A Journey to the Center of the World: Lessons from the Sierra and Its Guardians

Some journeys begin as a date on the calendar and end up anchored deep in the heart. That is what visiting Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta-the Sierra-feels like. For the Arhuaco, Kogui, Wiwa, and Kankuamo peoples, this place is the "center of the world." Not because it is marked that way on a map, but because it is where the spiritual, the ancestral, and the natural come together in a harmony that can only be understood by breathing its air and listening to its silences.

Kutunsama: Where the Sea Meets Memory

We arrived at the Katansama Indigenous Reserve-or Kutunsama, as the Arhuaco prefer to spell it, honoring the sounds of their language-around ten in the morning. The sun was intense, but a towering tree at the entrance welcomed us with generous shade. Beneath it, several logs arranged as communal seating offered a quiet reminder that, in this territory, everything is organized around nature.

Kutunsama is a unique place: the only formally titled Arhuaco territory along the Caribbean coast. It is hard to imagine the long journey required to secure legal title for these roughly 227 hectares-years of paperwork, debate, waiting, and remarkable perseverance. Today, nearly one hundred families live there in harmony with land they recognize as their mother. They have restored trees, built their homes, sustainably cultivate cacao, weave mochilas filled with stories older than written memory, and tend gardens whose harvest they generously shared with us.

What we witnessed in Kutunsama helps explain why land administration-when built with communities-can become a powerful tool for transformation. The Government of Colombia has worked closely with traditional authorities to ensure that Indigenous peoples actively participate in documenting their territories through the Multipurpose Cadaster project, an initiative supported by the World Bank and the cooperation of the governments of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Germany, among others.

The outcome, following a Free, Prior, and Informed Consultation process, has been deeply transformative. Today, Indigenous authorities can-if they so choose-directly compile the inventory of their collective territories. Sacred sites, land uses, third-party presence, strategic ecosystems, and family or collective usufruct rights are all documented through their own knowledge and perspective. It is a powerful exercise in autonomy and governance.

During the visit, Mamo Camilo, a spiritual leader, and Luis Salcedo Zalabata, Governor of the Arhuaco Council, welcomed us with a serenity that was, in itself, a lesson. We spoke, yes-but we also shared silence; and in the Sierra, silence speaks as clearly as words. As the hours passed, initial caution gradually turned into closeness.

One message emerged clearly from that dialogue: beyond collecting cadastral information, it is essential that these data strengthen Indigenous territorial management. This means supporting traditional authorities with computing equipment and technical staff so they can use the information to manage their territories sustainably, in line with their customs and traditions.

Walking to Understand: Tayrona and a New Layer of Protection

The following day, we set out toward Tayrona National Natural Park, along paths winding through trees, rocks, and sea breeze. We reached the Arrecifes area, where the National Natural Parks Unit and the Agustín Codazzi Geographic Institute (IGAC)-Colombia's geographic and cadastral authority-announced a key decision: more than 565,000 hectares within protected areas that do not overlap with Indigenous collective territories will be formally titled in the name of the National Parks Unit.

Put simply, these lands will be legally shielded against current and future threats, strengthening the protection of strategic ecosystems and also helping safeguard surrounding Indigenous territories.

This journey also reminded us of something profound: the cadastre is not just a technical tool; it is a gateway to strengthening Indigenous governance, protecting rights, and advancing environmental conservation. In just four years-between 2022 and December 2025-Colombia increased updated cadastral coverage from roughly 9% to 40%, a leap that has transformed territorial governance for Indigenous peoples, rural communities, and local and environmental authorities alike.

Among the most significant conservation-related achievements of the cadastre are:

• Stronger Indigenous governance: Authorities can now carry out cadastral inventories within their territories and manage geographic information systems that support autonomy and peacebuilding.
• Key geographic information: 21 national parks now have updated cartography, contributing more than 10 million hectares of precise data.
• Effective ecosystem protection: The Cadastre-Environmental Authorities Alliance is advancing the protection of 560,000 hectares of strategic ecosystems.
• Environmental public assets registered: More than 800 parcels are moving toward formal recognition as public environmental assets.
• Conservation agreements: 190 agreements signed with rural communities to protect natural resources on a daily basis.
• Valuations in protected areas: 148 property valuations completed within national parks, enabling the purchase of 113 properties in priority areas such as Las Orquídeas, Selva de Florencia, Los Nevados, and Alto Fragua Indi Wasi.

The challenges ahead remain enormous. This trip was just one more step-but a firm one. Trust must continue to be woven through dialogue. Because in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta we learned that meaningful processes are neither imposed nor rushed: they are cultivated, like cacao; woven, like mochilas; and listened to, like the silences of the Mamo.

And we also learned that sometimes traveling to the "center of the world" is not about reaching a place-it is about reconnecting with a purpose.