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Since 2024, the Global Environment Facility's Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) has moved from launch to full-speed operation with over $288 million in projects approved. GBFF In Focus is a series showcasing how the new biodiversity fund is changing the game for how countries can invest in nature. The latest three projects are in Colombia, Indonesia, and Madagascar. The inclusive, integrated approach of these are examples of how to build a more nature-positive future.
Along Colombia’s Pacific coast, vast mangrove forests shelter an extraordinary concentration of life. These ecosystems protect shorelines, sustain fisheries, store large amounts of blue carbon, and preserve the cultural identity of the Afro-Colombian communities that have cared for them for generations. Yet in recent decades, deforestation, pollution, weak governance, and socio-economic pressures have placed these vital ecosystems under increasing threat.
These challenges are particularly acute in the departments of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, and Nariño—regions rich in biodiversity but shaped by historic inequalities. Here, the health of mangrove forests is directly linked to the well-being and resilience of local communities.
To address this situation, the GEF GBFF is supporting an initiative led by CAF – the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean – in partnership with Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Fondo para la Vida y la Biodiversidad. The Biomanglar project seeks to conserve, restore, and strengthen the governance of mangrove ecosystems while empowering Afro-Colombian collective territories whose cultural identity and livelihoods are deeply connected to these forests.
A complex landscape of challenges
Mangroves on Colombia’s Pacific coast have endured multiple pressures. Between 1986 and 2022, the region lost a significant portion of its mangrove cover due to unsustainable extraction, emerging economic activities, and climatic impacts. In many territories, communities have limited access to sustainable economic opportunities, and local governance structures often lack adequate resources.
Women play a central role in this landscape, particularly through the traditional harvest of piangua, a bivalve mollusk collected from mangrove roots and valued for its flavor and high nutritional content, including iron, protein, and calcium. This practice is culturally significant and essential for local economies, and it includes sustainability measures that ensure the long-term availability of piangua. However, women face participation barriers, economic constraints, and risks of gender-based violence.
Young people also encounter challenges, including limited access to education, employment, and leadership opportunities
A community-centered solution
The Biomanglar project responds with a community-driven strategy that places Afro-Colombian collective territories at the center of mangrove conservation. It builds on the understanding that biodiversity protection is inseparable from the rights, leadership, and cultural heritage of the local communities that have safeguarded these ecosystems for generations. By aligning conservation efforts with local traditions and priorities, Biomanglar seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable outcomes that strengthen both environmental and social resilience.
To achieve this vision, the initiative will implement a multifaceted approach. It will conserve and restore mangrove ecosystems to maintain ecological integrity and climate resilience, while reinforcing local governance and institutional coordination for long-term sustainability. Biomanglar will promote sustainable value chains—such as piangua harvesting, artisanal fisheries, and nature-based tourism—to enhance livelihoods without compromising ecosystem health. The project will also advance gender equality and women’s leadership, integrate traditional knowledge into modern management practices, and improve monitoring systems, including blue carbon assessments, to guide adaptive management and measure impact.
Biomanglar integrates innovative mechanisms aligned with global biodiversity goals, including biodiversity credits, payments for ecosystem services, and blue carbon schemes. These efforts align with CAF’s agenda to reinforce its role as the region’s green and blue bank.
Biomanglar is designed to generate significant, measurable impacts on both ecosystems and communities. The project will improve the management of more than 71,000 hectares of mangroves, ensuring their long-term health and resilience. At the same time, it will strengthen governance across nearly 490,000 hectares of Afro-Colombian collective territories, creating robust frameworks for inclusive decision making and sustainable resource use. These efforts will help secure the ecological integrity of one of the most biodiverse regions in the Tropical Eastern Pacific.
Beyond ecosystem benefits, Biomanglar will deliver tangible social outcomes. The initiative aims to restore 500 hectares of degraded mangrove forest and provide direct benefits to 2,950 people, with a strong focus on women and youth. By combining ecological restoration with community empowerment, the project seeks to enhance livelihoods, promote gender equity, and build local capacity for climate resilience. These impacts underscore Biomanglar’s commitment to integrating conservation with social development for lasting change.
A pathway for global biodiversity action
Biomanglar embodies the mission of the GEF GBFF: empowering local communities, advancing gender equality, strengthening governance systems, and mobilizing nature-positive economies. It stands as a model for how biodiversity action can be rooted in cultural heritage, community leadership, and long-term ecological resilience.
