Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Colombia

The La Ilusión Natural Reserve is a 44-hectare private area in El Rosal, Cundinamarca, that transformed degraded cattle pastures into a high-Andean cloud forest sanctuary. Recognized in 2021 as Colombia's first OECM, the reserve focuses on ecological restoration, biodiversity protection, and community integration. Managed by a family through the Fundación El Bosque y La Niebla, it employs a participatory governance model that includes local peasants and academic partnerships. The reserve is notable for pioneering 'Relational Forest Therapy' in Colombia to foster socio-ecological reconciliation. While facing threats from intensive agriculture and poaching, it seeks to expand its impact through the 'Rizoma' project to create biological corridors with neighboring farms and aims to access Payments for Environmental Services (PES) to ensure long-term financial sustainability.

• La Ilusión is a 44-hectare private reserve in El Rosal, Cundinamarca, which was recognized by the Colombian Ministry of Environment in 2021 as the first OECM in Colombia and one of the first in Latin America registered with the UNEP-WCMC database.
• The reserve has successfully restored a high-Andean cloud forest ecosystem, planting over 6,000 native trees to recover a site previously used for cattle and potato farming, now hosting at least 170 bird species, 35 epiphytic orchid species, and 23 terrestrial mammal species.
• The area provides critical habitat for threatened species, including the Near Threatened Andean coati (Nasuella olivacea), the Vulnerable woolly spotted cat (Leopardus tigrinus), and the Endangered endemic porcupine (Coendou vestitus).
• Governance is managed through a private-participatory model led by the founding family and the non-profit Fundación El Bosque y La Niebla, which integrates local community members through 'green employment' as native plant nursery workers and regional guides.
• The reserve is a pioneer in Colombia for implementing 'Relational Forest Therapy' (certified by the ANFT in 2024), using the forest as a tool for physical, mental, and spiritual healing and socio-ecological reconciliation for the local community.
• To combat habitat fragmentation, the reserve launched the 'Rizoma' project, which aims to connect La Ilusión with other forest remnants in Subachoque, El Rosal, and San Francisco by replacing conventional fences with live fences and vegetation strips.
• The reserve faces ongoing threats from intensive agriculture (specifically potato crops) using agrochemicals, illegal poaching of mammals like armadillos and opossums, and the impact of feral dogs on native wildlife.
• Future sustainability goals include integrating into national or municipal Payments for Environmental Services (PES) schemes to provide financial incentives for water provision and carbon capture, reducing the financial burden on private owners.

APA

Castro, L. G., & Matallana-Tobón, C. L. (2025). Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Colombia. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1817/Colombia_CS_Reserva_Natural_La_Ilusion.pdf

Chicago

Castro, Luis Guillermo, and Clara L. Matallana-Tobón. Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Colombia. WWF International, 2025. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1817/Colombia_CS_Reserva_Natural_La_Ilusion.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Castro |first1=Luis Guillermo |last2=Matallana-Tobón |first2=Clara L. |title=Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Colombia |publisher=WWF International |date=December 2025 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1817/Colombia_CS_Reserva_Natural_La_Ilusion.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{castro2025del, author = {Castro, Luis Guillermo and Matallana-Tobón, Clara L.}, title = {{Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Colombia}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1817/Colombia_CS_Reserva_Natural_La_Ilusion.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }