the government, farmers, unions, local communities, civil society and academia.   

Funded by the World Bank’s Biocarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL), Biocarbono Project has been a catalyst for reshaping land-use practices in Colombia. It generated more than 75 technical documents and supported the generation of more than 27 national and departmental public policies and regulations for the planning and promotion of sustainable and low-carbon management in the region.

The program’s jurisdictional approach—testing solutions across entire regions—has been pivotal. It has allowed stakeholders to address trade-offs and synergies between competing land uses such as agriculture, energy, and forest protection, fostering integrated solutions that meet diverse needs. The lessons learned in Colombia are part of a broader effort across five ISFL-supported countries—Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Zambia, and Mexico—to test innovative approaches and share insights globally.

What next? 

The Government of Colombia is expected to begin negotiations soon with the World Bank for an Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA). This agreement would allow Colombia access to US$50 million in payments based on verified GHG emission reductions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses (AFOLU) in the Orinoquia. These payments will continue driving behavioral change, reducing emissions, mobilizing additional resources and partnerships to ensure continuity, and expanding the program’s ambition.  All of this will happen as a great share of the payments will be used to finance projects that will benefit directly the communities responsible of the emission reductions. They will also help create more and better green jobs and support Colombia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).  

Stay tuned for more positive changes that will lead to a new Orinoquia by 2030. 

The ISFL is supported by generous contributions from Germany, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.