Páramo Biodiversity Farms: A Collaborative Conservation Project (Colombia)

Páramos are high-elevation ecosystems in the tropical Andes Mountains in South America. Considered “strategic ecosystems,” the páramos supply 80% of the water for agricultural, industrial and domestic use in the area; for example, nearly all water for Bogotá is sourced from páramos. In Colombia, the government recently enacted laws that have generated tension between campesinos ^_ individuals that live in the countryside and have livelihoods based on working the land ^_ and the cities sourcing water from the páramos, raising concern that the rights of campesinos will not be considered in the efforts to conserve páramos. This Living Earth Collaborative seed grant project will help develop the idea of páramo biodiversity farms. Researchers will explore sustainable economic, architectural and landscape design activities with low environmental impact that are consistent with campesino identity and interests related to understanding, valuing and managing biodiversity. Campesino communities will play a central role in this exploration, as will the investigators’ efforts to decolonize biodiversity conservation and related disciplines.

Research Team

Iván Jiménez, Missouri Botanical Garden
Derek Hoeferlin, WashU (Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts)