Cool Earth moves into Colombia

Big news! We’re now helping to protect the Amazon rainforest in Colombia.

We’ve just teamed up with Equal Right to find out whether our direct cash approach will work in the Colombian Amazon.

And while we’re busy protecting the rainforest and tackling climate change, as we always do, in Colombia, we will also find out if unconditional cash can help bring peace to regions struggling with conflict.

Colombian Amazon, Photo by Mateo Arteaga

Why Colombia?

Colombia’s Amazon is huge, covering nearly 48 million hectares. It’s home to jaguars, pink river dolphins, and sloths amongst many others. This incredible ecosystem has been protected by 64 Indigenous groups for thousands of years. But it faces huge challenges, all ones we are very familiar with thanks to our work in Peru, the Congo, and Papua New Guinea.

In 2024 Deforestation surged, jumping up by 35%. It is caused by conflict and social inequality, alongside weak regulations around agriculture and logging. Some areas also struggle with armed gangs, and as talks between them and the Colombian government have become strained, deforestation has worsened.

There is no silver bullet to combat all these threats, but the data shows that where there are Indigenous peoples, there is rainforest. Increasing their resilience to ensure the forest remains standing is exactly what our approach is made for.

A person who lives in the Amazon, Colombia dressed in ceremonial wear. Photo by Kevin Garcia (Ceremonial wear is not always worn.)

What’s next?

To help keep the people and forest safe, we won’t name the region we are exploring with Equal Right, but it covers a huge 200,000 hectares of tropical forest and is home to approximately 1,000 Indigenous peoples. By working here, we’ll be protecting 30% more rainforest, a dramatic increase in our overall impact.

The next step is to take a baseline of the region so we will be able to monitor changes to the rainforest. We’ll also be starting conversations with local communities and Indigenous organisations to co-create the pilot for their individual needs.

To deliver such an ambitious project, we’ll need to call in our tech partners, as we did in Peru, using their expertise to work out how to send cash to remote rainforest communities. And we’re aiming for the first cash transfer in Colombia to land sometime between August to October 2026. Watch this space!

A world first, building on years of experience.

We’ve been doing this a while now, 17 years in fact. But our move into Colombia and partnering with the epic Equal Right is big news, even for us. It proves beyond doubt that the work you fund, from Peru to Papua New Guinea is scalable, effective, and fair.

We can’t thank you enough for making it possible.

To help us do even more, please donate now.