Protecting Nature, Connecting People: Insights from Colombia’s 65th Anniversary of PNNC

Contributor: Christine Lain (Executive Director & UNP Site Manager)

Part I: Knowledge, Innovation, and Global Conservation Dialogue, Celebrating 65 Years of PNNC

Between September 8th and 10th, I had the honor of being invited by Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia (PNNC) to give a presentation during the commemoration of their 65th anniversary. As part of this celebration, PNNC hosted the International Meeting on Protected Areas, held on September 10th, 2025, in Bogotá D.C., during the International Summit on Sustainability and Environmental Innovation organized by the Corporación Autónoma Regional de Cundinamarca (CAR).

This academic event aimed to foster the exchange of knowledge and experiences between academics and both national and international park rangers, focusing on protected areas as key drivers of conservation, land-use planning, and territorial development. Discussions addressed their historical evolution, current challenges, and future perspectives.

The overarching goal was to promote a holistic dialogue on the management of protected areas, incorporating scientific, technological, and community-based advancements. It also explored innovative strategies to strengthen conservation efforts and respond to the triple environmental crisis, all while striving for sustainable solutions and harmonious territorial development.

One of the major outcomes of the event will be the creation of a Knowledge Network for Innovative Management of Protected Areas, uniting public institutions, local communities, social organizations, academia, and international partners.

This initiative was not only fascinating in itself, but also one that we at Forgotten Parks and Upemba National Parkfully support and endorse. The central question remains: how can we unite globally to improve conservation, protected area management, and promote just and fair sustainable development.

I arrived in Bogotá with high expectations and a strong desire to learn from PNNC — and those expectations were more than met, especially during my visit to PNN Chingaza. This is one of Colombia’s most iconic paramos, just an hour from Bogotá. It's the best example I’ve seen of how protected area ecosystem services are absolutely essential to life and society. Chingaza provides over 500 billion liters of water per year to more than 9 million people living in Bogotá and surrounding areas. In other words, without Chingaza, there would be no life in Bogotá.

There are so many lessons here for Upemba, known as the "water tower" of the Congo River, from successful community engagement through conservation agreements, to monitoring hydrological systems, and working with the private sector on water management and payments for ecosystem services.

If Virunga is, to me, a model at the park level, then PNNC is the equivalent at the institutional and national level. Both show that anything is possible when you combine governance, innovation, dedication and heart. As the Director General of PNNC rightfully said, their 65 years of existence stand as a global model of effective park management, proven by the number of Colombian parks on the IUCN Green List.

Part II: Rangers, Resilience, and Human Connection, Sharing Upemba’s Story in Colombia

But this first visit to Colombia was more personal than most I've made in recent years, for several reasons. Firstly, I was invited to share with Colombian park managers and PNNC rangers some reflections and experiences on a topic that deeply resonates with me: nature conservation in conflict-affected contexts, and the brave, resilient role of rangers in such complex circumstances.

For Upemba, this was an opportunity to share not only our challenges, but also a sense of hope, that the stories of parks like Upemba and Virunga in the DRC are not merely tales of conflict and threats, but more importantly, legacies of resilience and perseverance.

Beyond the impacts of a war economy on habitats, species, and sustainability, we focused on the rangers: how they operate in these challenging environments, the sacrifices they make, the breaking points they reach, but above all, their courage to keep fighting this fight for all of us and for future generations. For LIFE.

Sharing our experience with fellow park managers from Colombia’s 65 national parks was humbling. Colombia is among the world’s most advanced countries in conservation, and protecting the planet’s most biodiverse country, in a context of prolonged conflict, requires extraordinary commitment. With over 60 years of internal conflict, entire generations marked by violence, a fragile peace process, and protected areas and rangers often caught in the crossfire, the challenges are immense.

But nothing prepared me for meeting my fellow colleagues from PNNC. Colombia has long been number one on my personal list of countries to visit—for its literature, culture, and nature—but what truly stood out to me were its people, and especially its rangers.

Even though it was probably the shortest visit I’ve ever made—l, less than 72 hours in-country for a 96-hour journey from Lusinga to Bogotá, it was absolutely worth it.

I went there thinking about what Colombia could contribute to Upemba, but I never imagined that Upemba might have an impact on them. I was wrong. The story of the rangers in Upemba, Virunga, and so many other Congolese protected areas affected by conflict resonated deeply with our Colombian colleagues. They expressed profound admiration for their sacrifices and dedication. They found inspiration and strength in their stories, stories that reflected many of their own personal struggles as rangers. They thanked the Congolese rangers for their service.

What they may not have realized is that they were doing the same for us, giving us renewed strength and energy to continue. My only regret is that I couldn’t immediately share this powerful experience with my Upemba team and Virunga colleagues. Hence, this message.

Colombia and PNNC will always remain, for me, the country and institution with the greatest “human face.” This people-centered approach shines not only through their community conservation work, but in everything they do. PNNC is truly an institution by rangers, for rangers, and I’ve never felt such a deep connection with colleagues anywhere else.

So, thank you, for your warmth, your friendship, and for inspiring us on such a profound, human level.

A very special thanks to my new friend Valentina, to Luis Olmedo Martínez Zamora, Director General of PNNC, for his visionary leadership, to Marta Cecilia Díaz, Deputy Director of Protected Area Management, for her commitment to a conservation model that puts people first, and to all the directors and managers of these incredible protected areas.

Gracias de todo corazón. Estamos juntos.