Between government and indigenous people : a decision-making discussion within environmental governance

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE MSc INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

02 - 03 - 2016

Name: Marco Becking Student number: 10004199

Supervisor: Dr. Enrique Gomez-Llata Cazares Second reader: Dr. In. Yves van Leynseele

Between Government and Indigenous people, a

decision-making discussion within

2

GSSS

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE MSc INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

2015 - 2016

02 - 03 - 2016

Between government and indigenous peoples, a

decision-making discussion within environmental governance

Name: Marco Becking

Student number: 10004199

Supervisor: Dr. Enrique Gomez-Llata Cazares Second reader: Dr., In. Yves van Leynseele

3

Table of Content

3.3 Short description of research area ...24

3.4 Units of analysis ...25

3.5 Conceptual scheme ...26

3.7 Data gathering methods ...29

3.7.1 Observation ... 29

3.7.2 Open and in-depth interviews ... 29

3.7.3 Literature ... 30 3.8 Data-analysis ...31 3.8.1. SWOT analysis ... 31 3.8.2 Policy analysis ... 31 3.9 Ethics ...32 3.10 Limitations ...32

4. Colombian development & history ... 34

4.1 Colombian policy in conflict ...34

4.2 Government development ...37

4

4.4 Climate change - Colombia ...45

4.4.1 Climate issues in the Amazon ... 48

5. Perspectives and Interaction ... 50

5.1 National Government ...50

5.1.1. National Development Plan... 51

5.1.2. Government and Climate change ... 56

5.1.3 Government view on the interaction ... 60

5.2 Indigenous Peoples ...63

5.2.1 Traditional perspective ... 64

5.2.2 Organization of communities and management ... 67

5.2.3 Community governance ... 70

5.2.4 Indigenous peoples view on the interaction ... 74

6. Interaction between actors ... 79

6.1 Stakeholder perception of the decision-making processes ...79

6.1.1 Indigenous perspective ... 79

6.1.2 Government perspective ... 82

6.1.3 Actor’s perspective on the interaction ... 84

6.2. Actors’ strength and weakness in the interaction ...85

6.2.1 Indigenous peoples ... 86

6.2.2 National Government ... 88

6.3. Opportunities and threats within the interaction ...90

7. Discussion ... 93

7.1 power differences...93

7.2 Governance versus Government ...94

7.2 Towards the improvement of interaction ...95

8. Conclusion ... 98

8.1 Perspectives ...98

5

8.3 Final conclusion ... 100

8.4 Recommendations ... 101

Bibliography ... 103

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L

IST OF

A

CRONYMS

AATIS Association of Traditional Indigenous Authorities

ABC Adaptation Based on Communities

AIDESEP Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforests

APA Association of Amerindian Peoples of Guyana

CARs Regional Autonomous Corporation

CIDOB Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia

COIAB Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon COICA Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin CONFENIAE Confederation of Ecuadorian Amazonian Nationalities

COP Conference of the Parties

DNP National Department Planning

ENREDD Strategies for the Reduction of Emissions of Deforestation and Land Degradation

FCPF Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

FOAG Federation of Autochthonous Organizations of French Guyana

GHG Green House Gases

IDEAM Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies

7 IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

MADS Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development MAFIs Market- and Agent-focused Instruments

MIAAC Indigenous Roundtable of Environment and Climate Change

MRA Regional Amazonian Roundtable

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

ONIC National Indigenous Organization of Colombia OPIAC Indigenous Communities of Colombian Amazon ORPIA Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the

Venezuelan Amazon

PNACC National Plan for Climate Change Adaptation

REDD+ Reduction of Emissions of Deforestation and Land Degradation

RPP REDD Preparation Proposal

SINCHI Amazonian Science Institute

SISCLIMA National System of Climate Change

SWOT Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats UNGRD National Unit for Disaster Risk Management

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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F

OREWORD

This Master thesis forms part of the 2015/2016 master thesis project of the one year MSc International Development Studies program of the University of Amsterdam.

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Enrique Gomez-Llata Cazares for his guidance during the development of this thesis, by assisting me in developing the focus of my research, to be critical of my own assumptions of the research results and the deliberation of the thesis topic. Also, I would like to thank Dr. Carlos A. Rodriguez for being my field supervisor and assisting me in understanding the current situation of Colombia and facilitating me with contacting essential actors that participate in the interaction between government and indigenous peoples. Furthermore, I want to thank Emerson Pastas, Hernando Castro, Henry Cabria Medina, Carlos Ariel Salazar, Aura Robayo Castañeda, Elizabeth Valenzuela Camacho and Gloria Sanclemente, for being available for my interviews. This not only helped me understand the dynamics between the actors within the interaction, but also it helped me gain an in-depth insight on the Colombian institutional structures and power differences.

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A

BSTRACT

In the literature on development, there is an ongoing discussion on the differences and effectiveness between top-down and bottom-up development approaches. In practice, the two different approaches contain different perspectives that when interacting with each other, they tend to create a gap or limitations that affects the effectiveness of development plans. Therefore, this research focuses on the interaction between the top-down approach of the national government of Colombia and the bottom-up approach of the indigenous communities of the Colombian Amazon with their form of environmental governance. Further, It analyses how this interaction, between the two different approaches, influence the decision-making process on environmental policy-making within the framework of the climate change discussion.

The methodology of this research was conducted through open and in-depth interviews with all participating stakeholders, focusing on the perception of each stakeholder, their view and experience on the interaction between the government, international influences and indigenous communities. Providing an unique opportunity to experience directly the interaction between the actors, observations were conducted in the Regional Amazonian Roundtable (MRA) in which government institutions and indigenous delegates, representatives and indigenous organizations discuss and debate on national policies regarding the Amazon region.

The interaction between the Colombian government and indigenous organizations is influenced by internal factors (also considered as the actor’s strength and weaknesses) and external factors (also considered as opportunities and threats). Strength of indigenous peoples is the extensive knowledge of the ground and strong organizational capacity. The government, on the other hand, has the strength of being the national environmental authority and well-trained staff with academic knowledge. The weaknesses of both actors can be seen in the limited knowledge they have of each other and the lack of trust due to

10 previous experiences. Furthermore, opportunities within the interaction are seen, as both actors are willing to improve the interaction for better decision-making processes. However, the threats consist of a lack of positive results in previous consultations which may increase the level of distrust between the actors and the different knowledge systems that each actor posses. In order to improve the interaction, opportunities are to be encouraged and the threats limited. This could be done through increasing participatory consultations by increasing the interaction between government and indigenous organization; and creating flexibility within the decision-making processes.

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1.

I

NTRODUCTION

How the decision-making processes are conducted in policy-making, is essential. These are mostly determined by the interaction of the different participating actors at different political levels. With the rise of climate change discourse and the necessity for climate mitigation and adaption, interaction with local entities has become more prominent (Henao, 2012). This originated due to the understanding of the importance and vital positive results in local action in environmental mitigation or adaption (Ibid.). In countries such as Colombia, where there is a high ethnic diversity, local entities may vary greatly as there are Afro-descendants, colonos (migrants to a specific region) and farmers, Roma and indigenous peoples, amongst others (National Development Plan, 2011). This variety adds complexity to the implementation and decision-making process of policy making, as different ethnicities tend to have different development goals. Focusing more on Colombia, its government has increasingly been recognized at an international level as one of the countries that mostly encourages the participation of the different ethnic stakeholders within policy and development plans implementation (Grasa, 2014). More specifically regarding climate change mitigation and adaption strategies at local level (Cevallos, 2014). However, this has brought more discussion within decision-making processes on climate change mitigation and adaption, as the different local development goals of the local ethnicities tend also to be an influential factor in the implementation process. This has partially to do with the recognition of local ethnic groups such as afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples, by the national government, as environment authorities (Cevallos, 2014).

Indigenous peoples in Colombia have been one of the best-organized ethnic groups and have managed to empower themselves in order to be recognized by the state (Camacho,

12 1997). First it is important to define Indigenous peoples, as it is often a concept of great political discussion (Meyer, 2012). However, universally there are three characteristics in which indigenous peoples can be defined (Meyer, 2012; Hannum, 2003). Indigenous peoples can be defines as: 1) the identification as indigenous peoples by themselves, 2) an established culture and social institutions before the European colonialism, and 3) continue to maintain those traditional ways of life to this day (Ibid.). Additionally, indigenous peoples can be considered as distinct from the dominant society that surrounds them, involving traditional practices in communal ownership of land, resources and having an spiritual attachment to their territory (Ibid.). This thesis focuses only on indigenous peoples of the Colombian Amazon and the indigenous organizations that represent these peoples. Also, the thesis will focus on government institutions and organizations that are involved in environmental issues in the Amazon regions. These two very different actors form an influential aspect in the development and implementation of policy in the Amazon region. Internationally, nationally and locally there is a high interest in improving the management and conservation of natural resources, biodiversity and forest (Instituto Humboldt, 2015). From the side of the indigenous peoples, they have a traditional based strategy for environmental management (Rodriguez, 2015) that is based more in a bottom-up approach. On the other side, the national government has a more western scientific method for environmental management strategies (Ibid.) that are mostly based on a top-down approach.

This thesis will focus on the interaction between the bottom-up approach by the indigenous peoples and the top-down approach of the national government. In more detail, this study will analyze the influence of the interaction between indigenous peoples and the national government in shaping decision-making processes on policy making regarding climate change. Therefore, it addresses the following research question:

13 How does the interaction between the indigenous peoples of the Colombian Amazon and the national government shape decision-making processes within the Climate Change framework?

First this thesis will continue further with the theoretical framework elaborating the three main concepts used in this thesis. Second, the research methodology is described. Third, a contextual chapter is elaborated that allows further understanding on the context in which this research fall in too. Fourth, the data gathered during the fieldwork will be illustrated. Fifth, the data collected during the fieldwork is analyzed using the methodology chosen for this research. Sixth, the analyzed data will be discussed and recommendation will be given on the possibility to improve interaction between the actors. Finally, the thesis concludes by answering the main research question.

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2.

T

HEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The main concepts of the research question were chosen according to the interaction found in the field. These show the relationship between the top-down approach of the government and the bottom-up approach of the environmental governance applied by the indigenous communities of the Colombian Amazon. Following, this chapter will further elaborate each concept in order to understand the relations and influences occurring with the interaction of the concepts. First, government as a concept will be explained. Second, governance as a main concept will be described. This is followed by a focus on environmental governance including the environmental governance in the context of the indigenous perspective. Finally, climate change, as a single concept, will be further explained within the context of the research topic.

2.1

G

Within a state, a government forms an essential part in the management and further development of the country. Therefore, it forms part within decision-making processes as an influential stakeholder and can be difficulty considered as a single concept as it forms part of a governance system (Agrawal et al, 2005). Nevertheless, in this research ‘national government’ will be defined and considered as a concept, in order to depict the concept of a top-down approach. The most commonly known definition of government can be defined as a system by which a state or community is controlled (Oxford English dictionary, 2010). However, taking the definition from a more academic stand point of view, government can be defined as the different mechanisms used to shape the conduct of specific person and groups, including the mechanisms that such persons and groups use on themselves (Agrawal et al, 2005; Rose, 1999). This definition further expands on the notion of the role of the government as a form of control within its citizens within the state

15 boundaries but also the within a certain group of people. Furthermore, government forms a type of centralized power within the state that further encourages the governmentalization of the state (Rose, 1999). This means that a connection and invention of a whole array of technologies is created, that linked calculations and strategies developed in political centers to thousands of spatially scattered points where the constitutional, fiscal, organizational and judicial powers of the state connect with endeavors to manage economic life, the health and habits of the population and the civility of the masses amongst others (Ibid.).

The development of governmentatilization has allowed the government, as centralized control of the state, to survive in the strict power relations within a country (Rose, 1999). Within government perspective, there is little acknowledgement on the questioning of this division of control, between political, public or private amongst others, as it focuses on the augmentation of powers of a centralizing, controlling and regulating state (Ibid.). This can be negatively perceived as a form of the government’s attempts to fully control its citizens. However, as Rose (1999) states, state intuitions do extent the range of their actions and the depth of their infiltration into the lives of their citizens. This is achieved through a set of complex strategies that use and support new “positive knowledge of economy, sociality and the moral order, and harnessing already existing micro-fields of power distant in space and time” (Rose, 1999. p. 18). This demonstrates that government serves as a way of control and power for its citizens, within the country’s boundaries, that extent to different political bodies. However, it is often redefined, as there is the need to fully understand the extent of control government with govermentalization should be included within certain political sectors, public sectors and/or private sectors (Ibid.). This is a discussion and understanding that is mostly focus on the processes regarding political decision-making structure and the importance of this process, within various levels in the society (Agrawal

16 et al, 2005). This concept will be demonstrated in the research through not only the action of the government as an actor within the interaction, but also as part of the structure of the Colombian governance system in the decision-making processes.

2.2

E

Within the climate change framework, environmental governance is an important factor that helps communities and societies to deal politically and socially with climate change. It further aims at changes in environment-related, knowledge, institutions, decision-making and behaviors (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006). Therefore, it is important to understand the concept of governance and its environmental aspect. Environmental governance can be defined as “the set of regulatory processes, mechanisms and organizations through which political actors influences environmental action and outcomes” (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006). This means the state does not necessarily need to be present in the regulatory process but also other non-state organizations are influential in the process (Velasco, 2012) such as communities, businesses or corporations, and NGOs (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006). Rose (1999) expands the definition of governance stating as “political strategies that seek to minimize the role of the state, to encourage non-state mechanisms of regulation, to reduce the size of the political apparatus and civil service, to change the role of politics in the management of social and economic affairs”. This definition is more directly tied to the functioning of state with regards to the regulatory strategies deployed formally by state regarding their citizens (Agrawal et al, 2005; Rhodes. 1996). Even though it focuses more on the role of the state, similar to Lemos & Agrawal (2006) it highlights the decrease of the role of the state and the encouragement of different political actors to increase their role within the decision-making processes. However, the definition provided by Lemos & Agrawal (2006) shows that governance does not necessarily have to be only of the state but also be part of different organization.

17 Continuing, as Lebel et al., (2006) demonstrates, governance can be also seen as “the structures and processes by which societies share power, shapes individual and collective actions”. This includes laws, regulation, discursive debates, negotiation, mediation, conflict resolution, elections, public consultations, protests, and other decision-making processes (Lebel et al., 2006). This definition of governance not only demonstrates that governance is not necessarily a part of the state but can be also considered as decision-making processes between actors. In other words, the sole purview of the state through the government, but rather arises from the interaction of numerous actors, including the private sector and non-profit-organizations (Lebel et al., 2006). Focusing on this research, the connection of decision-making processes to governance, the role of the state and the different involved political actors, are an essential aspect regarding the discussion of this thesis. Therefore, it can also be said that the central core of the thesis, focuses on the governance system of Colombia through the interaction of different actors within decision-making process. The decision-making processes of the government are centralized (Agrawal et al., 2005). However, indigenous peoples of the Amazon have a different decision-making processes that, when a policy is presented, it tends to have to go through different political levels (Henao, 2012). This can go from the international level towards a community level. The specific structure of governance within the indigenous system of environmental governance will be further explained with more detail in chapter 3. Focusing on environmental governance, it is determined and influenced by climate change, ecosystem degradation and ecosystem services, amongst others (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006).

Lemos & Agrawal (2006) have identified four main categories that shape the core of the concept. These are: Globalization, Decentralized Environmental Governance, Market- and

18 Agent-Focused instruments (MAFIs), and governance across scales. First, globalization has a major impact from local to national and global level on environmental processes (Barking, 2003). This economic globalization increases demand and pressure on local and national markets, which can only benefit if the country has less stringent environmental standards (Ibid.). Lower environmental standards will be viewed as more attractive to big multinationals, as it lowers the costs of production. Nevertheless, through globalization, the increasing flow of information, technology and knowledge enhances the development processes in order to improve environmental conditions (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006). Second, Decentralized Environmental Governance comes from the outcomes of development of the globalization process and the slight loss of faith in a more centralized form of state. Within the environmental processes and development, it has been comprehended that implementations are more beneficial at subnational level and relate to effort to incorporate lower-level administrative units and social groups (Ibid.). Extensive intellectual understanding of the capacity of communities and other small-scale social formations to manage resources has shifted towards co-management, community-based natural resource management, and environmental policy decentralizations (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006; Ostrom, 1990). Third, MAFIs aim specifically “to mobilize individual incentives in favor of environmentally positive outcomes through a careful calculation and modulation of costs and benefits associated with particular environmental strategies” (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006). Finally, Cross-scale Environment Governance includes the multi-scalar character (Spatially, socio-politically and temporally) of environmental issues (Willbanks, 2002). As global climate change has a local to international impact on society, multilevel governance is essential to integrate across levels of social and institutional aggregation to avoid the fragmentation of sectorally based decision-making (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006).

19 In case of the indigenous communities of the Colombian amazon, environmental governance is structured as decentralized environmental governance and cross-scale environmental governance. The aspect of a decentralized environmental governance of indigenous communities comes partially from the decentralized power of the government and further fragmentation of power from departments to municipalities (Velasco, 2012). Furthermore, the extensive variety of indigenous cultures living in the Amazon region means that there is a pluralistic political setting that consists of somewhat different social organization structure, goals and opinions about development (Rodriguez et al., 2014). Decentralization is essential for the indigenous communities because of its many layers of governance within their own govern system (Local to regional) and outside the government system (sub-national to national). The interaction between all these different levels is influential in the form of governance conducted by the indigenous communities. Therefore, cross-scale environmental governance is also relevant for this research. Many of the environmental issues that affect indigenous communities are felt locally (Rodriguez et al., 2014). However, environmental management policy of natural resources and conservation are conducted regionally (Ibid.). The cross-scale governance is dealt through various processes of scale in which involve different indigenous institutions or groups at different levels (Ibid.). Decisions at a local level are made through community meetings. This is further enhanced between communities with reunions of the elders and community leaders, which reaches local but also regional level. Decisions continue to sub-national level through indigenous representatives and delegates that also participate with sub-national NGOs and government institutions. Furthermore, at a national level, representative organizations such as the Organization of Indigenous Communities of Colombian Amazon (OPIAC) are very active and at a higher international and global level the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon (COICA) which represents the indigenous peoples of the Amazon in the global arena (Rodriguez et al., 2014)

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2.3

C

The world has known numerous forms of extreme climate variations throughout its Geological history that that has affected the biosphere living on the planet. In the last 50 to 100 years this climate variation has further intensified, becoming more irregular and changer faster than any other phenomena in recorder history of humans (Change, 2001). The consensus of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), consisting of expert scientists among 195 countries, stated that human activity is the dominant cause behind the rapid warming of the climate (Change, 2001). It is commonly known that natural and human activities foster the exchange of different types of gases between the earth and its atmosphere including clouds/water vapor (H20), oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane that form part of the Greenhouse Gases (GHG) (Ibid.). However, the growth in the human population and activities human activities such as industrialization, agricultural development, deforestation and burning of fossil fuel (oil, gas and coal) led to an exponential increase in greenhouse gasses that exceeded the already existing natural processes (Ibid.). The process was commonly known but was formally recognized in the 1968 with the famous report of the Club of Rome named ‘the limits to growth’ (Pestel, 1989). This report introduced for the first time a global model to examine the relationships among industrialization, population growth, malnutrition, the depletion of nonrenewable resources and the deteriorating environment (Pestel, 1989). Even though scholars disputed the presentation of the document during that time, it initiated a process that enhanced a climate discourse and climate policy that influenced the global political arena (Schoijet, 1999).

As the predominance of the discourse of climate change increases, policy measurements to act against the negative impacts of climate change becomes more important within the interaction of different states and within each nation (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006). There was

21 more attention towards improving the capacity of economic, social and cultural systems to help humans mitigate and adapt to climate change (Lemos & Agrawal, 2006). Climate mitigation and climate adaptation are key factors within climate change policy. Climate mitigation is defined by the IPCCC as “an anthropogenic intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases” (Ibid.). On the other hand IPCC defines adaptation as an “adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities” (Ibid.). In order to enhance the capacity and create policy, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), established the Kyoto Protocol in Kyoto – Japan, in 1997 and entered in force in 2005 (UNFCCC, 2015). The Kyoto protocol is an international agreement that commits its parties by setting internationally emission reduction targets (Ibid.). Although, it was set to end in 2012 the COP-21 in Paris of 2015 will discuss the continuation of the Kyoto protocol. The Kyoto protocol set in motion various mechanisms to reduce carbon emissions through mitigation and adaptation. One of these examples is the Reduction of Emissions from deforestation and land degradation (REDD+) mechanism, set in the COP-16 in Rio de Janeiro (UNFCCC, 2015).

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3.

M

ETHODOLOGY

The methodology of this research on the interaction between top-down approaches of the government versus bottom-up approaches of indigenous communities and how this influences the decision-making processes, of policy making, was conducted by the use of open and in-depth interviews with essential stakeholders and observations during dialogue between Indigenous representatives and government institutions. Initial contact with the stakeholders was done through an open interview. This was done in order to improve the knowledge and understanding of what is currently happening regarding the main topic of this research. Even though the open interviews depended on the information given by the respondent, it followed a general structure that ensured the interview to maintain a similar direction. The main structure focused first on the perception of the stakeholder regarding the interaction between government and indigenous communities. It further continues with the position and development of the respondent’s organization and national or international influences on the research topic.

During the research in the field, a regional Amazonian roundtable (MRA) took place in which indigenous representatives and Organization of Indigenous Communities of the Colombian Amazonian (OPIAC) discussed policy and further development, with government institutions and NGOs. During the four-day period of the MRA, observations were conducted on how the interaction between government and indigenous occurs. Special attention was given to the presentation of policy and new development projects regarding environment and climate issues; by government institutions; and the perception of the indigenous representative present. Additionally, the discourse behind these presentations and dialogue was also analyzed. Being present at the MRA provided a unique opportunity of analysis, as the MRA in it self as an interaction point between the

23 government and indigenous representatives and organizations, is the main unit of analysis.

After the regional Amazonian roundtable, the most important stakeholders regarding the research topic were contacted for an in-depth interview. Using the regional Amazonian roundtable as focus point of interaction, more detailed information was acquired through enquiring the stakeholders on their perception of discussion made at the MRA, the presented policies and documents, the presence of other debate arenas in Colombia, direct or indirect political influences and possible future projection. This enabled each stakeholder to not only think on their perception of their own position but also discuss the interaction between the other stakeholders and issues that arise from set interactions. The stakeholders that were contacted were: The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Amazonian Science Institute SINCHI, Fondo de Accion, Ecoverse, Organization of indigenous communities from the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC) and an Indigenous delegate of the Amazon.

3.1

E

The epistemology of this research would be mostly considered as social-constructivist. This means that reality is constructed by the perception of people and therefore making it subjective rather than objective (Creswell, 2003). In this research the primary focus is the interconnection point of top-down versus bottom-up approaches, as the benefit of these different development approaches, depends on the perception of the stakeholder and the meaning behind the approaches. Therefore, this research was conducted in a qualitative manner by analyzing the perception of the stakeholders regarding the research problem

24 (Creswell, 2003). Following the perception of the respondents enabled the research to visualize the existing conflict or development gaps between top-down versus bottom-up.

3.2

Q

How does the interaction between the indigenous peoples of the Colombian Amazon and the national government shape decision-making processes within the Climate Change framework?

• How do the actors perceive the decision-making processes regarding environmental policy-making and implementations?

• What factors influence positively and negatively the actors in the interaction within the decision-making processes?

• What are the opportunities and threats present in the interaction of the decision-making processes for the different actors?

3.3

S

The research area focuses on the Colombian Amazon region. The Colombian Amazon is one of the better-conserved continuous forest areas in the Amazon basin (Rodriguez et al, 2014). The area is home to a great diversity of ethnic groups, and public policies recognize their cultural and territorial rights over more than twenty million hectares (Ibid.). This

25 region also entails more than six million hectares of national parks (Ibid.). The Colombian Amazon region divided by three southern provinces: Putumayo, Amazon and Caqueta; and three northern provinces: Guaviare, Vaupes and Guainia (Rodriguez et al, 2014). Within this region, 22 million hectares belong to legal indigenous territories called resguardos also known as indigenous safeguards (Ibid.). The geographical position of the department of the Amazon shares a border with Peru and Brazil. The most southern point of the department is known as ‘Tres fronteras’ (Rojas, 2014). Around this region there are six known indigenous communities. This region holds one of the biodivers ecosystems in Colombia both in flora and fauna (Ibid.).

However, in the early 90’s the region has suffered from major conflicts due to rebel armed forces (FARC) in the area. This created not only fear and destruction for the social structure in the region, but also impacted heavily the natural environment (Rojas, 2014). More recently, in the region of Leticia there is a lot of mining (predominantly for gold), which creates infrastructure for the town of Leticia (Rojas, 2014) but has a high environmental impact. In this region the indigenous communities are also organizing themselves in order to create a development plan called ‘life plans’, that structure itself on their traditional ways of development (Kronik & Verner, 2010).

3.4

U

The units of analysis for this research are mainly the interrelation point between the top-down approaches of the national government versus the bottom-up approach of indigenous environmental governance. Furthermore, external actors that are part of the interaction are essential units of analysis. This is the Government and international, national and local non-governmental organization (NGO). Finally, the top-down and bottom-up approach is both being influenced by internal and external factors. The

26 presence of this different influences form a part of the units of analysis, as it forms an essential factor to understand the existent relationship between de different approaches.

3.5

C

As it can be seen in the conceptual scheme below, there are various influences that shape the national decision-making and policy processes. First, the national government of Colombia is an essential government body for the decision-making processes and policy regarding climate related topics. Even though, the government can be seen as a single actor in the interaction, it is influenced by different factors that determine at some extent its interaction. On one side, it is influenced by external factors, which derive from international climate policy and the international climate discourse. On the other side, the internal influences are focused on the national issues that have occurred and are happening. The history of the government influences not only the interaction and experience with indigenous communities but also affects the ‘internal influences’ of the indigenous communities. Second, the environmental governance, practiced by the indigenous communities of the amazon, is similarly to the government influenced by external and internal factors. On the external influences, private-, government and non-government organizations play an important role. As these organizations have also an international aspect, indigenous communities are indirectly influenced by the international discourse of climate change. The internal influences that affect the indigenous communities have to do mostly with their own traditional identity, will for more autonomy within their own territory and the history that has impacted the indigenous peoples. The history that influenced indigenous communities of the Colombian amazon is the rubber exploitation (from year 1879 to 1912) and the armed conflict amongst others. Also, the previous experiences with the government define strongly the current approach towards the interaction that shape decision-making processes of policymaking. As the indigenous communities form inevitably a part of the Colombian

27 state, the internal influence of the government influences directly and indirectly the internal influence of indigenous communities. Finally, these two concepts that are influenced by various factors, shape the final decision-making and policy processes within the climate change framework of the interaction.

28 Climate Change External influences: • National/Internation al NGO • Corporations • National development plan • Armed conflict External influences: • Climate discourse • REDD+ • International Climate policy (UNFCCC) Internal influences: • History • Traditional knowledge (self identity) • Will of autonomy • Will of authority • Territory • Heterogeneity Internal influences: • Armed conflict • Territorial disputes • National history • Authority • Homogeneity State Government (Colombia) Environmental Governance Indigenous communities Interaction:

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3.7

D

3.7.1

O

A four-day discussion roundtable called the Regional Amazonian roundtable or Mesa Regional Amazonica (MRA) was attendant. Within the roundtable, it presented the opportunity to view directly the interaction between indigenous organizations and representative and government institutions. Standing from an objective point of view it was interesting to see and hear the different standpoints of the different stakeholders. Also, as different policies were presented during the roundtable by the government institutions, the reactions (either positive or negative) of the indigenous representative and the responses of the government institutions, was possible to see. Additionally, following the argument and the interconnection between discussions of the stakeholders gave more insight in to understanding the perception and influences of the discussion within the interaction. The observations conducted during the roundtable gave more structural information to form and understand the in-depth interviews.

3.7.2

O

-

As it is important to understand the perception of all stakeholders active in the discussion topic of this research, open and in-depth interviews were conducted. In this way, each respondent was asked in depth not only about the perception of his or hers institution but also on the interrelations between are amongst the other stakeholders and future developments. More specifically, the method of using open and in-depth interviews was chosen as it gives certain flexibility in the conversation to move towards a direction that can be changed depending on possible unsuspected results.

Representatives from the government, international and national NGO and indigenous community leaders and indigenous delegates are the main focus of the interviews. Within the government representatives are the Colombian Ministry of environment and

30 sustainable development and the government institution called ‘Departamento National de Planeacion (DNP)’ (National Planning Department). Furthermore, international NGO considered for the interview were: Tropenbos international, and an indigenous organization working on the Amazon basin level known as the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA). Additionally, the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization (ACTO) a regional inter-governmental organization was considered. Furthermore, indigenous leaders from the Awa and Huitoto communities that are involved in development projects will be further contacted. During the fieldwork, it was found that some of the considered stakeholders were not necessary essential within the discussion provided by the research question. The organizations and institutions that were contacted were NGO such as: Tropenbos International, Organization of Indigenous Communities of the Colombian Amazonian (OPIAC), Fondo de accion and Ecoverse. Also, a science Amazonian institution SINCHI was interviewed and the Colombian Ministry of environment and sustainable development was reached. The National Planning Department could not be reached for an interview, but information of this government institution was further acquired through policy documents and literature of the department.

3.7.3

L

As this research focuses on the development goals of indigenous communities and national climate policies, literature analysis will be essential. This literature analysis will entail not only scientific literature but also grey literature (Policies, policy instruments, news publications, informational magazines and websites) as it also focuses on the existing national climate policies and other government development plans. Scientific literature is important as it depicts objectively (to some extent) the discourses and possible existing forces playing between the participating stakeholders. Similarly, grey literature is essential as they portray the wanted direction of development of each stakeholder and opinion of the participation actors.

31

3.8

D

-

For the analysis of the data gathered in research three main methods have been used to fully understand the different relations and implications between the interaction of indigenous’ governance with the government.

3.8.1.

SWOT

This method of analysis is often used as a tool for analyzing internal and external environments in order to attain a systemic approach and support for decision situation (Kurttila et al, 2000). SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (Ibid.). This manner of analysis provides further understanding on the different factors that influence the interaction between different actors. In this research, this method is used to characterize the different factors that each actor posses that influence its interaction within the decision-making processes on policy-making. For this research, internal positive influential factors were considered to be the Strengths of the specific actor and the internal negative influential factors were considered to be the weakness of the actor. Similarly, External positive influential factors were seen as possible opportunities that support the interaction positively and external negative influential factors were considered as the threats to affecting the interaction between actors negatively. Furthermore, the SWOT analysis also provides the possibility to develop a recommendation on improving decision-making processes through clarifying which factors are to be mitigated and which are to be encouraged (Kurttila et al, 2000).

3.8.2

P

This method will focus more on the analysis of policy that focuses on the Colombian development plan and climate change policy implementations. This will focus on the policy processes by analyzing the influences and power structured within political

32 processes and involved stakeholders (). This approach aims mostly on determining what processes and means are used and tries to explain the role and influences of stakeholders within the policy process (Ibid.).

3.9

E

All respondents were informed about the topic and main purpose of this research at the beginning of each interview. Also they were explained that the main interest of the research is their professional perception about the environmental development plans and how they perceive the interaction between indigenous perspective and government. At the beginning of each interview, it were made clear that all the information obtained will be handled in confidentiality and will only be used for scientific purpose only. Also, each respondent will be asked if their names may be used for citation purposes. They were informed that the interview could be stopped at any point they like.

3.10

L

There are various limitations that have occurred during this research. First, some participants were not available or were reluctant to participate with the interview. This might have occurred due to lack of available time on their part, but also due to the sensitivity of the subject regarding the new national development plans. Second, the indigenous community leaders might have not been willing to talk about climate adaptation as there are more pressing issues in the region. For example: Presence of mining and armed conflict in the region. Furthermore, as indigenous representatives can sometimes be changed according to the organization or election of the community, the results of the interviews may vary. Finally and more importantly, as the interviews

33 focused mainly on indigenous- and government representatives, the direct perception of the people at community level, have not been able to be contacted.

34

4.

C

OLOMBIAN DEVELOPMENT

&

HISTORY

In this chapter, the contextual setting of the research will be presented. As the interaction between the national government and indigenous communities comes from a long line of conflict and issues regarding Colombia, it is important to understand the development of the country. First, the section will illustrate the initial history of Colombia and the different power structures of race and culture that are still very influential today. This also includes a brief explanation on the history of armed conflict within the state and the development of the various national constitutions and what forces led to these changes. Third, the political structure and political processes of Colombia will be demonstrated. Finally, the development of climate change as a growing theme for international and national policy will be illustrated. This also includes how environment is politically structured in the Colombian government, its implication on the country and the interactions conducted with the Colombian Amazon.

4.1

C

Colombia hosts a great variety of different ethnicities. Throughout history this has been essential source of nationalism, culture and conflict. Ethnic conflict in Colombia has always been present since the Spanish colonization (Camacho, 1997). The mixture of Spaniards, mestizos, mulatos, Afros, indigenous peoples created a multicultural setting that was defined by a strong racial power structure, benefiting the European ‘white’ descendent population, that influenced intensely the political structure of the country (Ibid.). A strong cultural discourse remained from the first national constitution in 1810, the national constitution of 1886 until the late 1980’s that ‘white’ European descendants are the rightful citizens of Colombia (often still visible to date) (Ibid). In the 1900s mixture of white citizens with afro-descendants of indigenous people was still considered as one of

35 the main reasons for the downfall of the Colombian population (Camacho, 1997). The difference in power relations and the strong racial discourse led to a strong political structure that was mainly focused on the ‘white’ population and enforcing European political ideas, without considering the other population groups. Agricultural land was divided amongst big landowners and new European settlers were established without consideration of the, often poor, local population (Camacho, 1997). The uneven power structure of the country resulted in a political conflict that can still be seen today and can be followed since the independence of Colombia in 1810 (Ibáñez & Vélez, 2008).

During the 19th _{century the} political structure of Colombia divided the country in to the ‘liberales’ and the ‘conservadores’; two political parties that had strong influential power. The strong differences between the two political parties brought a period of armed conflict, between the 1946-’66 known as ‘La violencia’ (Restrepo et al., 2003). This conflict mainly resulted due to unresolved land issues since the 19th _century and an unequal distribution of resources (Ibáñez & Vélez, 2008). As the liberals and the conservatives entered in dialogue, a power-sharing agreement was reached that resulted in the end of the ‘La violencia’ period and initiated period of peace that lasted two decades

(Ibáñez & Vélez, 2008). However, the political agreement undermined the democracy of Colombia and increased political exclusion as political power was exchanged between the two parties according to their own arrangements (Restrepo et al., 2003). The permanence

PICTURE 1: BOGOTA DURING 'LA VIOLENCIA' IN 1948 (SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.BANREPCULTURAL.ORG/NODE/32334)

36

of underlying issues from ‘La violencia’ and the undemocratic political structure ensued the rise of left-winged guerilla groups. Groups such as ‘The Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia’ (FARC), Movement 19th _{November (known as M-19) and National Liberation}

Army (ELN) mostly aimed at overthrowing the democratically elected government. These armed groups mostly consisted of local farmers and indigenous people (sometimes forced to fight) that strongly disagreed with the power inequalities and territorial arrangement

(Restrepo et al., 2003). In addition, the rise of drugs barons in the early eighties with their own territory boundaries and illegal armies, which initiated the formation of the paramilitaries, fueled the violence against the Colombian civil population (Ibáñez & Vélez, 2008). The paramilitaries were formed mainly by the national army to combat the guerilla, but due to the development of the drug trade and a growing difference in opinions, the paramilitaries shifted to a more independent armed movement.

The conflict became a Cold War proxy fight as the guerilla followed a more Marxist agenda. This was mostly supported financially and military by the soviet block (Restrepo et al., 2003). On the other side, the government was highly supported by the United States

PICTURE 2: FARC GUERILLA SOLDIERS (SOURCE: HTTP://SANDRALORENAFORERO.BLOGSPOT.NL/2014/08/LA-VIOLENCIA-EN-COLOMBIA.HTML)

37 through its influence of the conflict through development and dissemination of its “National Security Doctrine” of counterinsurgency, mostly via the “Escuela de las Americas” (Ibid.). The end of the Cold war affected mostly the guerilla groups as the soviet block collapsed. Even though speculative to some extent, military funding of guerilla groups and paramilitary was highly supported by the rise of the drug trade during the eighties (Restrepo et al., 2003). The high increase of the drug trade in Colombia and the rise of guerilla and paramilitary groups can be linked through its influential military powers at regional and national level (Ibid.). In order to decrease the violence; in the late eighties, political dialogs with various opposition groups initiated processes that resulted in the last and most significant change to the constitution in 1991. Negotiations where initiated to demobilize guerilla groups, such as M-19 and ELN, amongst others, and decentralize political power from the conventional dual political groups to a more democratic and more diverse political parties (Restrepo et al., 2003). The M-19 joined with the liberal opposition, to form a stronger political group, as the guerilla groups did not have sufficient power in the national political arena as they did in the local and regional rural areas (Ibáñez & Vélez, 2008). The addition of the M-19 as part of a government party plus the decentralization of the government was a major political step to establish the newly formed constitution of 1991.

4.2

G

The development of the conflict between different opposing groups of guerilla, drug cartels, paramilitary and a dualistic government, established a movement and the need to create representation in the political arena. In 1990 with the new elected president of Cesar Gaviria, 70 members were elected of the constituent assembly (Contitucion Colombia, 2015). Additionally, in order to support the demobilization of guerilla groups and encourage the negotiations of peace, the possibility of participation with a voice

38 without vote was given to four representatives of the groups: Popular Liberal Army (ELP), Revolutionary party of laborers (PRT) and the armed movement of Quintin Lame1 (Constitucion Colombia, 2015). The representation of each movement can be seen in table 1 below. Table 1 demonstrates the newly formed political parties that were formed to encourage a less dualistic government. It is important to note that there are great differences in the percentage of political representation in the government. The biggest party was the Liberal Colombian Party with 25 seats. On the other hand, the indigenous peoples of Colombia political representation has only 2 seats, which is shared between two national indigenous organizations: National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) and Indigenous Authorities of Colombia (AICO).

Political party Seats % Seats

Partido Liberal Colombiano (L) 25 35,7

Alianza Democratica M-19 (M-19) 19 27,1

Movimiento de Salvazion National (MSN) 11 15,7

Partido Social Conservador y Conservadores independientes

(C) 9 12,8

Movimiento Union Cristiana (UC) 2 2,9

Union Patriotica (UP) 2 2,9

Movimientos Indigenas (ONIC y AICO) 2 2,9

Table 1: Members with voice and vote per political party in 1990 (Constitucion Colombia, 2015). The end of a dualistic government and the introduction of different political parties increased the democratic decision-making process and established the ground for the development and discussion of a new constitution. As table 1 shows, the participation of the indigenous movement, as a formal political party, was a major breakthrough not only in a democratic sense for the national politics but also as it endorses the indigenous

1 _{Quintin Lame was a guerilla indigenous movement from the Cauca department and was mainly}

formed as a result of the national discourse to seek for national acknowledgement of autonomies territories and traditional livelihood (Camacho, 1997).

39 recognition of the national government (Camacho, 1997). This political recognition was reached as through the movement of farmers ‘campesinos’, the indigenous regional council of Cauca and other organizations initiated a process of land reclamation, protection of their culture and traditional language (Ibid). This process gave rise to movements such as ‘Quitin Lame’ and ‘Autoridades Tradicionales’ which focused strongly on the recognition of indigenous people as a community, historical tradition and the rights for autonomy (Ibid.).

Focusing more directly on the Colombian government structure; Colombia is a Democratic presidential Republic and unitary state with a divided power (Consitucion Politica Colombia, 2015). This means that its citizens within an independent state elect the president, which will lead a government that has central power. After the constitution of 1991, the government’s power was divided into three different branches: the executive power, legislative power and juridical power (Consitucion politica Colombia, 2015). The decentralization process of the Colombian government after the constitution in 1991 meant the division of power in public power and state’s organs (ConstitutionColombia, 2015). The decentralization was done to encourage autonomy for territorial entities and increase democracy, participation and a pluralistic republic (Consitucion politica Colombia, 2015). However, the decentralization of the state does not necessary means that the policies increase local authorities’ strength (Velasco, 2012; Faletti, 2010). In spite of achievements in participatory budgeting, citizens’ oversights of governmental processes, transparency and accountability, studies have shown that many instances of decentralization maintained authoritarian enclaves by increasing corruption and clientelism (Velasco, 2012; Fox, 1994). As it can be seen in the figure 1, the decentralization of the Colombia included the executive, which includes the president of the state, Gobernacion and alcaldias at a local level; legislative, which entails the congress;

40 and juridical branch that constitutes of the entire national attorney structure as part of the public power. The other part of the structure is based only on state’s government organs, which include the military and policy; electoral sector; and others such as banks and media sector.

Figure 1: Colombian political structure (Sena-Direccion General, 2006)

The executive branch of power focuses mainly on the administration of the state (Ceballos, 2010. 1.). This entails maintaining the order of the public, complying with national policy and recollection of taxes, amongst others. This branch consists of a cabinet lead by the president of the republic, followed by the vice president, ministers and directors of the administrative departments (Sena-Direccion General, 2006). At the departmental level, it consists of governors and the sectorial cabinet; and at municipal level it consists off its mayors and their cabinet secretaries (Ceballos, 2010. 1.). The legislative branch of power focuses on the structuring and forming of policies and laws. This consists of a bicameral congress, which involves the senate of the republic and the chamber of representatives. Subsequent, there is also the assembly of departments and the municipal councils (Ceballos, 2010. 2.). Finally the juridical branch aims at fulfilling the existing national laws, protect its citizens and national rights, and act against the people and institutions that cannot comply with the law (Sena-Direccion General, 2006).

41

4.3

I

The organization of indigenous communities and their strong goals became one of the most successful social movements in Colombia. It reinforced the national discourse of the government towards the recognition of indigenous identity, perception of the indigenous people as territorial entities and ecologists of their territories (Camacho, 1997). This led to one of the mayor changes in the new constitution of 1991 that had remained unchanged since 1886 (Camacho, 1997). Within this new constitution in law 21 of 1991 when for the first time the contributions of indigenous models of society and environment were recognized (Plan de Vida Indigena, 2005). Additionally, within article 7 of the constitution it states that governments (national and municipalities) must ensure indigenous communities, with their representative institutions, the ability to participate within their own decision-making processes with regard to the development process (Plan de Vida Indigena, 2005). This is further expanded by article 15 in which gives the right to participate in the use, protection and administration of natural resources within indigenous territories. Furthermore, with article 23 of the constitution states that traditional practices (e.g hunting, fishing and gathering) should formally be recognized, strengthen and support as an essential factor for the prevailing of local livelihood (Plan de Vida Indigena, 2005). These new laws in the constitutions, amongst other, allowed the empowerment of the indigenous communities to form their territories boundaries (also known as ‘resguardos’) and improve organization among each other.

The further development of the constitution of 1991 provided indigenous peoples with more autonomy for their territories and legislative power. The decree 1088 of 1993 regulated the establishment of the associations of the cabildos and/or Traditional

42 Indigenous Authorities, also known as AATIS (Henao, 2012). cabildos are community based institutions which manage their own territories through the autonomy provided by the formation of AATIS (Velasco, 2012). The law 89 further expands, stating that the indigenous communities within the country’s borders further require an legal statute that will allow them to associate in such way that it makes it possible for them to participate and strengthen their economic, social and cultural development (Velasco, 2012). This legal formation of AATIS provides four features (Ibid.). First, it allows AATIS the right to represent their own territory by forming an association according to the decree 1088. Second, it enables the associations having an entity of public law of special character with legal personality, own assets and administrative autonomy. Third, it focuses on the integral development of the indigenous communities through enabling the realization of a) activities of industrial and commercial character and b) encourages the formation of community projects of health, education and housing in coordination with the respective national authorities. Fourth, it assures autonomy to the cabildos or Traditional indigenous Authorities, as they form part of an association. In a more critical note however, even though ethnic autonomy, “it is curtailed by article 332 of the constitution establishing state ownership of subsoil and non-renewable resources” (Velesco, 2012. p.7). Cabildos become recipients of fiscal transfers and tend to be covered by laws encouraging decentralized governments to invest and devise development plans (Ibid.).

With the empowerment of indigenous peoples by the constitution of 1991 and the territorial rearrangement, indigenous communities development an organizational or management plan called Life Plans or ‘Planes de Vida’ (Jansasoy & Veraz, 2005). Initially Life Plans were created mainly as part of the government’s ‘territorial rearrangement’, as aside from the new departments and municipalities, territories were redefined emphasizing the dynamic properties of traditional territories (Echeverri, 2004). Therefore

43 for Life Plans focus mainly on the management and mapping of traditional regions within the given legal territories (Jansasoy & Veraz, 2005). This is conducted from a local traditional perspective that uses an holistic knowledge of the their environment and it extents to their shamanistic believes (Plan de Vida Indigena, 2005). Additionally, Life Plans encourages the participation of indigenous peoples, facilitating communal understanding (Echeverri, 2004), in the decision-making processes of their own desired development plan and structure (Jansasoy & Veraz, 2005). The organization capacity gained by Life Plans, helps indigenous communities to demonstrate their development goals and necessities in sectors such as; education, economy, management of local market, transportation and external relations with government bodies and institutions (Plan de Vida Indigena, 2005). Due to political structure of the development of Life Plans and its organization capacity, it has been recognize by the national government (Jansasoy & Veraz, 2005). The development and possible implementation of Life Plans is often funded from outside the community, despite the strong community based structure of the management plan. This is often done by national organizations, national and local NGO, and even international institutions (e.g. Wolrd Bank, amongst other) (Plan de Vida Indigena, 2005).

Expanding further to a more regional and national discussion of interaction with the government, the constitution also provided the opportunity to create roundtables (MRA, 2015). This provided a platform for indigenous communities to increase the interaction between indigenous organizations and government institutions (Ibid.). The development of the roundtables originated by an initial demand to the state by the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC) in 2001 (Ibid.). This organization stated a violation of a fundamental right of prior consent and negative effects towards the health and environment of indigenous peoples, due to the government’s campaign against

44 illicit crops (Ibid.). This campaign consisted in battling illicit crops with spraying with a chemical called glyphosate. Therefore, the national constitutional court restated a new policy, which directly protects the fundamental rights of the ethnic and cultural diversity and integrity. This also includes the participation and the free development of indigenous and tribal personality of the Amazon (MRA, 2015). Within this process, OPIAC was also recognized as the representative indigenous organization of the Amazon region (MRA, 2015). Furthermore, the constitutional court further established that the state should enter in dialog, in an effective and efficient manner, to improve on the decision-making processes within the implementation of projects in the Amazon region (Ibid.). Once this was taken into action, all the involved stakeholders agreed that a bigger permanent platform was needed to increase a participatory method within decision-making processes in the development of the Amazon Region (Ibid). In 2005, the decree 3012 was created that formally created the Regional Amazonian Roundtable (MRA) (Decreto 3012, 2015).

45

4.4

C

-

C

Colombia is a country of high flora, with around and fauna biodiversity 55,000 different plant species and it is number three in the world for the most biodiverse fauna (Henao, 2012). This also includes an extensive variety of natural resources, from fossil fuel and gold to wood and agriculture (Henao, 2012). Therefore, in the global arena Colombia forms an important member within the development and conservation of natural areas. The increasing climate change in the world has not only impacted the natural resources, but has impacted the people that are directly depended on these natural resources. Also, the majority of the population has lives in the high elevated Andes, where water shortages and land instability are already a reality, and at the coastal regions, the increase in sea levels and floods can affect key human settlements and economic activities (Martin et al., 2010). Additionally, Colombia is prone to extreme events that depend highly in the chances of climate condition (Ibid.). Therefore, Colombia has undertaken various measurements in climate mitigation and adaptation since becoming a party in the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 and a party of United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1995 (Ramirez-villegas et al., 2012). Within the Colombia government, climate change has been a topic that has increasingly become important in the Colombian political Agenda. This has become more prominent as the COP-21 in Paris has put the funding and interest for climate mitigation and adaption strategies as a higher priority in the global political agenda (UNFCCC, 2015).

Due to the importance of environmental issues in the political agenda in Colombia, the state has reformed the national political structure, to enhance the efficiency of implementation of policy and environmental development plans (Instituto Humbolt, 2015). As it can be seen in figure 2 below, the political scheme of the Colombian National Environmental System (SINA) demonstrates the different political bodies that act in

46 different setting of policy implementation at different political level (Ibid.). Further it demonstrates the division of different sectors regarding environmental policy through: the social branch, which constitutes of public organization and NGO (this includes Indigenous organizations); The institutional branch that entails of mostly government institutions; Territorial branch, which includes the Departement of Development Planing (DNP) (Essential in the planning and implementation of policy); transectoral branch, which includes the participation of other ministries (e.g. ministry of interior affairs); and the branch of control, which are management institutional bodies for the control of processes (Ibid.). Furthermore, it is important to note that this scheme also shows what government institutions have contact with other organizations different levels. As figure 2 demonstrates, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS) has contact and supports through funding, the Regional Autonomous Corporation (CAR), which allows MADS to monitor and implement policy to the region with indigenous communities (Ibid.). Following the territorial branch, the DNP has contact not through the MADS, being a government institution, but has a direct link to territorial entities (Ibid.). This also demonstrates the division of the different government institution of the state. The interaction of government institution to political bodies at a local level will be further explained in the next chapter with more detail.