Colombia: Alianzas en Acción

Kadaster: Strengthening land governance and tenure security

Since 2018, Kadaster, the Netherlands’ agency for land registry, cadastre and mapping, has worked with Colombian institutions and communities to promote participatory approaches to land administration based on the international Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration approach.

The cooperation has reached territories including Ciénaga, Apartadó, Sumapaz, Cumaribo and Vistahermosa, adapting methodologies to the needs of rural institutions and communities and contributing to stronger rural governance. Dutch cooperation also supported campesino communities in areas affected by conflict, where land formalisation and property titles helped create new opportunities for accessing credit and investing in productive activities.

This work evolved into Land at Scale Colombia, implemented together with Kadaster, Conexión and Tropenbos. In Caquetá, the project contributes to strengthening land tenure security, sustainable livelihoods and natural resource management among Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, while creating opportunities for sustainable income generation and conservation.

Tropenbos Colombia: Connecting restoration, biodiversity and local knowledge

The partnership with Tropenbos Colombia demonstrates how biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration can go hand in hand with local knowledge, community participation and sustainable livelihoods.

Through the Restauración Productiva Participativa Biodiversa (RPPB) project, implemented in Solano, Caquetá, partners have worked to promote climate-smart landscapes by combining climate mitigation and adaptation with improved livelihoods, inclusive governance, biodiversity conservation and forest restoration. The initiative has included multi-stakeholder platforms, community training and financial mechanisms for conservation.

The cooperation has also supported restoration efforts in La Guardiana de Chiribiquete, Guaviare, where community nurseries are being established and collectively managed by rural women. Importantly, communities themselves determine which species should be prioritised, drawing on local knowledge, while Indigenous youth and local forest experts participate in identifying and collecting seeds. The initiative seeks to restore ecosystems, increase biodiversity and create sustainable economic opportunities for approximately 300 families.

Tropenbos has also been a key partner in Land at Scale Colombia and in Bosques para un futuro justo, a five-year programme focused on strengthening the capacities of rural, Indigenous and campesino communities in Caquetá and Putumayo while addressing deforestation, territorial governance, agrarian reform, a just energy transition and REDD+ initiatives.

WWF Colombia: Water stewardship for sustainable agriculture

Since 2015, the Plataforma de Custodia del Agua (Water Stewardship Platform) in Magdalena, led by WWF Colombia and supported through Dutch international collaboration, has brought together public, private and community actors to strengthen water governance in the Frío and Sevilla river basins.

The initiative promotes sustainable and circular agriculture while strengthening community participation and ecosystem conservation. To date, the project has restored more than 76 hectares and protected more than 110 hectares, while also improving solid waste management and reducing pollution in local rivers.

The partnership has expanded to include dialogue and knowledge exchange with the banana, coffee and palm sectors, as well as work around the water-biodiversity-agri-food nexus. Community leadership and monitoring have been strengthened, alongside restoration efforts in coffee-growing landscapes. In 2025, the Water Stewardship Platform was renewed for another five years, reaffirming its long-term contribution to sustainable water management in the region.

Solidaridad Network Colombia: Transforming agricultural value chains

The collaboration with Solidaridad Network Colombia has focused on accelerating the transition towards more sustainable, climate-resilient and deforestation-free agricultural value chains.

A key example is the Café, Bosque y Clima Agreement, launched in 2021 as a multisectoral alliance promoting sustainable, deforestation-free and climate-resilient coffee production. Solidaridad acts as its Technical Secretariat, coordinating collaboration among public and private actors.

In the cocoa sector, Asómbrate, launched in partnership with Fedecacao in 2023, supports smallholder coffee and cocoa producers in improving their farms through agroforestry systems. The programme also creates opportunities for producers to access international carbon markets through the carbon captured by trees planted on their farms.

Another important initiative is NI-SCOPS – National Initiatives for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Smallholders, launched in 2024 with support from the governments of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The five-year programme seeks to improve the livelihoods of smallholder oil palm producers through sustainable and climate-smart practices and coordinated action between governments, the private sector and civil society.

Corpohass: Advancing sustainable Hass avocado production

With Corpohass, the cooperation has focused on strengthening sustainability within Colombia’s rapidly growing Hass avocado sector.

In 2024, the Embassy supported the development of a sustainability indicators platform for the Hass avocado sector, an initiative designed to provide relevant information for measuring and strengthening sustainability and to contribute to the continued relationship between Colombia and the Netherlands.

Corpohass has also participated in the Combitrack – Sustainable Agrifood Systems, a multi-year, sector-focused approach that brings together different projects and grants around strategic sectors in emerging markets. In Colombia, Combi-tracks have been developed around water and agri-food systems, supporting collaboration and knowledge exchange across the value chain.

Conexión Colombia: Creating opportunities through rural development and peacebuilding

The partnership with Conexión Colombia highlights the role of collaboration in creating new opportunities for young people and rural communities.

Through Anfitriones para la Paz, a collaboration strategy supported in part by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), young people from rural and urban areas have received training in gastronomy, tourism and hospitality as a pathway towards local development and peacebuilding.

The collaboration with Conexión has also extended to Land at Scale, supporting the sustainable economic empowerment of Indigenous communities in the Teófila Arenosa Indigenous Reserve. The project connects land governance, local resources and sustainable livelihoods, demonstrating how agricultural and territorial cooperation can contribute to broader development opportunities.

Five years of collaboration, one shared ambition

The projects presented during Alianzas en Acción represent only part of the work developed through the agricultural collaboration between Colombia and the Netherlands. Together, they demonstrate an approach that goes beyond individual projects: connecting people, knowledge, institutions and sectors around shared challenges and opportunities.

Across land governance, water, biodiversity, forest restoration and agricultural value chains, the partnerships built during these five years have contributed to more sustainable and resilient approaches to agriculture and rural development in Colombia.

The event also provided an opportunity to recognise that the impact of cooperation is ultimately measured not only by the projects implemented, but by the relationships, capacities and knowledge that remain and continue to generate new opportunities.

Looking ahead: a new chapter for LAN Andes

As Léontine Crisson concludes her five-year mission as Agricultural Counsellor, the Embassy and LAN Andes welcome Ben Kubbinga as the new Agricultural Counsellor.

Ben will continue the work with Colombian and Dutch partners, building on the cooperation developed in recent years around sustainable agri-food systems, biodiversity, climate resilience and rural development.

The Embassy thanks Léontine Crisson for her leadership and contribution to strengthening agricultural cooperation between Colombia and the Netherlands over the past five years. The partnerships and projects developed during her tenure provide a strong basis for continued cooperation.