Beyond the Instruments: Disputes and Convergences in Territorial Governance of Water and Rainforests in Colombia’s Coffee Region

This paper presents the preliminary findings of the research project “Analysis of the Fragmentation of Territorial Governance and Its Effects on Water Management and the Conservation of Rainforests in the Colombian Cafetero ecoregion”. The study begins with an acknowledgment of a scenario of institutional dispersion, overlapping jurisdictions, and poor coordination among planning instruments facing environmental governance in Colombia, which has weakened integrated water resource management and the sustainability of strategic ecosystems. The research aims to analyze how the fragmentation of territorial governance affects the conservation of rainforests and the collective rights associated with water, a healthy environment, and food security. Although the research process is in its initial phase, preliminary findings suggest that institutional fragmentation reproduces inequalities, violates rights by omission, and limits the development of sustainable management models. In contrast, it is argued that collaborative governance—based on community participation and inter-institutional dialogue—represents a path toward environmental justice and the consolidation of human rights as a social construct rooted in the local context.