The Arhuaca community will plant 700,000 native trees in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

The Colombian Ministry of Environment leads the Müse'si conservation project in the Sierra Nevada de Santamarta, together with the Arhuaca indigenous community, which involves planting 700,000 trees in one of the most biodiverse natural ecosystems in the country, through which the restoration and recovery of native forests is sought.

This initiative, which was born out of an agreement signed between the Environment and Conservation International portfolio, is made up of four components focused on knowledge, restoration, exchange of capacities, and economic instruments that seek to bring the native communities of the Sierra closer to the processes of conservation that directly benefit them.

“We had an incredible visit to the Arawak community. They opened their hearts, their minds and their home, this beautiful forest, and they showed us what they are doing, their ecological restoration. They are recovering nature not only because they ask them to, but because when you protect nature, nature protects us; not only are they protecting it for themselves, for their water sources, but they are doing it for all of us. They are an incredible community, with a very deep soul and spirit,” said the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen.

Within the strategies established in the project, 21 members of the community were trained and received their certification as nurseries, which accredits them in issues of ecological restoration, ecology of species to be established, monitoring and reporting information, while the Gnumaku Community Nursery was built and more than half of the 445 family nurseries to promote restoration.

At the same time, the propagation, planting and monitoring of plant material is planned, as well as the quantification and analysis of the results of CO2 capture through the actions carried out with this initiative in this space recognized as one of the most emblematic in the country, which provides important ecosystem services of which it is reveals a significant proportion of the inhabitants of the Colombian Caribbean.

“We are taking all the steps we take with the communities, respecting their traditions and culture. This generates a sense of ownership of the process and improves its chances of long-term sustainability. In addition, this contributes to the economic recovery of the country, taking into account the resources that will reach the communities directly,” said the Minister, Carlos Eduardo Correa.

For his part, the director of the project, José Raúl Torres, assured that through Müse'si it seeks to inspire greater awareness in the care of natural resources, by linking the Aruhaca community, one of the four living in the Sierra Nevada, of which it is expected to link young members to take an active part in this conservation and restoration.

“We are strengthening our cultural identity; for us trees are sacred, animals live there, nature is the possessor of knowledge and human, animal and plant life. I am sure that by working together, we Colombians will breathe better and live in peace”, concluded the Arawak teacher Lucelis Izquierdo.

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