An Indigenous territory () in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
is an area of land reserved for use of the
Indigenous peoples of Colombia.
Almost one third of the country is covered by these territories, although the Indigenous people account for just over 4-10% of the population.
[https://www.latinobarometro.org/latOnline.jsp ]
Legal situation
As late as 1959, the
Amazon region was considered uninhabited and was declared a natural reserve.
The agrarian reform of 1961 recognized the need to define Indigenous territories and to confirm as reserves (''resguardos'') the titles the
Spanish crown had granted to the Indigenous people.
The first reserves were in the Amazon, the
Vaupés reserve in 1982 with and the
Vichada reserve in 1986–87 with .
The government of
Virgilio Barco Vargas between 1986 and 1990 gave titles to another in the
Amazonas and
Guainía departments, forming a continuous indigenous territory of covering 50% of the Colombian Amazon.
The
1991 National Constitution of Colombia defined Territorial Entities (''Entidades Territoriales'') as
departments,
districts,
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
, and Indigenous territories.
Within an Indigenous Territory Entity (ETI) the people have autonomy in managing their interests, and within the limits of the constitution have the right to manage resources and define taxes required to perform their duties.
ETIs are to be defined by the government in conformance with the Organic Law on Land Management.
However, this law has yet to be sanctioned so in practice the territories are unregulated.
Geographical distribution
The total area of Colombia is .
, or 31.5%, is covered by Indigenous territories.
According to the 2005 census there were 41,468,384 people in the country of whom 1,378,884, or 3.28%, belonged to one of the 87 groups of Indigenous people.
The great majority of the Indigenous people live in the
Andean
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...
and
Orinoco
The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...
(
savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
) zones.
Large numbers in the Orinoco and
Pacific Rim have land titles, but most in the Andes do not.
Just 5% live in reserves (''resguardos'') in the Amazon zone.
There are 156 reserves in the Amazon covering , or 64% of the total.
These lands hold disproportionate significance for the conservation of
biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
, including wide-ranging species such as jaguars.
Issues
Some areas claimed by the Indigenous people of the Amazon are used for mining and
hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
operations.
There is some overlap between protected areas administered under the National Parks System and the Indigenous territories.
Pressures on the Indigenous peoples include depletion of the land, particularly in the Andes, and forced displacement due to the struggle with illegal armed groups.
Gold mining and spraying of illegal crops causes pollution of the rivers, and in some areas the rivers are polluted by garbage.
Oil extraction and dam construction also cause environmental problems in the reserves.
References
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External links
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{{Colombia topics, state=collapsed
Indigenous territories in the Amazon