COAMA (CONSOLIDATION OF THE AMAZON REGION)

The Coama Programme ( Consolidation of the Amazon Region) is implemented by a network of specialised non-government organisations (NG0s) which have been working for many years with indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon to conserve the region's cultural and biological diversity.

The Programme was initiated in 1989, as a positive response to Colombian government policy to designate 20 million hectares of Amazon territory as collective indigenous property and conservation zones.

Coama is base on the premise that consolidation of indigenous territories is one of the most viable strategies for the conservation of tropical forests when intercultural collaboration is developed appropriately. The aim is to empower indigenous communities to control and manage their territories, based on their traditional knowledge and in accordance with Colombia's legal framework and constitution.