The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia: Strategy for a Solid Governance

Page 1 of 26 Uribe & Velandia, 2014

44th

Urban Affairs Association Conference

San Antonio, Texas

March 20th

, 2014

The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia: Strategy for a Solid Governance

Sonia Patricia Uribe Galeano1, César Augusto Velandia Silva

2

Abstract

The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia (CCLC), inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage

list in 2012, encompasses six farming landscapes, including eighteen urban settlements, in a

unique sustainable and productive landscape that represents the Colombian coffee tradition. The

ancestral architecture in the urban areas incorporates indigenous traditions with Spanish cultural

influence. Rural houses function as both family residences and centers of economic activity. This

exceptional combination of the urban and rural landscapes reflects a centennial tradition of

coffee growing in small farms and the innovative management practices of natural resources of

the community in challenging geographical conditions.

The following are some legal and management frameworks of the CCLC that have been

implemented by the Colombian government to protect the site: i) Declaration of the CCLC as a

Cultural Heritage of the Nation; ii) Agreements for Prosperity - public dialogue model designed

with the aim of achieving social cohesion and governance; iii) CCLC National Council of

Economic and Social Policy (CONPES) - defines the actions of different levels of government;

iv) education to take better ownership of the CCLC; v) delimitation and management of areas of

mining exclusion; vi) incorporation of the CCLC’s management into the Land Management

Plans of the region; and vii) Tourism Strategic Plan to provide specialized, authentic and quality

cultural tourism products.

Through ethnographic analysis, this paper evaluates: What have to be done to better manage the

CCLC? i) Increase awareness and social appropriation of the cultural heritage through social

participation in programs like Heritage Overseers; ii) improve databases that could serve as

indicators in management and protection plans; iii) track progress of current projects such as

inventory of archaeological heritage; and iv) Propose projects to be funded by the National

Stock System3, such as: increasing connectivity in rural areas and recovery of tertiary roads,

ensuring the sustainability of Colombian coffee through the Designations of Origin of regional

1 Researcher, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3, France. [email protected]

2 Consultant, Heritage Main Office, Colombian Ministry of Culture, [email protected]

3 Funding from Colombian mining revenues

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


coffee brands, improving rural housing using traditional construction techniques, and

encouraging generational replacement and reducing rural–urban migration.

Topic Category: SPECIAL TRACK: Urban Issues in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Governance, Intergovernmental Relations, Regionalism, Urban Management

The 1972 Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage, better

known as the World Heritage Convention, was promulgated by UNESCO to fulfill the need for

an international legal instrument to ensure the protection and conservation of the cultural and

natural heritage. The UNESCO World Heritage List has a total of 981 properties which are part

of the cultural and natural heritage that the World Heritage Committee acknowledges as having

Outstanding Universal Value.

“Cultural landscapes represent the combined works of nature and of man. They are

illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the

influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural

environment and of successive social, economic and cultural forces, both external and

internal.”

Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, Mexico, 1996.

The Cultural Heritage values the identity, practices and history of the area and the host

community. The Cultural Heritage denotes the evolution, development and community change

over time, related to its natural, cultural and economic environment. In Latin America there is


nothing but three Cultural Landscapes: i) The Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee

Plantations in the Southeast of Cuba: The unique remains of the 19th-century coffee plantations

in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra that show evidence of a pioneer form of agriculture in a

difficult terrain; ii) The Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila in Mexico:

An expansive landscape of blue agave used since the 16th century to produce tequila, and is

today’s national identity. It includes areas of archaeological remains of terraced fields, houses,

temples, ceremonial mounds and traditional playgrounds; and iii) The Coffee Cultural Landscape

of Colombia. The World Heritage Committee inscribed the Coffee Cultural Landscape of

Colombia (CCLC – Paisaje Cultural Cafetero de Colombia – per Spanish acronym), based on

criterion v and vi. Criterion (v) “to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement,

land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with

the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible

change” and (vi) to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas,

or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.”4

There are seven cultural Colombian properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, including

the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia inscribed in 2011, the Historic Centre of Santa Cruz

de Mompox (1995), the National Archeological Park of Tierradentro (1995), the San Agustín

Archaeological Park (1995) the Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena (1984),

Los Katíos National Park (1994) and Sanctuary of Malpelo Fauna and Flora (2006).

4 UNESCO, The Criteria for Selection, UNESCO official website, http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/

http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/


Figure 1. Location of the CCLC Source: www.pcc.org.co

To guide the protection, use, and conservation of the inscribed heritage sites, each site possesses

a management plan pointing out how the outstanding universal values of the site will be

preserved. Colombia as a UNESCO State Party ratified the World Heritage Convention, which

undertakes the protection and preservation of its Heritage Sites under their management and

protection plans. Few years ago, there was a national and local policy for cultural appropriation

and a growing interest to incorporate culture as a strategic element in the development of the

regions and the nation. Legitimate concerns to safeguard and protect their communities have

reaffirmed the need to ensure the preservation of all the cultural manifestations and places that

comprise their cultural heritage.


“However [Cultural Landscapes] sites face major challenges: it is the work of local

communities ..., the daily work and lives which maintain these sites, often through their

own protection measures, not by official legal provisions; with the adoption of the

cultural landscape categories customary law and management system have been

accepted at a global level.”

Francesco Bandarin, 2009 Director, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia: Transforming Model

The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia is an exceptional example of a cultural and

productive landscape characterized by the collective effort of several generations of small-scale

farmers creating innovative practices for the management of natural resources in challenging

rural conditions, plus a centuries-old culture of coffee, legacy passed down from generation to

generation, tangible and intangible manifestations including but not limited to: music,

gastronomy, architecture and education (Uribe et Velandia, 2013).

The UNESCO included the CCLC site on the World Heritage List, because of its outstanding

universal value and meet of cultural criteria v and vi. Based on criteria v, the CCLC is a

continuing land-use where farmers generated innovative management practices of natural

resources in challenging geographical conditions. Considering criteria v, the coffee culture in the

CCLC has led to tangible and intangible manifestations in the region. Terrain conditions in the

region of CCLC and historical processes around the coffee economy facilitate rural economic

activity and the concentration of agricultural crops. The rural economy of the region historically

has relied on coffee (figure 2), which, taking into account changes in grain prices tending to

decline, reducing production and grain quality, concern not only the coffee community, but the

country (See figure 4).


Figure 2. Share of coffee in the agricultural GDP and total GDP (%) (No Pile)

Source: CONPES 3763, “A Strategy for competitiveness of the Colombian coffee cultivation-Committee of Experts, 2013

Figure 3. Colombian Internal Coffee Price (Price per 125 kilos, 1 USD approximately 2,000 pesos)

Source: CONPES 3803, Policy for the preservation of the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, 2013.


Figure 4. World Coffee Production Source: CONPES 3763, “A Strategy for competitiveness of the Colombian coffee cultivation-Committee of Experts, 2013

The years 2011 and 2012 have been specially challenging for farmers due to low prices of the

beans, the substantial reduction in its production (due to the National Coffee Plantation Renewal

Plan5) (See Figure 3 and 4), climatic variations, the effect of coffee cherry quality due to

volcanic emissions of Nevado del Ruiz, and the revaluation of the US dollar.

Policies for the protection, conservation and use of CCLC

In June 25, 2011, the 35th World Heritage Convention of UNESCO inscribed the CCLC in the

World Heritage List in accordance with Decision 35 COM 8B.43.6

Cultural Landscapes

transform, with the following being the main negative factors for CCLC’s transformation:

population growth, changes in land use, contamination in agricultural processes, urban and hotel

expansion, and low generational handover of the coffee production activity. Given UNESCO’s

5 The coffee renovation plan is allowing new coffee crops, adaptable to climate changes and are disease-resistant

varieties (Banco de la República, 2012). 6 UNESCO, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1121

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1121


inscription, protection, conservation and use of the CCLC, the following are some policies that

the Colombian government developed to safeguard it:

Resolution 2079, Ministry of Culture of Colombia, October 7, 2011, recognizes the CCLC as a

Cultural Heritage of the Nation and as a property inscribed on the World Heritage List of

UNESCO, consisting of a territory composed of areas of special archaeological, historical and

cultural interest.

Agreement for Prosperity No. 43, August 13, 2011, there were mandated the CONPES’7

document for the CCLC, the inclusion of CCLC in Land Management Plans8 (POT – Plan de

Ordenamiento Territorial – per Spanish acronym) and the definition of the zones of mining

exclusion.

National Council for Economic and Social Policy (CONPES) of the CCLC9. Council of

Colombian Ministers. February 13th, 2014. The CONPES formulates a specific policy for the

CCLC, with the purpose of strengthening it as a sustainable and productive cultural landscape,

defining strategies for structuring and coordinating the activities of different government levels

involved in implementing policies for its preservation and sustainability. Defines strategies,

7 The National Council for Economic and Social Policy (CONPES) of the CCLC

8 The Land Use Plan (POT, per Spanish acronym) is a technical and policy planning instrument of long-term

management, is a set of actions and policies, administrative and physical planning, which will guide the development of municipal areas, occupation and transformation of urban and rural physical space. http://portalterritorial.gov.co Serie Planes de Ordenamiento Territorial. (2014). Colombia. 9 Departamento Nacional de Planeación (2014). Política para la Preservación del Paisaje Cultural Cafetero de

Colombia “CONPES 3803”. DNP. February 13, 2014,

https://www.dnp.gov.co/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=nf6EW13B9XE%3d&tabid=1813, Colombia.

http://portalterritorial.gov.co/

https://www.dnp.gov.co/linkclick.aspx?fileticket=nf6ew13b9xe%25253d&tabid=1813


programs, actions and funding required to ensure the sustainability of the CCLC as a

commitment for the Colombian government.

Inclusion of the CCLC in the POTs. A result of a process of technical assistance with the local

authorities and the Colombian Ministry of Housing, City and Territory, the POTs were mandated

to be reviewed to include the harmonization of the CCLC attributes within the municipal plans.

Guidelines for mainstreaming the CCLC into the review and adjustment of POTs10

, a result of

the conceptualization, coordination and agreement on the attributes of the CCLC. The booklet

was developed simultaneously with the process of review and adjustment of thirty-five municipal

POTs. The development of the Guide involved GIS mapping of land use, preserved areas and

infrastructures, and verification of urban-territorial implications of the CCLC in the POT.

Technical and policy-mapping were required, which had the challenge to translate the landscape

standards and controls for the preservation of the landscape, especially in areas experiencing

development pressure, tourism and mining activities.

Determine exclusions of mining activities. Through a coordinated effort with the Ministry of

Mines and Energy work, the National Mining Agency, the Ministry of Environment and

10

Guía de Lineamientos para la Incorporación del Paisaje Cultural Cafetero en la Revisión y Ajuste de los Planes de

ordenamiento territorial (POT - PBOT - EOT), (2014), Colombian Coffee Landscape Official Webpage, www.pcc.org.co , Colombia.

http://www.pcc.org.co/


Sustainable Development and the Regional Autonomous Corporations11

in the region, an action

plan was undertaken to: i) identify existing mining areas in the CCLC, ii) identify existing

mining titles12

, and iii) characterize the type of mining activities.

Resolution 2963 of December 22, 2012, amending Resolution 2079 of October 7, 2011,

delimited the CCLC main area and buffer zone. When the area was determinate, the Colombian

Ministry of Mines and Energy concluded that 65% of the mining activity in the CCLC is related

to the exploitation of stone used for the production of building materials and roads and the

remaining 35% are precious minerals. Currently, a process is developed to determine the

feasibility or otherwise of issuing new mining titles in the CCLC, taking into account: existing

review mechanisms; respecting the landscape and its values, consistent with sustainable

practices; intensive monitoring and evaluation processes; and the legalization of traditional

mining activities which, if not met, will cause the suspension of titles. The 35th Session of the

World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, 2011, recommended to Colombia “not to authorize any

mining activity within the property and its immediate surroundings” (UNESCO, 2011).

Social education project and appropriation of the CCLC. This ensures that social sustainability

of the CCLC goes hand-in-hand with educational and communication programs. The project

includes the development and implementation of academic courses and classes, and various

publications that promotes and disseminates the CCLC values among universities and centers of

study and research. Landscape experts highlight the social values of the cultural heritage, and

11

Corporaciones Autónomas Regionales (CAR) son las Autoridades Ambientales Regionales en Colombia. 12

The mining title granted the right to explore and exploit the soil and subsoil.


developed the e-learning course CCLC “The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia and Cafe

de Colombia13”. The e-learning training is targeted to tour operators, cultural managers, and

those responsible for tourism and coffee places. It is a tool to promote the CCLC in the context

of environmental and cultural protection, enhancing competitiveness, integration and

development of the region.

Heritage Overseers, established by the Ministry of Culture of Colombia, calls volunteers to

develop activities oriented to social appropriation of the heritage and respect for cultural

diversity. The Heritage Overseers can do the following: i) Knowledge and measurement:

preliminary lists for the identification of cultural heritage, research, and historical studies of

cultural assets; ii) Training and Outreach: projects and training for heritage diffusion; and iii)

Conservation, protection, recovery and sustainability: Projects focused on protection,

conservation and enjoyment of heritage (Mincultura, 2013b).

CCLC Challenges and Sustainable Management

The following are some factors that put the CCLC at risk, based on the CONPES: i) CCLC

Deterioration, loss and lack of social appropriation of cultural heritage ii) decrease of land

cultivated with coffee due to increased profitability of alternative uses of land and construction,

iii) low profitability of coffee production, iv) little resilience to the impacts of climate change

and environmental pollution, v) reduction of accessibility of activities associated with tourism

and coffee trade, vi) vulnerability of the outstanding universal value of the CCLC for extractive

13

SENA, Curso e-learning sobre el CCLC, http://tvweb.sena.edu.co/video/?t=promo-paisaje-cultural-

cafetero&v=1483

http://tvweb.sena.edu.co/video/?t=promo-paisaje-cultural-cafetero&v=1483

http://tvweb.sena.edu.co/video/?t=promo-paisaje-cultural-cafetero&v=1483


activities and major infrastructure projects, and vii) adverse effects and losses from risk due to

disaster threats.

Sustainable management of the cultural landscape takes into account a harmonious landscape

and is aligned with the three pillars of sustainability (social, economic and environmental) as

well as with its principles. Incorporating sustainability principles into daily life and local culture

allows for a better use of resources. To address the factors threatening the CCLC, the objectives,

strategies and strategic actions listed in Figure 1 were defined in the CONPES, which are

complemented by the following projects14

, ranked by pillars of sustainable development:

Social Development

Generational handover – aims to promote new strategies for coffee farm owners in the CCLC,

promoting generational handover in coffee farming (currently the average farmer age is above 55

years), and labor connection through coffee plantation renovation.

Knowledge and ownership of CCLC – involves the development of training programs in the

primary, secondary, technical and university education levels that advance knowledge and

assessment of the relationship of the cultural landscape heritage and sustainable development of

the CCLC.

Maintenance and recovery of tertiary roads – aims to work on the restoration and maintenance

14

Projects proposed by the Regional Steering and Technical Committee of the CCLC and the departmental

secretaries, designed for funding through the General System of Regalías, 2011.


of tertiary roads in the municipalities of the CCLC that will generate employment, improve the

quality of life for residents, and promote accessibility and mobility of visitors to develop

sustainable tourism in the region.

CCLC connectivity –promoting access to Information and Technology and Communication

(ICT) in rural areas and in public libraries to help improve the lives of coffee farmers and the

wider community.

Economic development

Sustainability of Colombian coffee through the strengthening of designations of origin and

regional coffee brands, in order to increase the economic value of Colombian coffee by regional

segmentation in the domestic and international markets through implementation of the Strategies

of Denominations of Origin and Trademark of the CCLC’s coffee.

Implementation of the 4C Initiative (Common Code for the Coffee Community15

) as the basis for

the sustainability of the CCLC, which seeks the participation of 24,000 farmers who implement

sustainable coffee production practices involving environmental, social and economic dimension

in their activities.

15

Participants in the coffee chain commit to not being involved in the following practices: 1) child labor, 2) bondage

and forced labor, 3) trafficking/people trafficking, 4) prohibition of union membership 5) forced evictions without adequate compensation, 6) if required, lack of provision of appropriate accommodation, 7) lack of provision of potable water to all workers, 8) destruction of natural resources, 9) use of pesticides banned under the Stockholm Convention on Pollutants, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and those included in the list of the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC) and 10) immoral business transactions, as defined in international conventions, national laws and established practices. Legislation: ILO Conventions, United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, World Summit on Sustainable Development, among others.


Strategic Tourism Plan. The national tourism policy in Colombia is the responsibility of the

Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism; however, in the case of the CCLC for its heritage

characteristics, the cultural institutions are also involved in the Strategic Tourism Plan. The

Strategic Tourism Plan of the CCLC developed two strategies: design of tourism products such

as the Routes of the CCLC (For example, routes of special cafes, architectural, handles mules

and the Antioquia colonization, among others) and the CCLC Brand for the national and

international promotion of tourism products. In figure 5, increased air traffic in both domestic

and international travel at CCLC motivated by the inscription on the World Heritage list since

2011 is appreciated.

Domestic International

Figure 5. Domestic and International air passenger traffic 2004 - 2012 Source: CONPES 3803, Policy for the preservation of the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, 2013.

Environmental development

Improvement of rural housing with traditional construction techniques, whose aim is to

contribute to the preservation and protection of the cultural heritage of the CCLC, by improving


rural homes with traditional construction techniques that maintain traditional architecture,

improve the quality of life, strengthen attachment to the land and the means of production.

Preservation and enhancement of the CCLC, aiming to preserve and promote the cultural

heritage of the CCLC, coordinating regional development through the identification, study and

management of 24,000 coffee farms, archaeological and urban heritage.

This section will further develop on the strengthening of designations of origin and regional

coffee brands, and Generational Handover.

"The implementation of the denomination of origin coffee concept is a policy initiative on

the part of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNCC, per Spanish

acronym) to market and protect the regional Colombian coffees. The initiative will

further aid the removal of Colombian coffees from the coffee commodity market trading

and bilateral relations contribute partly decoupled from those of the world's coffee

bourses. It consolidates the elite status of Colombia's small-holder producers and has

substantial businesses their impact on livelihoods” .

Oberthür, 2011

The process resulting on the CCLC Brand

Colombia started its process in the Coffee Origin Denomination campaign in the 1960s by

creating the characters of Juan Valdez®, representing a traditional Colombian coffee grower, and

Conchita, his faithful mule. Juan Valdez, a small-scale farmer, was shown carrying sacks of

harvested coffee beans that were selected and hand-picked in the Colombian coffee fields. This

branded ingredient's strategy resulted in an increase in demand for Colombian coffee.


In the early 1980s, the Juan Valdez logo was designed and registered after Colombian coffee was

already established, and became important in informing consumers of the brand that contained

genuine, 100% Colombian coffee. This strategy was an example of a "trademark-based branded

ingredient strategy”.

In the years that followed, another strategy to protect the Colombia coffee reputation in North

America was for Colombia to register the word “Colombian” in relation to coffee, as a

certification mark. This certification guaranteed that roasters would have to meet a series of

standards to sell Colombian coffee.

In early 2005, Colombia ratified Café de Colombia as a Geographical Indication (GI), and a few

months after that, a recognition of Café de Colombia, a Protected GI under the European Union

system, was granted and registered in 2007. Labels of origin have been used with a variety of

food products. In February 2014 the European Database of Origin and Registration (DOOR)16

listed 1207 registered agricultural farm products and foodstuffs, PDO (protected designation of

origin), PGI (protected geographical indication) and TSG (traditional specialities guaranteed),

and 157 applications for registration. Café de Colombia was the first non-EU product registered.

GIs are associated with specification, attributes and quality standards related to specific origin.

“The rise and growth of the Specialty Coffee sector in the past 20 years has been remarkable and

is largely driven by new consumer awareness and appreciation for coffees of known quality”

(Oberthür, 2011).

16

European Union, DOOR, http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/door, accessed February 18, 2014.

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/door


Generational handover

One of the criteria of uniqueness of the CCLC World Heritage is the "family, generational and

historical human effort to produce an excellent quality coffee in the context of sustainable human

development" (Mincultura, 2011). However, a study on CCLC shows that there is a low level of

generational handover in the CCLC (García, 2011), with the following as the main reasons for

this problem in the region: i) activities that require schooling are perceived as a project of urban

life; ii) a large number of farmers’ children have low participation in coffee production17

,

showing a break in the tradition of coffee growing; and, iii) young people perceive that their

expectations of personal fulfillment have a better chance of development in urban areas.

On the other hand, it is evidenced that some coffee farmer parents desire for their children to

continue with the coffee industry, whether permanent or complementary to its core business

manner, and some youth highly value the country life. The following will show some social and

political strategies that could mitigate the small generational handover in the CCLC region.

Social strategies which could give the new generation of farmers opportunities for local

development are: i) promote the coffee industry as a business, ii) elevate small coffee farming as

intellectual work linked to a future career; ii) exchange successful and nonsuccessful experiences

in coffee growing as a strategy to position the coffee business; iii) position the elderly as

consultants for small farming; iv) exalt among the young the value of rural life and pride for the

small coffee industry; v) enhance rural life and the exceptional values of the CCLC among

17

Tradition vs coffee child labor: Colombian law prohibits child labor; the coffee-growing culture is passed from

generation to generation. It is necessary to inform the farmers of the scope of child labor legislation differentiating work and learning activities.


residents of the region; vi) develop an appropriation of the CCLC declaration that will empower

the community; and vii) develop contextualized curriculums for rural education with specific

teaching modules of the CCLC, which will promote the re-appropriation and re-definition of

coffee farming in the rural context.

Political strategies that could foster the development of the territory and allow professional and

personal development are: i) improve the quality of life in rural areas and strengthen cultural

participation spaces; ii) increase the active participation of youth in decision-making processes in

the region; iii) develop the rural activity as a profitable life option, changing the actual

conception of underdevelopment and poverty; and, iv) develop and promote agriculture and

family farming as a provider of profitable work and livelihood.

Processes that transform a nation

Policies for the protection, conservation and use of the CCLC as well as the identification of the

challenges and sustainable management tools for the CCLC are the result of a political

background initiated by the constitution reform, followed by reforms to cultural and

environmental policies with a hope for reconciliation among Colombians. Coffee growing, as

one of the main activities of the Colombian rural and agricultural sector, has a special treatment

in the Political Constitution of 1991 initiating a state of transformation in the country which

continues up to today. Three fundamental processes are taking place in the country that are

affecting the history of Colombia:


a) The National Development Plan "Prosperity for All" is the Colombian administration of the

economy and economic growth that benefits all social groups without exception, to offset socio-

productive regional disparities exploiting its mining and petroleum potential. This is reflected in

the CONPES for the CCLC.

b) The Peace Process is a long process that is still in gestation in a country with regions that are

in conflict and others in “post-conflict" situations. The Peace Process in Colombia involve peace

talks and dialogues between the national government and the Colombian revolutionary groups to

end the armed conflict in Colombia. The peace process began by approaching the Colombian

insurgent groups, concluding in the demobilization of the M-19 Guerrilla Group in 1989.

Resuming the Peace Process in 1998, the Colombian government advanced peace talks with the

FARC Guerrilla Group during the failed demilitarized zone until 2002. In 2012, the Peace

Process in Colombia restarted, in order to "seek peace with social justice through dialogue"

which takes place in Norway and Cuba. National and international effects of peacebuilding in

Colombia are still uncertain nevertheless encouraging.

c) The Policy of Cultural and Environmental Sustainability aims to identify and prevent critical

interventions in the Colombian territory, preventing degradation and over-exploitation and

promoting social processes of protection and conservation of the wastelands, watersheds, forests,

jungles and seas of Colombia. It is a policy that permeated from the national policy to

departmental and municipal policies, both in public administration and in the educational level. It

convenes social movements for progress and environmental sustainable management.


Conclusion

The CCLC is an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, events or living

traditions directly or tangibly associated with the coffee culture, traditional architecture in coffee

farms and the integrity of its territory. It is essential to strengthen the value of the CCLC in

Colombia, a country that is transforming and rooted in a historic leadership in socioeconomic,

geopolitical, cultural and environmental matters.

The rural economy of the CCLC region historically has relied on coffee production which price

fluctuates globally in addition to reduction in coffee production in the recent years in Colombia

due to a plantation renewal program. The Colombian government, in order to increase the

economic value of a Colombian coffee by regional segmentation in the international markets,

developed the designations of origin and regional coffee brands.

In addition, the Colombian government developed environmental programs to diversify and

retrofit in a sustainable matter the coffee production. These programs included: i)

Implementation of the 4C Initiative (Common Code for the Coffee Community) aiming to

implement sustainable coffee production practices, ii) development of the CCLC Strategic

Tourism Plan that involves the design of CCLC tourism products such as the Brand and its

Routes.


In the CCLC there is a low level of generational handover in which potential young coffee

growers do not want to be living in rural areas. To this Generational handover promotes labor

connection through coffee plantation renovation and to boost Knowledge and ownership of

CCLC – involves the development of training programs at all educational levels that advance

knowledge and assessment of the relationship with the cultural landscape heritage and

sustainable development of the CCLC.

In relation to the environment and culture, the Improvement of rural housing with traditional

construction techniques, aims to improve the quality of life, and to strengthen attachment to the

land and the means of production. In addition, Preservation and enhancement of the CCLC,

aims to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the CCLC, through the identification, study

and management of coffee farms, archaeological and urban heritage.

For the preservation of the CCLC, the Colombian government has developed social, economic

and environmental policies, which are included in the CONPES, approved in February 2014.

CONPES is the specific policy for the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, in order to

enhance their productivity and sustainability by defining a set of strategies aimed at improving

the conditions of preservation based on an action plan of government ministries involved in the

CCLC management. These actions seek to preserve this heritage and ensure its economic,

cultural, social and environmental sustainability.

Finally, the CCLC is a heritage site of high complexity in its social, economic and environmental

values. To ensure the sustainability of its social value, educational groups, academics and experts


supported by national and regional governments have been empowered to converge face

harmonization and reconciliation. This includes the peace process, economic problems in coffee

prices and also the effects of climate change, which represent a big challenge for the

conservation of the CCLC for future generations of Colombians and visitors from around the

world.


Annex. Policy for preserving the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia: Objectives, strategies,

and actions. Source: Adapted from CONPES 3803 "Policies for the Preservation of the Coffee Cultural Landscape of

Colombia".

Promote and develop processes for identification, assessment

and recognition of tangible and intangible cultural heritage by

conducting and disseminating inventories and the declaration of

assets of cultural interest. Properties of Cultural Interest (BIC

acronym per Spanich name) and inclusion of demonstrations in

representative lists of intangible cultural heritageDevelop Management Plans and Special Protection for BIC and

Special Plans of Safeguarding for the Intangible Cultural Heritage

expressionsDevelop the state Monitoring Program for conservation of cultural

heritage

Strengthen the Communications Plan of the Management Plan of

the PCCC so that more content on cultural heritage will be

integrated and to promote social appropriation of this heritage.Implement heritage courses in school

Encourage and promote processes to retrieve and disseminate

traditional occupations in the PCCC

Develop activities to encourage appropiation of the PCCC among

the youth population of the region

Promote access to the Information Technology and

Communication in public libraries and other cultural facilities,

specially accounting technological advances around coffee

production. Incorporate the PCCC in the territorial planning including

environmental factors determinated by the Regional Autonomous

Corporations and the Ministry of Environment and Development

sustainable.Develop a model of occupation at the regional level of the PCCC

to provide the conditions for the development of regional projects.

Increase knowledge of the PCCC by the Heritage Watcher's

groups.

Strengthen and promote the creation of more groups of

Watchers Heritage at the PCCC area.

Create and manage funds for cultural industries

Generate and disseminate research processes and knowledge

related to cultural industries

Access and promote of cultural products and services of the

PCCC.

Implement schemes for old-age protection

Promote and support the development of employment policies in

the PCCC

Strengthen education processes and training on

cultural heritage of the PCCC.

Identify, document, assess, protect, conserve

and safeguard the cultural tangible and intangible

heritage of the PCCC.

trengthening the social

appropriation of the cultural

heritage of the PCCC, and

articulate the social and economic

development of the region.

Promote and support processes of cultural

entrepreneurship in the PCCC through the

Ministry of Culture

Strengthen processes for public participation in

the preservation and dissemination of the PCCC.

Develop criteria and procedures for the

incorporation of PCCC in territorial planning

instruments


Promote sustainable coffee

production in the PCCC, foster

competitiveness, profitability and

management

Design policies and strategies to address the

current situation of the national coffee in the

short, medium and long term, through the

establishment of a Commission of Experts for the

modern coffee growing, established in the

CONPES "Coffee: The way forward to justice

and modernity".

Define policy guidelines and strategies to address the current

situation of the national coffee production

Define actions, funding and implementation of programs for the

improvement of tertiary roads and intervention through

prioritization by local authorities for projects affecting coffee

production.Prioritize, by the governors of the PCCC municipalities, the

critical points of tertiary road networks to be served with the

machinery provided by the Colombian government.Promote projects to increase touristic demand by offering new

specialized cultural tourism products, and to share with the

visitors the exceptional values of the PCCC.Promote projects and actions to achieve an equitable distribution

of the benefits from tourism. Promote entrepreneurship different

from tourist accommodation services, especially tourism

operations, to effectively provide cultural tourism experiences.Define environmental determinants for the development of

agrotourism and ecotourism.

Generate municipalities joint strategies for the development and

strengthening of nature tourism products.

Develop the PCCC Brand Manual and promote conditions for its

application

Follow up on the implementation of the Brand Manual and the

impacts of the use of the mark on goods and cultural products

Identify risk factors, threats, vulnerability, etc. in the PCCC area

Coordinate policies and actions of environmental management,

land management, development planning and climate change to

contribute to disaster risk reduction.

Define guidelines and environmental control and

asset management of mining and other extractive

activities in the PCCC.

Define the criteria, conditions, procedures and processes to

eliminate, reduce or mitigate negative impacts on environmental,

heritage, social and productive integrity that mining may have on

the PCCC.Determinate assessment and management

interventions at the PCCC.

Establish and develop criteria, procedures and processes for the

management of joint operations that can generate impacts in the

PCCC (such as major tourism projects, large-scale

infrastructure, macro-housing, etc.).

Improve the network of tertiary roads of the

PCCC.

Improve the accessibility and

mobility in the PCCC to

strengthen coffee production and

activities such as sustainable

tourism.

Define and implement policy

guidelines for the control and

management of mining and other

extractive activity processes and

interventions that can generate

impacts in the PCCC.

Develop knowledge processes, risk reduction

and management of the PCCC and include the

necessary actions in regional and local

development plans, planning and risk

management.

Design and implement a risk

management plan that recognizes

the threats, vulnerabilities and

risks, and to ensure

environmental preservation and

sustainability of the PCCC.

Continue the development of the implementation

of the PCCC Brand as quality assurance and

related services of the PCCC World Heritage

products.

Integrate and promote activities and projects of

the Tourism Strategic Plan of the PCCC.


References

Ayuga Téllez, F. dir.. (2001). Gestión sostenible de paisajes rurales. Técnicas e ingeniería.

Madrid, Fundación Alfonso Martínez Escudero, 285 pp.

Banco de la República. (2012). Boletín económico regional. Eje Cafetero. Bogotá.

Departamento Nacional de Planeación (2014). Política para la Preservación del Paisaje Cultural

Cafetero de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia. www.dnp.gov.co.pdf

Documento CONPES 3803 "Política para la preservación del Paisaje Cultural Cafetero de

Colombia”, Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y Social República de Colombia.

Departamento Nacional de Planeación (DNP).

https://www.dnp.gov.co/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=nf6EW13B9XE%3d&tabid=1813 accessed

February 28, 2014. Colombia.

Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia. (2009). Plan de Manejo del Paisaje Cultural

Cafetero. Bogotá, Colombia.

Font, J. (1992). Turismo, percepción del paisaje y planificación del territorio. Estudios

Turísticos, 115: 45-54.

García et al. (2011). Factores que inciden en el relevo generacional entre los caficultores del

Paisaje Cultural Cafetero. Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia.

Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia (2011). Paisaje Cultural Cafetero: Un paisaje cultural

productivo en permanente desarrollo. ISBN: 978-958-9177-55-6

Ministerio de Cultura (2013a). Patrimonio de la Humanidad en Colombia. Bogotá: Lunwerg.

http://www.dnp.gov.co.pdf/

https://www.dnp.gov.co/linkclick.aspx?fileticket=nf6ew13b9xe%25253d&tabid=1813


Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia. (2013b). Programa Nacional de Vigías del Patrimonio

Cultural, Colombia.

Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros (2011). Proyectos priorizados y presentados al Sistema

General de Regalías. Mesa Paisaje Cultural Cafetero y Turístico, Colombia. Paper.

World Heritage, UNESCO, http://whc.unesco.org/en/about/, accessed February 10, 2014.

T. Oberthür et al. (2011). Regional relationships between inherent coffee quality and growing

environment for denomination of origin labels in Nariño and Cauca, Colombia. Food Policy

Journal, 36 (2011) 783–794.

World Intellectual Property Organization (2007). Making the origin count: Two coffees. World

Intellectual Property Organization WIPO Magazin, 5.

UNESCO (2011). Convention concerning the protection of the World Cultural and National

Heritage, World Heritage Committee, 35 th Session Paris, France. WHC-11/35.COM/20.

http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2011/whc11-35com-20e.pdf accessed February 20, 2014.

Uribe, S. and Velandia, C. (2013). Naturaleza, cultura y productividad: gestión del paisaje

cultural cafetero de Colombia. ISBN: 978-607-420-147-5. III Congreso Internacional en

Patrimonio y Desarrollo Sustentable (PYDES 2013), Mexico.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/about/

http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2011/whc11-35com-20e.pdf

Documents

The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia: Strategy for a Solid Governance