Global Launch of the Sonic Forest Documentary

This film showcases the deep forest of Colombia's Pacific Region, featuring USAID's BIOREDD+ communities. The documentary is part of the Stand For Trees campaign, which aims to promote sales of carbon credits by highlighting the rich cultures and ecosystems in beneficiary forest communities. Since its global launch, the documentary has drawn international attention and carbon credit sales to local communities supported by USAID Paramos and Forest Activity. The documentary features Simón Mejía of the Colombian band Bomba Estéreo, who travels through Afro-Colombian and Indigenous territories in the Pacific region, demonstrating how forest protection is an integral part of these cultures. Mejía's song, "Let Me Breathe," serves as the soundtrack for the film and has received 3.2 million listens across social media platforms. The documentary has also garnered 58,000 views and 50,000 carbon credits are available for sale. USAID's Paramos and Forests Activity is expanding its experience with BIOREDD+ projects in Colombia's Pacific Region to six post-conflict regions through a new initiative, Innovative Conservation Models for Páramos and Forest. This initiative will implement payments for environmental services models in large cities and support IDEAM in the carbon monitoring strategy in high mountain ecosystems and MADS in the development of páramos environmental management plans. The initiative will strengthen the Colombian Government in designing and launching transformation models for páramo and forest conservation. Páramos and Forests Activity is partnering with the Territorial Renovation Agency (ART), the Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies Institute (IDEAM), the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS), and Conservation International (CI) to achieve this goal. USAID has a commitment to protect High Andes ecosystems in Colombia. The First Online Mountain World Summit was held from December 9 to 11, in commemoration of the UN's International Mountain Day. The summit was led by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia and IDEAM, with participation from international experts, scientists, academicians, and high-ranking officials. The purpose of the summit was to assess and disseminate efforts carried out globally and in Colombia to form alliances and protect mountain ecosystems. USAID's Páramos and Forests Activity sponsored the event and presented its achievements in Colombia's Central Range. Larry Sacks, Director of USAID Colombia, presented the work carried out by the Mission in these ecosystems, highlighting the importance of páramos in supplying water for 3.4 million Colombians and livelihoods for 4,000 people, including 15 indigenous communities. The event connected 5,689 people and featured 50 national and international experts from around the world.