{"id":21985,"date":"2026-01-19T19:08:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T00:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/?p=21985"},"modified":"2026-01-19T19:08:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T00:08:00","slug":"the-land-heals-if-you-leave-it-in-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/?p=21985","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The land heals if you leave it in peace\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The Aw\u00e1 La Nutria Nature Reserve initiative, spearheaded by the Aw\u00e1 community of El Verde in Colombia, has strengthened community environmental governance through gatherings, interpretive tours, and the transmission of ancestral knowledge. Journalist Andr\u00e9s G\u00f3mez tells the story in this article, created with a Nature-Based Responses to Biodiversity Loss Reporting Grant from the <a href=\"https:\/\/elcolectivo506.com\/latin-america-solutions-journalism-fund\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">Latin American Solutions Journalism Fund<\/a>, an initiative of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi75YW_55iSAxU0TDABHaKRFk0QFnoECCYQAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Felcolectivo506.com%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw0YB7mo6dbVKXXN5Ei1GuYg&amp;opi=89978449\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">El Colectivo 506<\/a>. These grants were made possible by a donation from the <a href=\"https:\/\/earthjournalism.net\/what-we-do\/projects\/biodiversity-media-initiative\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">Earth Journalism Network and its Biodiversity Media Initiative<\/a>. The article was published by El Turbi\u00f3n on Nov. 16, 2025. It was adapted and translated here by El Colectivo 506 for co-publication. ChatGPT was used to create the first draft of the translation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By: Andr\u00e9s G\u00f3mez<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrm.org.uy\/es\/articulos-del-boletin\/el-choco-colombiano-una-region-megadiversa-en-un-pais-megadiverso-por-cuanto-tiempo-mas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">Choc\u00f3 is a megadiverse bioregion<\/a> with some of the highest levels of unique and migratory species in the world; it\u2019s shared by Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. In Colombia, in the mountains along the Pacific coast of Nari\u00f1o, the Aw\u00e1 Indigenous people live in this bioregion alongside<a href=\"https:\/\/corponarino.gov.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/7.-CARACTERIZACION-FLORA-Y-FAUNA.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\"> hundreds of birds, plants, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals<\/a>. The Aw\u00e1 have been victims of violence since colonial times, but especially because of the internal armed conflict and its war economies. In 2019, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jep.gov.co\/Sala-de-Prensa\/Paginas\/La-JEP-acredita-al-\u2018katsa-su\u2019,-gran-territorio-aw\u00e1,-y-al-pueblo-aw\u00e1-(unipa)-como-v\u00edctimas-del-conflicto-armado-colombiano.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">recognized<\/a> the Katsa su\u2014the great Aw\u00e1 territory\u2014and the Aw\u00e1 people as victims of the Colombian armed conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barbacoas is one of the municipalities that forms part of the Choc\u00f3. It lies more than 1,000 kilometers (approximately 621 miles) from Bogot\u00e1 in the foothills of the Pacific region of Nari\u00f1o. It is one of Colombia\u2019s largest municipalities, covering 5,090 square kilometers. Because it sits in one of the rainiest areas on Earth, it has a mountainous rainforest with some of the greatest biodiversity and water capacity on the planet. However, its rivers have been <a href=\"http:\/\/mediosindigenas.ub.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/CCAR_Informe-Oleoducto-transandino_CAST_compressed.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">contaminated<\/a> by oil spills, and its forests have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dejusticia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Brief-Informe-Caso-02_Katsa-Su-y-Ecologias-de-la-Guerra.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">flooded with coca<\/a>, poisoned with glyphosate, deforested, and polluted through the extraction of gold, copper, and silver since colonial times.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, the situation has worsened with the addition of zinc, platinum, and molybdenum mining, along with the extraction of clay, sand, stone, gravel, and crushed rock. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.comisiondelaverdad.co\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-08\/04_Casos_Ind%C3%ADgenas-pdf-9.4MB.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">According<\/a> to the Truth Commission: \u201cThese activities are also linked to the presence of private companies and armed actors who take advantage of the lack of state protection to capture income from these activities or to carry out illegal mining.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The control of all these revenue streams by illegal actors began in the early 2000s. Glyphosate spraying in Putumayo and Caquet\u00e1 <a href=\"https:\/\/iberoamericana.se\/articles\/10.16993\/iberoamericana.588\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">pushed coca crops into Nari\u00f1o<\/a>, where neither coca nor armed conflict had existed before. The Aw\u00e1 had already suffered racial discrimination, and some people turned to illegal economic activities such as the trade of animals and skins considered exotic; the logging of fine woods; cattle ranching; and gold mining. These activities not only damaged forests and jungles, but also disrupted their way of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The La Nutria and Monte Loro nature reserves are part of the Aw\u00e1 people\u2019s responses to threats against the <em>Katsa su<\/em>\u2014threats that also harm their lives and integrity as a people. These reserves are alternatives that allow them to heal the territory through their own knowledge, grounded in their relationship with the land and in their community organization, which continues to resist discrimination and violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cI started walking with the elders on the mountain trails\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-51-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-51-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21866\" style=\"width:754px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Andrea Bisbic\u00fas has been a part of the Aw\u00e1 La Nutria reserve since she was seven years old. Photo: Ximena Dorado \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/&nbsp; El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">We are reforesting <strong>cu\u00e1ngares<\/strong> (Dialyanthera gracilipes), <em>guavos<\/em> (Inga edulis), <em>taras, huastas<\/em>, and <em>pulgandes<\/em> (Carapa guianensis). Those are the common names we use here, the ones our ancestors taught us. They left us that legacy. \u2026Those trees were heavily hit by logging &#8230; People cut them down to make a living because we are one of the most vulnerable areas, most abandoned by the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Euler Garc\u00eda is part of the Monte Loro reserve. His words show how exclusion drove people to log fine woods to the point that, today, two species are in critical condition according to Corponari\u00f1o: the <em>cucharillo<\/em> (<em>Magnolia<\/em> <em>narinensis<\/em>) and the <em>chanul<\/em> (<em>Humiriastrum procerum<\/em>), both razed for beams and fine furniture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through logging, people in Barbacoas earned some money, and at the same time they cleared pastures for cattle. However, cattle ranching was not profitable in the humid mountains, and they realized they were losing what they valued most\u2014water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Before, where we\u2019re standing now was totally pasture. As time passed, we decided to conserve it because we were deforesting too much, we were polluting too much, and the water was disappearing. The water flow was extremely low. So the whole community decided, \u2018We\u2019re going to leave this area for conservation.\u2019 And for the last 25 years, cattle ranching has been abandoned and conservation has begun.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These words from Miguel Garc\u00eda, Euler\u2019s brother, explain the motive for restoring the mountains. However, it is not an individual measure but a community response, as his brother explains: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are nine partners, the owners of this conservation area\u2014113 hectares. We\u2019ve been seriously working on conservation for about six years, and working collectively with the nearby communities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The urgency to recover the territory is not only the idea of those who sustain Monte Loro. La Nutria Reserve, located in the Gran Z\u00e1balo Resguardo, was also created as a strategy to protect the territory, biodiversity, and Aw\u00e1 spirituality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-57-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21877\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-57-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21877\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0014-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21878\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0014-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21878\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\"><em>Infrastructure for birdwatching in the La Nutria and Monte Loro reserves. Photo: Ximena Dorado \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/ El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Monte Loro, La Nutria combines passive restoration, agroecological restoration, community tourism, and facilities for birdwatching\u2014tools that have become key for conservation. La Nutria also functions as an educational and spiritual space, with a \u201cthinking center\u201d where youth and elders gather to share knowledge, harmonize, and strengthen community unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andrea Bisbic\u00fas is a second-semester biology student at the University of Nari\u00f1o. She is 19 years old and began her process in La Nutria when she was seven. Today she conducts bird monitoring and observation walks as part of the reserve\u2019s conservation and environmental education strategies, and she readily recognizes the work of intergenerational education:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-49-3-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-49-3-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21871\" style=\"width:738px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Andrea Bisbic\u00fas studies birds in the La Nutria reserve. Ximena Dorado \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/ El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">I started walking with the elders on the mountain trails. [&#8230;] They talked about conserving biodiversity, the territory, the Katsa su [the great house], and it caught my attention. I said, \u2018I want to conserve our territory, to carry on the legacy of our elders.\u2019 And thanks to that, I\u2019m here in the reserve\u2019s process, walking alongside the elders.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked about the bird monitoring she conducts, the importance of her team\u2019s work is clear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Here, with the team, we walk the routes to observe birds and to identify some species, especially those that are endangered, like the <em>pava<\/em> (Penelope perspicax) &#8230;The bird is large, black, with a red throat and white-like scales around the throat. You usually find it inside the forest, but because of hunting and logging, it has been disappearing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team that Andrea Bisbic\u00fas is a part of follows, observes and studies birds such as the guan. In the process, the team documents the lives of hundreds of species. According to Corponari\u00f1o, in the Mira River basin alone, it is possible to find 741 bird species. The most numerous family is that of perching birds and songbirds, with 427 species, followed by hummingbirds and swifts, with 59 species, and then birds of prey, woodpeckers and toucans, with 27 species each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This collective work in the La Nutria Reserve not only contributes to knowledge about biodiversity, but also strengthens what the armed conflict had fractured: the unity of the Aw\u00e1 people, the transmission of their knowledge, and the shared path between youth and elders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-44-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-44-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21875\" style=\"width:740px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Wilmer Bisbic\u00fas, coordinator of the La Nutria Reserve. Ximena Dorado \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/ El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this point, Wilmer Bisbic\u00fas, 23, coordinator of the La Nutria Reserve, has no doubt that the reserve strengthens the Aw\u00e1 people, who have been declared at risk of physical and cultural extermination:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve had more than 15 years of violence where we had to watch our leaders fall, and these social problems still continue. And it didn\u2019t only affect the population\u2026 it also affected environmental rights: pollution, deforestation, and all of that also threatens the cultural and spiritual system, because this entire situation changed the mentality of the youth\u2026 The reserve has been a strategy for protecting and conserving the territory, and for the physical and cultural survival of the Aw\u00e1 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>\u2018The chonta eventually bears fruit\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-24-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-24-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21874\" style=\"width:756px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Olivio Bisbic\u00fas,  elder and founder of the La Nutria Reserve. <em>Ximena Dorado \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/ El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Amazon is not the only tropical rainforest in Colombia. The Choc\u00f3 Biogeographic Region stretches across Antioquia, Choc\u00f3, Risaralda, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, and Nari\u00f1o. Its forests, like those of the Amazon, help regulate the planet\u2019s climate by producing oxygen and capturing carbon, and they are also home to hundreds of unknown endemic species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Racism against Indigenous peoples, lies about the forest, and the armed conflict have all worked against Indigenous knowledge and against understanding the species that inhabit these territories. Today, thanks to exchanges between Aw\u00e1 leaders and knowledge-keepers and academic researchers, the Aw\u00e1 people have not only expanded their knowledge\u2014they have also shared it and continued building it as they document the consequences that the armed conflict has had on nature. This is reflected in the words of Ovidio Bisbic\u00fas when he talks about amphibians and reptiles, or <em>herpetos<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Herpetos are also becoming endangered, like the kiki frog, the glass frog (<em>Cochranella euknemos<\/em>)\u2026 We have photographic records of the devil frog (<em>Oophaga sylvatica<\/em>), contaminated with crude oil.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fate of the glass frog and the devil frog is similar to that of the harlequin toad and the Bolitoglossa walkeri salamander, a species without lungs that breathes through its skin. All are endemic amphibians of Colombia and face critical situations. According to Corponari\u00f1o, in the Mira River basin alone, \u201c28 percent of amphibian species were in threatened categories, with the highest number in the Vulnerable (VU) category, followed by Near Threatened (NT) and Endangered (EN).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through their reserves, the Aw\u00e1 people compile information about the damage in a systematic way. They also gather reflections on the adaptability of species affected by extractive economies that fueled indiscriminate logging. Andrea Bisbic\u00fas explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the deforestation, they [the birds] adapt\u2026 thanks to conservation in the reserve, they have been able to recover.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In La Nutria, it is not only the birds that have returned. During nighttime walks, you can spot the glass frog, which, along with the devil frog, suffers from illegal trafficking, habitat loss and contamination. Both frogs are highly sensitive to pollution, and\u2014like the birds\u2014they have found a sanctuary in La Nutria Reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A similar process is taking place in Monte Loro, where forest restoration has invited back the life that once inhabited the rainforest and has also improved water quality. But Miguel Garc\u00eda says that despite these efforts, nothing ever returns to exactly what it was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Birds that had dispersed to other territories are coming back, although not all the birds we once knew have returned. But some have come back\u2026 the peccaries, some <em>cuzumbes<\/em> (Nasuella olivacea), armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), <em>guatines<\/em> (Dasyprocta punctata), <em>borugas<\/em> (Cuniculus paca), and that has brought us great joy\u2026 Recently, you can see that the water is increasing. It will soon go back to what it once was, but because of the deforestation, the water course has changed permanently.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Monte Loro Reserve, being higher above sea level than La Nutria, has different species. As the Garc\u00eda brothers walk along the trails, they talk about how they have rediscovered fungi and insects through the experts and enthusiasts who visit them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Monteloro-94-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21851\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Monteloro-94-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21851\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0020-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21850\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0020-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21850\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0011-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21855\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0011-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21855\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Monteloro-87-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21843\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Monteloro-87-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21843\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0015-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21854\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0015-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21854\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\"><em>The Monte Loro Reserve is full of life where there were once only pastures. Ximena Dorado \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/ El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By recovering the forest through the reserves, they have been able to recover medicines and food that were affected by pipeline explosions and glyphosate fumigation. As Ovidio Bisbic\u00fas explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In every place or natural space, there is our own medicine with which we heal ourselves and find harmony. And this is the life of the Aw\u00e1 Indigenous communities\u2026 In some natural areas it had deteriorated, but since the pipeline [the Trans-Andean Pipeline] is not currently operating, the rivers and streams have been recovering, and we are recovering our medicines\u2026 Likewise, our own food has also been returning. Because of the fumigations, our staple crops were contaminated\u2014corn, yuca, <em>chiro<\/em> (plantain), sugarcane\u2014and they were greatly damaged, but we have begun to recover them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another aspect that has been strengthened through the reserves is language. Ovidio Bisbic\u00fas emphasizes that to communicate with the forest, it is necessary to speak <em>awapit<\/em>, the language in which the Aw\u00e1 have encoded the knowledge they have acquired over centuries\u2014and a language that racism attempted to eliminate by humiliating and punishing those who spoke it. For him, through the language they speak with the <em>Katsa su<\/em> and reaffirm who they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And this is how, through permanent communication with nature, with the spirit of the forest, we also connect to listen to the songs of the birds, the different songs in the forest. You can also hear the wind, which harmonizes the clean air breathed by the reserve. Nature breathes for the rest of the Aw\u00e1 territory, for society in general\u2026 and in this sense, authorities, leaders and women leaders are <em>awapit<\/em> speakers\u2026 Education is helping ensure that our language remains over time, that our knowledge and understandings do not disappear.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through the reserves, the Aw\u00e1 people have also chosen to strengthen their philosophical narratives about the role of human beings on Earth and within the community. For this reason, Wilmer Bisbic\u00fas does not hesitate to say that the actions of the resguardo and of the people who collaborate in the project follow the teachings of the <em>chonta<\/em> palm:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of our philosophies speaks about the chonta. You need to have a firm root and grow straight like the chonta, and the chonta always seeks out the light. But you also must be straight in life and always look for that light: hope for the communities, and always bear fruit. The chonta eventually bears fruit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Armed actors have destroyed our territory<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Mineria-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Mineria-1024x619.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21891\" style=\"width:792px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration: &nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cj_dsgn\/\">cj_dsgn<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the efforts of those who are part of the reserves, the territory is still affected by customs that do not help restore the mountains. For that reason, Euler Garc\u00eda believes more people need to get involved at the local level:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some people don\u2019t value what we are conserving. Some think that what we\u2019re doing is work that has no future.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His brother Miguel Garc\u00eda shares the same view, but adds that more support is needed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes there\u2019s no support to continue protecting, and without support it is hard to sustain the work.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of the tools they use, such as binoculars and equipment, have been self-financed. Although tourism brings in some income, it is very little to keep going. This is why support from institutions and from nature and conservation enthusiasts is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, poor land management practices are not the only threat to the Pacific region of Nari\u00f1o.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0023-1-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21859\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0023-1-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21859\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Euler Garc\u00eda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0024-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21860\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0024-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21860\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miguel Garc\u00eda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The armed conflict and illegal coca, gold and oil economies are even more harmful. Ovidio Bisbic\u00fas recalls:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Armed actors have destroyed our territory\u2026 They have brought violence, conflicts, massacres, displacement, killings\u2026 Hydrocarbon contamination has been very serious\u2026 many rivers and streams\u2026 biodiversity that has been lost. There has been significant deforestation\u2026 to plant coca crops\u2026 and that has brought even greater environmental impacts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trans-Andean Pipeline (OTA), which for years transported oil to the tanker ships at the port of Tumaco, was blown up several times by the former FARC-EP in actions against oil companies, and was perforated hundreds of times by dissident groups to extract crude and produce artisanal gasoline used in cocaine production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks to the advocacy efforts of the Aw\u00e1 people, the pipeline no longer transports crude. However, the threat of reopening remains, which could reactivate the cycle of contamination and violence that marked previous decades. If the OTA resumes operations, crude oil could once again be diverted to feed the cocaine laboratories that supply the global market\u2014repeating a history that has already devastated rivers and streams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0016-1-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0016-1-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21862\" style=\"width:802px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Where there were pastures, life is reborn through the hands of the Aw\u00e1 people. Photo: Andr\u00e9s G\u00f3mez \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/ El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, the suspension of aerial glyphosate spraying is only a temporary relief. One of the punishments endured by marginalized Indigenous communities\u2014who turned to coca cultivation when the conflict reached them more than 20 years ago\u2014was fumigation with this herbicide, a poison that did not eradicate coca but did sicken the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because fumigation depends on government decisions, it may return with future administrations, bringing airplanes once again to rain chemicals over crops, forests and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then there is the global threat of the climate crisis. Although the local contribution to global climate change is minimal, the consequences are not equal for everyone. Communities in Barbacoas have experienced major flooding, such as the Mira River overflow in 2009, and in the Pat\u00eda and Sanquianga rivers in Olaya Herrera, the main concerns now center on floods, strong winds and landslides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Walking together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-38-1-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-38-1-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21873\" style=\"width:776px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Wilmer Bisbic\u00fas and Ovidio Bisbic\u00fas. Photo: Ximena Dorado \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/ <\/em>El Colectivo 506<em>El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">In both reserves, Ovidio Bisbic\u00fas and brothers Euler and Miguel Garc\u00eda proudly share their knowledge about orchids and <em>lepantes<\/em>\u2014knowledge they have gained by advancing the reserves. Their example has pulled young Aw\u00e1 people into this process. As Ovidio Bisbic\u00fas explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today young men and women, boys and girls have come very close. Environmental governance of the reserve is not only in the hands of adults, but the youth have become empowered in this environmental governance process.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0007-1-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21853\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0007-1-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21853\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-52-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"21845\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/La-Nutria-52-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21845\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\"><em>Orchids and lepantes in the La Nutria and Monte Loro reserves. Ximena Dorado \/ El Turbi\u00f3n \/ El Colectivo 506<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andrea Bisbic\u00fas is one of these young people. She reflects on how the reserve creates space for her participation as a young woman:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For me, being a woman is very important. And as a young woman, working here in the reserve\u2026 being part of the process has been very important because it has always been very marked that men participate in the work, in the workshops, in everything, and women end up very excluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Monte Loro and La Nutria reserves show that ancestral knowledge and community organization can reverse the damage caused by centuries of racism and extractivism, and by decades of war. Where there were once pastures and contamination, today the forest grows back, the water clears and the animals return. And it is remarkable that restoration emerges from a deep conviction: caring for the forest is also caring for life and for the memory of the Aw\u00e1 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the threats posed by illegal economies, the armed conflict, institutional abandonment, and the effects of climate change continue to put pressure a territory that\u2014despite its natural wealth and thousands of endemic species\u2014remains one of the most impoverished and forgotten regions of Colombia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the face of this panorama, the Aw\u00e1 reserves are not only ecological refuges: they are also an ethical and political project that heals the territory from the roots, reaffirming that traditional knowledge, spirituality and science can walk together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the words of Euler Garc\u00eda:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cThe forest teaches. When you see a tree grow back, you learn that the land heals if you leave it in peace.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Sin-nombre.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20828\" style=\"width:146px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recognition of El Turbi\u00f3n\u2019s commitment to integrity and excellence in journalism, the outlet has obtained the Certification of the Journalism Trust Initiative, promoted by Reporters Without Borders under the international standard CEN CWA 17493:2019.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vaki.co\/es\/vaki\/Elturbionrompiendoelsilencio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20831\" style=\"width:134px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vaki.co\/es\/vaki\/Elturbionrompiendoelsilencio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Independent journalism and investigation are costly\u2026 Support us.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Aw\u00e1 La Nutria Nature Reserve initiative, spearheaded by the Aw\u00e1 community of El Verde in Colombia, has strengthened community environmental governance through gatherings, interpretive tours, and the transmission of ancestral knowledge. Journalist Andr\u00e9s G\u00f3mez tells the story in this article, created with a Nature-Based Responses to Biodiversity Loss Reporting Grant from the Latin American [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,37,39,85,48],"tags":[396,2475,2866],"class_list":["post-21985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destacado","category-ambiente","category-movimientos-sociales","category-narino","category-regiones","tag-awa","tag-monte-loro","tag-pilman-la-nutria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21985\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elturbion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}