Navigating Policy Coherence for Peacebuilding and Environmental Sustainability in Colombia

Also available in Spanish

How do we align policies to support both peacebuilding and environmental sustainability?

This compelling question was at the heart of a recent webinar hosted by Alliance Bioversity & CIAT in collaboration with the Universidad de los Andes. Led by Alexander Buriticá and the NPS Initiative team, the session unpacked the complexities of aligning public policies for sustainable development.

The National Policies and Strategies (NPS) Initiative's focus on food, water, and land policies is a model for understanding and enhancing policy alignment for long-term social and environmental resilience.

Why does policy coherence matter?

Public policies shape the frameworks for peace, environmental protection and sustainable development. Yet, as Alexander outlined, misaligned policies - whether in food security, water management or land use- can hinder progress and sometimes create new challenges. This webinar highlighted strategies for measuring and enhancing policy alignment, with Colombia serving as a case study.

Breakthrough Insights from the NPS Initiative

The NPS Initiative, spearheaded by experts from Alliance Bioversity&CIAT, explores the alignment of Colombia's food, water and land policies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here's a glimpse into the key insights presented during the session:

1. Types of Policy Coherence

• Normative Coherence: Aligning policies with global frameworks like the SDGs.
• Horizontal Coherence: Ensuring policies across different sectors (e.g., food, water) complement each other rather than conflict.
• Vertical Coherence: Coordination among local, regional, and national government levels.
• Financial Coherence: Matching policy objectives with budget allocations to achieve effective implementation.

By evaluating these dimensions, the NPS Initiative provides a comprehensive approach to understanding policy alignment and its real-world impacts on sustainability and social welfare.

2. Coherence in Policy Formulation:

• Water Management: Colombian policies exhibit strong horizontal coherence in water and food security areas, align well with the SDGs, supporting long-term water availability and service provision.
• Food security: policies address key issues like nutrition, poverty and agricultural productivity, reinforcing social resilience and economic stability.

3. Challenges in Implementation

• Climate Gaps: Only one of Colombia's water and land policies includes provisions for climate change -a critical shortfall in achieving long-term resilience.
• Gender and Inclusion: The inclusion of gender considerations remains inconsistent, highlighting a need for more equitable policy frameworks.

4. Key Recommendations:

• Climate Integration: Strengthen adaptation and mitigation efforts to ensure climate resilience across policies.
• Enhanced Implementation Support: Develop robust mechanisms for policy execution to ensure coherent policies translate into impactful outcomes.
• Inclusive Frameworks: Embed gender and social inclusion more consistently to address equity challenges.

Expert Perspectives: Collaboration at the forefront

• Alexander Buriticá, Postdoctoral Fellow at Alliance Bioversity & CIAT, working with the Foresight and Applied Economics for Impact group and the Multifunctional Landscapes research area. As an applied microeconomist, his research focuses on agricultural value chains, productivity, and technology adoption at the firm and producer levels. Using quantitative methods such as causal inference and experimental approaches, he investigates the incentives, behaviors, and institutions shaping development and agricultural practices.
• Augusto Castro, senior scientist at Alliance Bioversity & CIAT, emphasized the role of low-emission food systems in reducing greenhouse gases and aligning public policies with climate and sustainability goals.
• Karen Sofía González from the Universidad de los Andes discussed the value of qualitative research in improving policy coherence, particularly within the agri-food sector.
• Jorge Armando Rueda Gallardo, an economist with extensive experience in rural development and public policy. He has a proven track record in the public sector, including his work at Colombia's National Planning Department (DNP), where he contributed to designing and implementing strategies to enhance development outcomes. His work emphasizes the importance of inter-institutional collaboration and data-driven approaches to improve policy impact across the water, land, and food sectors.

Moving forward: Building bridges for a coherent future

The webinar concluded with a message: achieving policy coherence requires ongoing collaboration between academia, government, and local communities. Participants walked away with actionable steps to align policies, foster sustainability and build peace -recognizing that progress depends on unity across sectors and levels of governance needed.

By prioritizing policy coherence, we can unlock pathways to a sustainable and peaceful future-one where social equity, environmental stewardship, and economic stability go hand in hand.

In August 2024, the team published the policy document "Mapping the path to sustainability through the Policy Coherence Analysis of Land, Food and Water of Colombia" in which you can delve into the methodology of the study and the main findings and recommendations.

You can also watch the full seminar below:

Authors:

Karoll Valentina Yomayuza, Visiting Researcher, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, Colombia.

Alexander Buritica Casanova, Postdoctoral Fellow, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, Colombia

Daniela Salas Betancourt, country communicator, CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS) and Analyst, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT

Photo credit:

©2021 CIAT/Juan Pablo Marin García

This work is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS). CGIAR launched NPS with national and international partners to build policy coherence, respond to policy demands and crises, and integrate policy tools at national and subnational levels in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. CGIAR centers participating in NPS are The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Potato Center (CIP), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and WorldFish. We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund.

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