Visit from the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira to CATIE Strengthens Alliances for Sustainable Forest Landscape Management in Latin America

• Visit from the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira to CATIE Strengthens Alliances for Sustainable Forest Landscape Management in Latin America

CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) received a visit from representatives of the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (UTP), one of the main partner institutions of the Latin American Model Forest Network (RLABM).

The RLABM, coordinated by CATIE's Climate Action Unit, is a network that brings together 34 governance platforms across 15 Latin American countries, aimed at promoting sustainable management of territories through alliances between various public and private organizations.

The Dean of the Faculty of Business Sciences of UTP, Leonel Arias, and Professor John Mario Rodríguez, coordinator of the Bosque Modelo Risaralda initiative, visited CATIE with the purpose of strengthening cooperative relationships on forest sustainability issues.

During their visit, they were received by Róger Villalobos and Fernando Carrera, president and manager of the RLABM, respectively, who discussed with the visitors the upcoming activities of the Network, including participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties.

The Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira has been instrumental in promoting the Bosque Modelo Risaralda governance platform, which seeks the sustainable management of the landscape in the Risaralda department of Colombia. This platform brings together producer groups, grassroots organizations, the Federation of Coffee Growers, the Autonomous Corporation for Development, and the departmental government.

Additionally, UTP representatives took advantage of their visit to explore new collaboration opportunities with CATIE in various areas. They held discussions with CATIE's General Director, Luis Pocasangre, to identify medium-term joint work opportunities and discussed common strategies for studying permanent forest plots with researcher Diego Delgado. They also addressed entrepreneurship topics in the agricultural sector with researchers Adriana Escobedo and Evelyn Chaves, from CATIE's Sustainable Agribusiness group.

Finally, the visitors coordinated future scientific and training activities with Max Yamauchi, an official from Eco Agriculture International, a partner organization of CATIE and RLABM. This visit reinforces the cooperative ties between both institutions and strengthens their commitment to sustainable forest landscape management in the region.