Authors: Tathiana Bezerra, Claudia Stickler, and Karina Monroy

Caquetá, known as the Golden Gate of the Amazon, is a biodiversity hotspot with unique ecosystems transitioning from the mountainous Andes foothills into the Amazon, with  71% forest cover. Despite ongoing challenges from the active presence of illegal armed groups and a lack of incentives for forest conservation, the local population remains committed to creating better, forest-friendly livelihoods. In an effort to responsibly develop and manage the department's pathway to growth, the government rolled out a Low-Emission Rural Development Strategy (LED-R) in December 2019, aiming to transform the Caquetá into a model of sustainable development by 2035. 

The strategy, spearheaded by the Departmental Environmental and Agricultural Secretariat, promotes a jurisdiction-wide approach to rural development that significantly reduces emissions, and it is an important instrument for Caquetá's rural population. As Marlin Molina, a member of Florencia's Municipality Cocoa Farmers Committee, stated: the Caquetá LED-R strategy is a guiding instrument for the sustainable production of agricultural commodities in the region.