Threats to biodiversity in Colombia's National Parks System (SPNN) are numerous, complex and include:
- Illegal timber and faunal extraction and trade.
- Governance, as most PA areas present conflicts over land ownership, overlap with indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, and constant pressures from unsustainable productive systems.
- Economic development mega-projects, planned for Colombia´s developing economy, including mining projects.
- Climate change, mainly threatening the Amazon PA, high mountain PA, dry forests (currently under-represented in the system), and coastal and marine PA.

The System main challenges to be addressed by the project are:
- The consolidation and coordination of the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP):
1. Increasing the ecosystem representativeness of the National Parks System (SPNN).
2. Establishing the financial sustainability of the National Parks System based on its ecological and environmental values and services.
3. Updating the inventory of all the National System of Protected Areas and their classification to IUCN categories.
4. Developing the policy, administrative, and intersectoral strategies established for the SINAP.
5. Promoting, at local, regional, national and international levels, awareness and active involvement of PAs’ stakeholders.

- The improvement of governance and management effectiveness at the National Parks System (SPNN):
1. Increase representativeness and connectivity of under-represented Colombian ecosystems.
2. Solving land titling issues for PAs.
3. Updating boundary marking for at least 20 PAs.
4. Increasing and improve PAs’ control and surveillance.
5. Updating and improving information management tools.
6. Improving implementation and effective monitoring of PAs.
7. Actively involving local communities on ecological restoration activities at  least in seven PA(Alto Fragua Indi Wasi, Catatumbo Bari, Farallones, Munchique, Nevados, Orquídeas, Paramillo).
8. Implementing and developing management agreements with communities from overlapping indigenous reserves and neighboring Afro-Colombian territories (signed and in implementation: Catatumbo, Utría, Los Flamencos, Farallones, Paramillo, Cahuinarí; to be signed: Nevado del Huila, Puracé, Macuira, Las Orquídeas, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Cocuy, Los Katíos, Gorgona, Sanquianga, Old Providence & Mc Bean Lagoon).

SEE ANNEX 3: PoWPA Progress Report for National Park System of Colombia, 2009 << Read less

Consolidate and coordinate the National System of Protected Areas for all PAs in the National Parks System, including improving control and surveillance capabilities, governance and management.

The protected areas to be included in this project have been or will be prioritized in agreement to the above criteria, as follows:

The tentative eight new areas to be created, and the four to be enlarged correspond to currently un- or under-represented inland, marine and coastal ecosystem regions, and also needed to advance toward PA regional sub-systems.

Land titling will be prioritized for selected National Parks, given their key importance and vulnerability in climate change processes, criticality water regulation and supply, and landscape deterioration.

Boundary marking has been prioritized for at least 20 National Parks, for which precise delimitation is needed in order to increased governance and cartographic development and analyses.

Control and surveillance activities have been prioritized at National Parks with threats such as logging, poaching and under-regulated tourism.  Infrastructure and specialized equipment is also needed so PA officials can implement control, surveillance and monitoring activities in areas that pose specific gear demands: high mountain, marine and coastal areas.

Governance and management agreements will be developed and/or implemented for prioritized National Parks with overlapping or neighboring indigenous reserves or Afro-Colombian territories.

Participatory ecological restoration will continue to be implemented in National Parks prioritized for the opportunity to address, jointly with local communities, specific ecosystem deterioration processes such as forest fires, loss of hydric resources and connectivity loss.

A specific monitoring and research program will be developed and implemented to produce information to raise national and international public and scientific awareness and inform decisions about the effects of climate change in ten prioritized vulnerable PA associated with critical ecosystem services.

Social participation will continue to be an integral part of the evaluation of management effectiveness at the PA through a tool (AEMAPPS) applied in 2010 at 100% of the areas, and validated and supported by the WCPA.  The tool will inform adaptive management decisions, reveal improvements in reaching conservation goals and increase governance both at local and System levels.

All relevant information about the project progress and results will be efficiently made public through of the communications strategy of the National Parks Authority at local, regional, national and international levels, advancing in raising consciousness and awareness about the values, status and conservation needs of the PA, and promoting active involvement of private and public, national and international stakeholders.

The implementation of the Strategy for Economic and Financial Sustainability of the SPNN will be prioritized for ecosystem services.

SEE ANNEX 4:  Prioritization of conservation sites in Colombia. << Read less

Recent maps published by UNEP and WCMC show that Colombia, at a global scale, has areas of high levels of carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems, and furthermore of areas of both high biodiversity and high carbon stocks, for which several protected areas included in this project are representative (attachments 2, 7 and 8).

Attachment 7: Updated Carbon Map – UNEP, WCMC
Attachment 8: Carbon and Biodiversity – UNEP, WCMC

Current financing sources for the next five years (estimated):
• National budget: 75%
• Bi- and multilateral cooperation: 8%
• Current environmental services (water tax + ecotourism): 17%

If requested funding is approved, cooperation sources for the next five years will sum up to 20%. Part of the project is to implement the Strategy for Economic and Financial Sustainability of the SPNN, while the contribution of ecotourism is expected to continue to rise following recent trends and planned investments in infrastructure.

Attachment 5:  Basis for an Financial Strategy of Colombia’s National Parks System
Attachment 6:  Fondo Patrimonio Natural Financial Strategy ( Fund created to administers resources for the financial sustainability of the SINAP, including resources given to the National Park Service) << Read less

The National Parks Authority has developed important policy guidelines, tools and participatory processes which will continue to be implemented and strengthened through this project including:

• Special Management Regimes (REM)* with indigenous authorities from reserves overlapping with National Parks: four signed, 13 in development.
• Participatory use and management agreements with Afrocolombian boundary territories: six agreements signed.
• Participatory Ecological Restoration (REP) with local communities: 5300 ha in the area of influence of 19 PA.
• Community-based ecotourism: contracts signed in 4 PA, processes under development in 3 more.
• Social Participation Analysis of Protected Areas Management Effectiveness (AEMAPPS): 43 PA applied the tool in 2004, 46 in 2006.

*REM are agreements between the National Parks Authority and indigenous territorial authorities, about use, control and co-management of the natural resources in overlapping areas for mutual benefits in conservation, social and cultural terms. << Read less

This project implements a great part of the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP) Action Plan.  The SINAP includes the National Parks administered by the SPNN, Regional areas administer by regional authorities, local PA administered by local authorities and private PA.  The National Park System main functions include management of the national PA and coordination of the SINAP.  SINAP priorities are explicit part of most of the objectives established by this project.
Attachement 9: SINAP Action Plan << Read less

Goal 1.1: To establish and strengthen national and regional systems of protected areas integrated into a global network as a contribution to globally agreed goals
Goal 1.2: To integrate protected areas into broader land- and seascapes and sectors so as to maintain ecological structure and function
Goal 1.3: To establish and strengthen regional networks, transboundary protected areas (TBPAs) and collaboration between neighbouring protected areas across national boundaries
Goal 1.4: To substantially improve site-based protected area planning and management
Goal 1.5: To prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of key threats to protected areas
Goal 2.1: To promote equity and benefit-sharing
Goal 2.2: To enhance and secure involvement of indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders
Goal 3.1: To provide an enabling policy, institutional and socio-economic environment for protected areas
Goal 3.2: To build capacity for the planning, establishment and management of protected areas
Goal 3.4: To ensure financial sustainability of protected areas and national and regional systems of protected areas
Goal 3.5: To strengthen communication, education and public awareness
Goal 4.1 - To develop and adopt minimum standards and best practices for national and regional protected area systems
Goal 4.3: To assess and monitor protected area status and trends
<< Read less