“This thing used to be the size of a chicken coop,” Cacique Matsulu said to me as we arrived to ACATISEMA's new offices in Cumaribo. “Now look at it.” A Sikuani man in his early 50s with a tight flat top, kind eyes and generous smile, the Cacique—or Chief—is the Selva de Matavén’s Zone 1 coordinator, one of its most important leaders.

The Cacique proudly toured us around the modern, two-story building—including several offices and meeting spaces. Upstairs, two women were crunching numbers on Excel spreadsheets. “We're working on next year's budget,” explained accountant Neila Parra, accounting for requests submitted by the reserve's 16 sectors and 315 communities. The sale of carbon credits from the REDD+ project accounts for 100 percent of ACATISEMA's operating budget, around $5 million in 2022. In addition to covering the salaries of the Indigenous guard, stationed throughout the reserve to protect the forest, the project finances programs for potable water, food security, education, solar power, and transportation.

After visiting the newly constructed health clinic, which is also funded by the REDD+ project, we traveled across the savanna to Cumariana, entering the reserve for the first time. “There are some people who don't understand our REDD+ project, say bad things about it or may want to even take it away from us,” the Cacique announced to the hundred or so primarily Sikuani speakers who turned up:

“The people who criticize it are far away, sitting in offices in Bogotá or Europe; John, Lorena and Daniel are here to see the Selva de Matavén. There is an important meeting coming up about climate change, where governments from around the world will make important decisions that determine whether our Mother Earth will live. Live because we help her and do our part. Or die. Die because some people would rather fight about what to do, instead of taking action now.”

Read the full article about forest preservation by John Edward Myers, María Ángelica Parra, and Charles Bedford at Stanford Social Innovation Review.