The 16th Annual Meeting of the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force), hosted by Governor Luis Francisco Ruíz Aguilar took place in Florencia, Caquetá, Colombia from May 18 – 22, 2026. Known as the “Green Treasure of Colombia,” the Department of Caquetá bridges the Andes foothills and the Amazon rainforest and is renowned for its rich biodiversity and abundant natural resources.
This global event brought together climate leaders from subnational governments, national governments, civil society, IPLCs, and the private sector. The theme of our 16th Annual Meeting was “New Forest Economy for Climate Action: Territorial Development and Innovation” and served to advance our goal of building a New Forest Economy that protects intact forests, restores degraded lands, and creates just and sustainable jobs and economic opportunities across the tropics.
Please see below for our agenda, and stay tuned for updated participant lists, announcements, and meeting results!
Host
- Governor Luis Francisco Ruíz Aguilar – Caquetá, Colombia
Participants
Governors/Vice-Governors
Bolivia
- Pando – Governor Gabriela de Paiva
- Santa Cruz – Vice-Governor Paola Aguirre
- Tarija – Vice-Governor Gonzalo Avila Sanchez
Colombia
- Amazonas – Governor Oscar Sánchez Guerrero
- Guainía – Governor Arnulfo Rivera Naranjo
- Guaviare – Interim Governor Zulma Natali Bohórquez
- Putumayo – Governor Jhon Gabriel Molina Acosta
- Valle del Cauca – Governor Dillian Francisca Toro
- Choco – Governor Nubia Cordoba Curi
- Tolima – Governor Adriana Magali Matiz (Vice-President of Federación Nacional de Departamentos)
Cote d’Ivoire
- Bélier – Vice-président ATTOUMBGRE Rovia Roger
- Cavally – Vice-président Joseph GOULOTEHE
Ecuador
- Napo – Vice-Prefect Natalia Rosa Tanguila Grefa
Peru
- Huánuco – Governor Antonio Pulgar Lucas
- La Libertad – Governor Joana Cabrera Pimentel
- Loreto – Governor Jorge René Chávez Silvano
- Piura – Governor Luis Neyra León
- San Martin – Vice-governor Rosa Olguita Celiz Cruz
Agenda
Monday, May 18
8:30 – 12:30
Global Committee of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Meeting
14:00 – 18:00
Executive Committee Meeting
20:00
GCF Task Force Delegate Dinner
20:00
Dinner of the Committees
Tuesday, May 19
09:00 – 17:00
Business Meeting/General Assembly
Wednesday, May 20
08:00 - 17:00
Field Visits (8 routes)
The Government of Caquetá has curated a series of technical field visits for the participants of the annual meeting, offering a unique opportunity to explore firsthand innovative projects driving the New Forest Economy in the Colombian Amazon region. The visits highlight successful territorial management efforts and sustainable practices in forest conservation, community development, and bioeconomy production. The visits will also provide a hands-on learning experience, highlighting both challenges and successes in the region, and will feed into the working sessions scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
Click here for more details on routes.
1. La Avispa Waterfall – Nature, Water, and Forest Conservation
2. Paraíso Amazónico – Nature Tourism, Amazonia Culture, and Land Restoration
3. Caquetá Cheese Route – Sustainable Livestock Farming and Territorial Value
4. Agroforestry and Meliponiculture – Pollinators of the Amazon Rainforest
5. Agrosolidaria – Agroforestry Systems of Copoazú
6. Agua Bonita Territorial Training and Reintegration Space – Reintegration and Sustainable Economies
7. SINCHI Experience/ABRIGUE Project – Science, Innovation and Agroecological Transition
8. La Patrona – Women Transforming Sugarcane into Amazonian Sustainability
Thursday, May 21
ALL DAY
World Cafe & Partner Booths
(Open to the Public)
Networking and coffee with opportunities to meet GCF Task Force member jurisdictions, partners, and local artisans.
09:00 – 12:30
Inaugural Session
9:00 Opening Remarks
9:15 Panel featuring National Authorities and Dignitaries: Global Perspectives on the
New Forest Economy
10:00 Governor Roundtable: Building a New Forest Economy from the Ground Up
Brazil, Peru, Indonesia, Côte d’ Ivoire
10:50 Governor Panel: Women and the New Forest Economy
Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Perú
11:40 Governor Panel: From the Amazon to the Pacific – Leadership from Colombia
15:00 – 18:30
New Forest Economy Working Sessions
The GCF Task Force is organizing a series of working sessions in order to bring experts from government, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, industry, private sector and investment leaders, civil society, academic, and research institutions together to co-construct targeted, New Forest Economy investment and capacity mechanisms in GCF Task Force member jurisdictions. More details to follow.
Working session themes:
Establishing a Thriving Bioeconomy: Socio-Bioeconomy Development
Sustaining Natural Infrastructure: Advances in JREDD+
Restoration and Resilience: Integrated Fire Management
Sustainable Commodities: Overcoming Traceability Challenges
Enabling Conditions for the New Forest Economy: Tackling Forest Illegality
15:00 – 18:30
Working Session - From Planning to Implementation: Strategies for Investment and Durability to Promote Socio-Bioeconomy Development
New Forest Economy theme: Establishing a Thriving Bioeconomy
Moderated by: Colleen Scanlan Lyons and Daniel Coronel
Speakers:
• Francisco Ruiz Aguilar, Governor, Caquetá, Colombia
• Gabriela de Paiva, Governor, Pando, Bolivia
• Prefecta Karla Reategui, Zamora – Chinchipe, Ecuador
• Rosa Natalia Tanguila, Viceprefecta de Napo, Ecuador
• Antonio Pulgar, Governor, Huánuco, Peru
• Dr. Estiko Tri Wirady, Head of Planning Division, Forestry & Environmental Agency, Papua, Indonesia
• Carla Portillo, Ministry of Science and Technology, Colombia
• Paola Pulido, British Embassy Colombia
• Octavio Carasquilla, Latin American Development Bank CAF
• Fernando Páez Mendieta, World Resources Institute
• Oseas Barbaran, President, CONAP
• German Poveda, Professor of at Universidad Nacional de Colombia
15:00 – 18:30
Working Session - Advances in Jurisdictional REDD+
New Forest Economy theme: Natural Infrastructure
Moderated by: Syahrina Anggraini and Carlos Aragon
Speakers:
• Edu Effiom, Director General, Cross River State Council on Climate Change, Nigeria
• Marcello de Lima Lelis, Secretary of the Environment, Water Resources, and Climate, Tocantins, Brazil
• José Daniel Graf Peréz, Director General de Recursos Naturales, Jalisco, Mexico
• Fermin Chimatani, Global Committee on IPLCs, GCF Task Force, Peru
• Florian Reber, SVP, Business Development and Partnerships, Chloris Geospatial
• Sassan Saatchi, CEO, CTrees
• Lucia Madrid, Associate Director, Safeguards and IPLC Engagement Team Lead, Winrock/ART/TREES
15:00 – 18:30
Working Session - Integrated Fire Management: From the Amazon to California
New Forest Economy theme: Restoration and Resilience
Moderators:
• Francisco Ruiz, Executive Director, Action for Forest
• Iván Fernández, Coordinator FIIAPP Amazonía+
Speakers:
• Marisol Yabeta Azaeda, Secretary of Sustainable Development and the Environment, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
• Marcos Bauch, Project Coordinator – Global Fire Management Hub, Food and Agriculture Organization – United Nations – FAO
• Hugo Carvajal, Forest Governance Expert for Amazonía+, Expertise France
• Encarnación Porras, Consultant for Amazonía+, FIIAPP
• Vladimir Libreros, Project Coordinator, Action for Forest
• Daniel Melling, Head of Marketing, CTrees
• Fabiano Silva, Consultant, Conservation XLabs
15:00 – 18:30
Working Session - Overcoming Traceability Challenges: Preparing for EUDR Implementation
New Forest Economy theme: Sustainable Commodities
Moderators:
• Rosa Maria Vidal, Senior Advisor, GCF Task Force Mexico
• Pilar Saez, Sustainable Production Officer, MDA – Mecanismos de Desarrollo Alternos (Peru)
• Akane Nishimura, Program Associate, Impact Assessment, GCF Task Force
Speakers:
• Joana Cabrera Pimentel, Governor, La Libertad, Peru
• Rosa Olguita Celiz Cruz, Vice-governor, San Martín, Peru
• Alejandro Mendez Lopez, Secretary of the Environment, Michoacán, Mexico
• Leonardo das Neves Carvalho, Secretary of the Environment, Acre, Brazil
• Alex Sandro Antonio Marega, Executive Secretary for the Environment, Mato Grosso, Brazil
• Lina Marcela Peñuela, Coordinator Amazon Regional Fund UK PACT, British Embassy, Colombia
• Angélica Narváez, Director of Bioeconomy, Alisos (Colombia)
• Jorge Carrillo,Technical Advisor for SAFE “Sustainable Agriculture for Forest Ecosystems”, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GiZ)
• Daniel Bedoya, National Representative for Colombia, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
• Guilherme Ponce, Disclosure Lead, Americas, CDP
15:00 – 18:30
Working Session: Tackling Forest Illegality: Addressing Access to Land, Improved Governance, Collaboration, and Technology
New Forest Economy theme: Enabling Conditions
Moderators:
• Juliana Monsalve Páez, Climate and Forest Advisor, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Colombia
• Marius von Essen, Postdoctoral Scholar, UCLA
Speakers:
• Diego Quintero, Head of the Organized Crime Division, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) *joined virtually
• Felipe Botero Escobar, Director, Andean Regional Office, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)
• Mauricio Mira Pontón, Advisor to the Mayor’s Office, Santiago de Cali, Colombia
• Alcy Pinedo, Attorney at the Observatory on Socio-Environmental Conflicts, Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development (Fundacion para la Conservacion y el Desarrollo Sostenible; FCDS), Colombia
• Juliana Hurtado R., FCDS, Colombia
20:00
Networking Dinner
(By Invite Only)
Friday, May 22
ALL DAY
World Cafe & Partner Booths
(Open to the Public)
Networking and coffee with opportunities to meet GCF Task Force member jurisdictions, partners, and local artisans.
9:00 - 12:30
New Forest Economy Working Session B
The GCF Task Force is organizing a series of working sessions in order to bring experts from government, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, industry, private sector and investment leaders, civil society, academic, and research institutions together to co-construct targeted, New Forest Economy investment and capacity mechanisms in GCF Task Force member jurisdictions.
Working session themes:
Establishing a Thriving Bioeconomy: Socio-Bioeconomy Development
Sustaining Natural Infrastructure: Building Trust Funds
Restoration and Resilience: Restoring Strategic Ecosystems
Sustainable Commodities: Regenerative Approaches
Enabling Conditions for the New Forest Economy: Green Transportation Planning; Non-Timber Forest Products
9:00 - 12:30
Working Session - From Planning to Implementation: Strategies for Investment and Durability to Promote Socio-Bioeconomy Development, Part 2
New Forest Economy theme: Establishing a Thriving Bioeconomy
9:00 - 12:30
Working Session: Building Funding Mechanisms for Climate and Forest Protection: Co-management and Design
New Forest Economy theme: Sustaining Natural Infrastructure
9:00 - 12:30
Working Session - Ecosystem Restoration: Case Studies, Challenges, and Pathways to Scale
New Forest Economy theme: Restoration and Resilience
9:00 - 12:30
Working Session - Regenerative Approaches: Cattle, Agriculture, and Access to Markets
New Forest Economy theme: Sustainable Commodities
Moderator:
• Rosa Maria Vidal, Senior Advisor, GCF Task Force Mexico
• Carlos Aragon, Country Director, GCF Task Force Brazil
Speakers:
• Juan Pablo Jaramillo, Secretary of Environment and Agriculture, Caquetá, Colombia
• Kaoma Martinez Romero, Secretary of Agriculture and Productive Development, Vaupés, Colombia
• Alex Sandro Antonio Marega, Executive Secretary for the Environment, Mato Grosso, Brazil
• Daniel Graf, General Director of Natural Resources, Jalisco, Mexico
• Antero Guillermo Martínez González, Regional Manager of Natural Resources, Piura, Peru
• Frank Eduardo Sánchez Romero, Regional Environmental Manager, La Libertad, Peru
• Albeiro Pachón April, University Professional, Department of Agriculture and the Environment, Guaviare, Colombia
• Lina Marcela Peñuela, Coordinator Amazon Regional Fund UK PACT, British Embassy, Colombia
• Guilherme Ponce, Disclosure Lead, Americas, CDP
• Arturo Tovar, Global Business Development and Innovation Initiatives Lead, LandScale, Rainforest Alliance
9:00 - 12:30
Working Session - Part 1: Multimodal, green transportation planning: Experiences from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; Part 2: Connecting Non-timber forest products from the Amazon to the Pacific
New Forest Economy theme: Enabling Conditions
Moderators:
• Francisco Ruiz, Programa TEFOS-UK
• Fernando Ramírez, Programa TEFOS-UK
Speakers:
• Viviana Obando, Manager, RAP Pacífico
• Paola Pulido, British Embassy, Colombia
• Carla Portillo, Ministry of Commerce, Science, and Technology, Colombia
• Caquetá Amazonian Fruit Committee
15:30 – 16:30
Panel & Key Announcements
17:00 – 18:00
Closing Ceremony
20:00
Closing Dinner
(By Invite Only)
