ACT In The News | February 2002 | Subscribe

Colombia–U.S. Environmental Alliance Results In New National Park | Feb 25, 2002

Alto Fragua - Indiwasi National Park

In the midst of a civil war exacerbated by cocaine traffickers, the Colombian Government, local indigenous groups, and a U.S.–based conservation organization inaugurate a new national park to protect an area of unique biocultural diversity.

On Monday, February 25, Colombia added a new national park to its network of protected areas of tropical biodiversity. The Parque Natural Nacional Alto Fragua – Indiwasi (the Ingano name meaning “House of the Sun>”) is a 167,960-acre site located on the piedmont of the Colombian Amazon on the headwaters of the Fragua River. The new park, which will protect one of the regions of highest biodiversity in the world, is the result of an agreement signed under the Colombia--U.S. Environmental Alliance between Colombia’s Ministry of the Environment, the Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas Tandachiridu Inganokuna, and the Amazon Conservation Team, an Arlington, VA–based conservation organization.

President Andrés Pastrana signed the decree in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace, joined by representatives of indigenous groups from the Caquetá region. It took place just days after the collapse of peace negotiations between the Colombian Government and rebel groups, which has focused increased attention on the vulnerability of Colombia’s fragile ecosystems.
Of particular importance, the decree recognizes the ancestral significance of the area to the Ingano Indians whose ancestors, the Andakíes, inhabited the region. The site will protect various ecosystems of the tropical Andes including highly endangered humid sub-Andean forests, endemic species such as the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), and sacred sites of unique cultural value. The region’s extraordinary biodiversity, the highest in Colombia, was confirmed by inventories conducted by the Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, the country’s leading biological research center.

The creation of Indiwasi National Park represents an historic precedent for the indigenous people of Colombia, and perhaps the world, by implementing a new approach of shared management in which the Ingano Indians will be the principal actors in the design and management of the site. According to Wairanina Jacanamijoy, Coordinator of the Ingano Life Plan and former Governor of the Ingano people, “The political process by which the Park was created opens the door for a meaningful dialogue between indigenous communities and the government. And it highlights the cultural importance of an area which has been internationally recognized for its extraordinary diversity in flora and fauna.”

Environment Minister Juan Mayr and the Director of National Parks, Juan Carlos Riascos with indigenous colleagues and ACT staff after the signing of the decree.

Juan Carlos Riascos, Director of Colombia’s National Park Service, affirms that “this park has the double objective of protecting biological diversity in a vital area that connects Andean and Amazonian biota and sites of high cultural significance for the Ingano people. The National Park Service commends the Tandachiridu Inganokuna, the Instituto von Humboldt, the UMIYAC – Union of Yagé Healers of the Colombian Amazon, and the Amazon Conservation Team for their leadership and commitment in preserving this important territory. We urge other entities in Latin America and the world to adopt intercultural approaches that can assure the protection of natural resources through strengthening the management capacity of indigenous communities.”

Dr. Mark Plotkin, President of the Amazon Conservation Team, states, “ACT is proud to have been a part of this innovative process whereby both the culture and biodiversity of a site play equally important roles. ACT has been working with the Ingano and other indigenous people of the Colombian Amazon for nearly 6 years, and the creation of this new reserve is a wonderful example of what is possible when traditional authorities are the key players from start to finish.”

Read about the Indiwasi Park on MSNBC

More information on UMIYAC

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