Land Purchase of Territories that are Essential for Connectivity and Linked to the Endangered Tapir in the Indigenous Territories of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

The Kogi are indigenous people living in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains of Northern Colombia, one of the last surviving groups of the pre-Columbian Tairona civilization. Home to 37 rivers, La Sierra is extremely rich in biodiversity. Having remained in the remote mountains guarding their ancestral territories during the Spanish conquest, the Kogi managed to avoid displacement. Their land, contiguous with that of the four indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Kogi/Kagaba, Arhuaco/Iku, Wiwa and Kankuamo) across three departments (Guajira, Magdalena and Cesar), comprises 348 sacred sites upon which the vitality of all beings inhabiting the Santa Martas depends.

Since Colombia’s civil war, however, these indigenous lands have been under pressure from numerous forces, including illegal mining and resource extraction, and encroachment by cattle farms and palm plantations. These incursions have cut the connection between the indigenous peoples, their communities and many of their sacred sites, which are scientifically validated biocultural hotspots. These sites are also important to the ecosystem, considered by the indigenous peoples to be the parents of the diverse species that live here. Moreover, the Kogi see themselves as stewards responsible for maintaining ecological balance not just in their territory, but across the planet. In their conception, La Sierra is the heart of the world, and these sacred sites connect to the living body of the planet. Losing that connection would, in their eco- cosmology, be catastrophic.

Parts of the Kogis’ ancestral territory are legally categorized by the government as private property, which contradicts their traditional sense of communal land ownership. When CCF learned of an opportunity to purchase two parcels of land on behalf of the indigenous people and in partnership with Resguardo Kogi Malayo Arhuaco, our mission became the recovery and return of sacred sites through land purchases, while also protecting endangered wildlife, especially the endangered tapir, within its parameters.

Buenavista & Rollito Azul Land Purchases

The Buenavista property is a 103.6 hectare parcel located on the north face of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta within the Kogi Malayo Arhuaco Reserve. It is part of the Tayrona National Natural Park of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (PNNSNSM) expansion zone, in the Rio Ancho river basin. Rollito Azul (24 hectares) is likewise crucial to the political, social and ecosystem for the Kogi people.

This vital region contains humid tropical forests of great ancestral value and ecological diversity, and many sacred sites. As confirmed by a Kogi technical team, a key corridor represents the last conservation nucleus for the tapir (Tapirus terrestris colombianus)—an herbivorous mammal that has remained unchanged for millennia. As “holes” of non-indigenous presence inside the Kogi Malayo Arhuaco Reserve, the Buenavista and Rollito Azul properties represent a key part of ecosystem connectivity and of the conservation and recovery strategy of the expansion of the PNNSNSM. For the Kogi Mamos (spiritual and political leaders), these lands are fundamental; when recovered, they guarantee the unity of the reservation and prevent future conflicts related to resources, use and management.

In February of 2024, CCF finalized the purchase of these two parcels on behalf of the Kogi Malayo Arhuaco Indigenous Reserve, which will allow the preservation of its ecosystems at an ancestral and environmental level in perpetuity under the care of the Kogi people. Our next step is to understand and shape the tapir conservancy project. Looking for partners on the ground with whom we can initiate this work, we have held several meetings with a Kogi team from Organización Gonawindwa Tairona and a Colombian tapir researcher, and continue to seek the best alliance of entities to study and understand the current state of the species.

Impact Overview:

• $173,240 combined 2024 investment for both parcels

• 127.6 ha of land successfully purchased in the Rio Ancho River Basin in a joint effort between the Kogi Malayo Arhuaco Indigenous Reserve and CCF. We will be meeting with OGT again soon to review a proposal for the tapir conservancy project.