Gaia Amazonas

Occupies 42.2% of national land surface and 6.21% of the Amazon bioregion. Contains 17 of the 56 national protected areas (National System of Protected Areas) divided into the following categories: 14 National Natural Parks, 2 National Natural Reserves and one Flora and Medicinal Plants Sanctuary.

High biodiversity. The Amazon Flora Programme of the SINCHI Institute has identified, for the country’s Amazon region, 1,159 useful species belonging to 150 botanical families. In addition reports indicate the existence of 674 bird species, 158 amphibian species, 195 reptile, 212 mammal and 753 fish species.

According to the Annual Report on the State of Ecosystems and the Environment of the Colombian Amazon 2006 (SINCHI, 2007), there are 60 different ecosystems.

This region belongs to two of the largest river basins in the world: the basins of the Orinoco and Amazonas Rivers. It is also drained by various rivers, many of which have their source in the Andes.

There are 185 indigenous territories (resguardos) that cover 26,217,159 hectares, equivalent to 54,18% of the country’s Amazon territory. Furthermore, 14 of the 185 resguardos occupy 22,488,337 hectares (86%) of the total surface area of indigenous resguardos in the Colombian Amazon.

There are 39 Associations of Traditional Indigenous Authorities (AATIs) in the Colombian Amazon, registered with the Office for Ethnic Affairs of the Ministry for Interior and Justice. These are public entities with special character, with legal personality, own patrimony and administrative autonomy (Decree 1088 of 1993). The estimated area of influence of these AATIs extends over 33% of the region and in all 10 departments that cover the Colombian Amazon.

According to data from the National Population Census 2005, carried out by the National Department for Statistics (DANE), the total population of the Colombian Amazon amounts to 1,210,549 inhabitants, which corresponds to 2,82% of total national population. These inhabitants are distributed between the departments of Amazonas, Caquetá, Cauca, Guainía, Guaviare, Meta, Putumayo, Vaupés, Vichada and Nariño.

Population density is 2.5 persons/km2. Lowest population density is found in the departments of Guainía, Amazonas and Vichada, which highest population density is found in Nariño and Putumayo.

According to the National Population Census 2005, there are 62 indigenous groups (71% of the national total) in the Colombian Amazon.