ESI and Minciencias sign memorandum of understanding

We are proud to announce that ESI has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Colombia Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Minciencias), with the aim of launching a collaboration centered on sustainable economic activity within biodiverse regions. This partnership reflects the strong synergy between Minciencias’ interest in providing economic opportunity to Colombian communities while addressing planetary environmental challenges, and the goals and strategies of ESI’s Natural Climate Solutions Program.

Mabel Torres, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation for Colombia, signs the memorandum of understanding with ESI

The collaboration envisions a broad analysis of the environmental burden of current economic activities within biodiverse regions of Colombia, which may give rise to new research and educational opportunities and ideas for sustainable businesses and innovations. Among other ideas, it contemplates:

  • Supporting the development of the Regional , Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centers that will act as local innovation hubs for bio-economy oriented ventures in historically marginalized communities who live in highly biodiverse regions;
  • Engaging in horizontal knowledge co-creation processes with local communities and scientists;
  • Supporting the transformation of local and scientific knowledge into sophisticated community-owned and technology-based business ventures able to create local wealth;
  • Training local producers to train others in all aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship;
  • Developing a methodology for benchmarking and impact measurements of sustainability and sustainable businesses including the design of economic and sustainability indicators, environmental data collection and analysis, and technology development for participatory monitoring and verification of socio-environmental impact indicators.

We are tremendously excited to build on our productive relationship with Minciencias, and to deliver on the promise of the bioeconomy to secure the world’s most important reserves of biodiversity while providing economic growth and security to historically marginalized peoples.

You can read Minciencias’ announcement of the memorandum of understanding (in Spanish) on their website.