Butterflies are an important indicator for maintaining healthy ecosystems and are a critically important part of conservation and management practices in the area.

An alliance of public and private institutions led by GTE and the industry group National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI), completed a study on the diversity of butterflies to better understand the role conservation, preservation and educational initiatives play in protecting the Andean-Amazonian piedmont region.

La Gran Tierra de las Mariposas (The Great Land of Butterflies) includes photographs of 250 species of diurnal butterflies. The alliance is also working on additional monitoring, educational, regulatory and community initiatives.

This study and cataloguing are a significant step in developing management and conservation practices for these species with high potential for scientific research and tourism.

“Butterflies are widely accepted as a key bioindicator due to their sensitivity to changes in air and water quality. The presence of butterflies in Putumayo indicates the continuing health of local ecosystems. The Butterfly guidebook helps local community members gain a deeper understanding of the natural environment in the richly biodiverse ecosystems as well as GTE’s commitment to preserving the environment.”

Carlos Fonseca

Social Leader, Putumayo, GTE

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The Putumayo Biodiversity Initiative, a wide-ranging alliance of public and private institutions dedicated to preserving biodiversity in the Andean-Amazonian foothills in the department of Putumayo, entered its second phase in 2021. The initiative protects, conserves, and restores ecosystem connectivity and biodiversity through sustainable development. The initiative has become an important national benchmark for public-private investment in Colombia, creating new businesses and economic opportunities in biodiversity.

Gran Tierra is the first oil company to contribute environmental data to the Biodiversity Information System of Colombia (SIBColombia), providing researchers across Colombia access to thousands of records, images and videos from their biodiversity and conservation initiatives.

The initiative will also contribute towards the Putumayo-Içá River Basin Integrated Management Project, a pioneering international collaboration by Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, providing a baseline for the Putumayo River and formulating guidelines for watershed management.

“Connecting different projects can significantly increase their combined and lasting impact. This is important to us because our goal is not just to comply with regulations, but to be understood as a company that leaves no long-term impact and helps the regional and national environmental protection agencies achieve their objectives.”

Olga Lucia Casañas Suarez

Leader, Forestry Compensation

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The partnership between Gran Tierra Energy and the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute contributes to the understanding of biodiversity in the Putumayo and addressing concerns about industrial development in the area. Colombia has highly biodiverse areas, with large numbers of plant species, microorganisms, and fungi. However, some of the country’s ecosystems have deteriorated tremendously due to agriculture and livestock activities, urban expansion, illegal mining and illegal land practices.

The joint GTE-Humboldt Institute Chawar Project is a regional environmental assessment, created as a technical tool to track and monitor biodiversity changes in the Putumayo by incorporating a wide range of data sets including biodiversity, ecosystem services, and social and cultural information, especially in the Andean foothills. The project is part of GTE’s efforts to help the country proactively develop an understanding of species that need to be protected, and it will allow the Company to better consider environmental issues when determining how and where to plan development.

It also shows how compensation for the Company’s voluntary environmental and social investments can be structured to have the greatest impact on specific areas of interest as well as the broader region for years to come.

It will also show how compensation for the Company’s voluntary environmental and social investments can be structured to have the greatest impact on specific areas of interest as well as the broader region for years to come.

“The Chawar Project is an example of an oil company trying to have a real conversation with the environmental sector and big picture thinking about transitioning towards sustainability.”

FRANCISCO JOSÉ GÓMEZ_MONTES

Deputy Director, Scientific Services and Special Projects, Humboldt Institute

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GTE plays a role in strengthening industry-wide sustainability efforts through participation in the National Business Association of Colombia’s (ANDI) biodiversity and sustainability initiatives, participating in multilateral partnerships that promote conservation and the advancement of scientific knowledge in the country.

ANDI, Gran Tierra Energy, Corpoamazonia, the National Natural Parks of Colombia, Amazonian Institute of Scientific Research (SINCHI) and the Humboldt Biological Research Institute, have partnered together in an alliance that is focused on ecosystem protection, restoration and connectivity, sustainable development of biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in the region.

The alliance’s accomplishments thus far include:

• Launching an “Open Data on Biodiversity” strategy to showcase how the hydrocarbon sector contributes to biodiversity conservation.
• Creating a public-private partnership to develop joint biodiversity compensation efforts in key areas that connect the Andes and the Amazon. This includes working on land-use planning strategies that support both conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon region.
• Responsible for managing the progress, communication, and successful completion of projects such as ‘Aquatic Diversity in the Interfluvial Area of the Sub-basins of the Putumayo and Caquetá Rivers in the Putumayo Department,’ including reviewing and providing feedback on biodiversity standards issued by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS).
• Establishing ANDI’s biodiversity office in Putumayo to support public sector efforts, with plans to expand to the Colombian Caribbean region and build new partnerships between Gran Tierra Energy and key allies for projects in the Middle Magdalena Valley.

Transforming Residual Wastewater into Biogas

In many rural Colombian villages, untreated wastewater flows through open sewers, creating serious health and environmental risks—especially during the rainy season. At the same time, limited access to propane forces many households to rely on firewood, contributing to deforestation, air pollution, and causing significant adverse health effects.

To tackle these dual challenges, GTE partnered with Antonio Nariño University and ANDI to install 13 residential-scale anaerobic biodigesters in the Putumayo villages of Carmelita, Puerto Vega, and Remolinos. These systems treat wastewater organically and produce biogas for nearly 40 households and a school, eliminating open sewage while providing energy that can be used for cooking.

This initiative, which satisfies Colombia’s requirement that 1% of project budgets be invested into environmental initiatives, demonstrates how thoughtful design can create lasting environmental, social, and economic impact. Encouraged by the project’s success, plans for expansion to additional municipalities are underway.

“The Biodiversity and Development Agreement for Putumayo, which brings together five entities of the National Environmental System, ANDI and energy companies such as Gran Tierra Energy, celebrates 10 years of work in Putumayo. This alliance has been a platform for public-private work, the generation of trust and the union of collective efforts for Andean-Amazonian connectivity. This agreement, led by Gran Tierra Energy, has allowed the cleanup of the Orito Ingi Ande Medicinal Plant Sanctuary, the management of new knowledge of the region’s biological diversity, the generation of strategies and high standards of monitoring and sectoral planning around biodiversity.”

DORA MONCADA

Director of the National Centre for Water and Biodiversity, ANDI

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Gran Tierra’s pioneering initiative to promote wild cat conservation in the Colombian Amazon, has identified six feline species that use its Costayaco Forestry Centre as a habitat. The project, implemented by Corpoamazonia in partnership with Gran Tierra Energy, has achieved a number of accomplishments in the Alto Putumayo, Amazonian Andean Foothills, and the Amazon Plain regions.