The Institute Humboldt is a Colombian entity, linked to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, governed by private law, which conducts research on biodiversity and the relationship between biodiversity and human well-being.
Constituted in December 1993, by Law 99, it began operations in January 1995 in Villa de Leyva, Boyacá. At present, the Cloister of San Agustin is one of the three headquarters of the Institute, where the Biological Collections that support the national biodiversity inventory are stored, part of which were inherited from the former Inderena. The other headquarters of the Institute are in Bogotá, D. C. (Venado de Oro, Calle 72 and Calle 28) and the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Tissue Bank, in Palmira, Valle, in the facilities of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (Ciat). In addition, the Institute has researchers in the field at the sites where research projects are carried out and professionals in different locations of the country, linked through teleworking.
To guarantee institutional operations, the Institute receives public resources from various sources such as the National Budget, the General Royalties System, and the National Environmental Fund (Fonam), among others. It also manages research projects and management of international cooperation, municipalities and private companies.
The mission of the Institute Humboldt is to promote, coordinate and conduct research that contributes to the knowledge, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as a factor in the development and well-being of the Colombian population. It works in a network with multiple organizations, with the capacity to influence decision-making and public policies. As part of its functions, the Institute is responsible for carrying out scientific research on biodiversity, including hydrobiological and genetic resources, in the Nation's continental territory. It also coordinates the National Biodiversity Information System (SIB Colombia) and the creation of the national biodiversity inventory.This mission is key because biodiversity provides essential services for health and development, not only for the particular species with food and medicinal attributes, but also for the ecosystems that, if they maintain their integrity, regulate the climate and water and slow the spread of infectious diseases.
In 2030, we will be an innovative institution, a protagonist in national and international scenarios for its contributions from knowledge and narratives for the incorporation of biodiversity as a factor of development and wellbeing.
Promote the socio-ecological transitions of the territories towards sustainability in coordination with multiple stakeholders (regulatory bodies, transforming agents, organized civil society), through R&D and social appropriation.
Contribute to the transition of productive structures towards a sustainable, competitive development model that stands out for generating value from the country's natural wealth and biodiversity.
To position biodiversity in the national collective imagination as a source of development and wellbeing through creative narratives and personalized channels that promote changes in behavior, consumption and production in Colombian society.
Connect the Institute with local, regional, national and global agendas, in order to incorporate the management of biodiversity and its ecosystem services in the empowerment of multiple stakeholders for public, private and social decision making.
The Alexander von Biological Resources Research Institute Humboldt in the development of its purpose, will carry out the functions assigned to it by law and the following:
Obtain, store, analyze, study, process, provide and disseminate basic information, knowledge and narratives on biodiversity, at all levels of organization, as well as on the ecological and evolutionary processes that occur at the level of genes, species, ecosystems and landscapes for their conservation and sustainable use.
Contribute to the knowledge of the biological diversity of species, which environmental authorities should have in the development of their competencies, through information systems that use digital sequences of information on genetic resources, especially regarding their extinction, contamination and degradation.
Promote the incorporation of applied omic sciences to better understand the molecular processes contained in biodiversity and their possible applications in bioprospecting.
Other functions of the Institute can be consulted here.
The Institute Humboldt is in charge of conducting basic and applied research on the biotic, hydrobiological and genetic resources of the country's flora and fauna, and of preparing and forming the scientific inventory of biodiversity in the national territory.
To achieve its mission, the Institute promotes, conducts and coordinates research with entities of the National Environmental System (Sina), territorial entities, academia, government, private sector, indigenous peoples, black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, Palenquero, peasant and fishermen communities, and organized civil society, at the national, regional and local levels, based on data, information and knowledge that seek to explain the interactions of species among themselves and with their environment, including human beings.
This emphasis on understanding the complex network of ecological relationships and processes that make life on the planet possible -including culture, productive activities and the lifestyles of the people-, the Institute translates them into narratives to show how we are connected to nature: with our food, our clothes, the materials we use to make our homes and our cultural expressions such as music.
For the Institute, the generation of data, information and knowledge contributes decisively to fostering and strengthening the participation of different actors in decision-making and the construction of agreements on how to use nature sustainably. Therefore, we are committed to promoting the democratization of knowledge and its appropriation.
The General Assembly of Members of the Institute is made up of representatives of the National Government -Presidency of the Republic, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (which chairs it), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation-, regional government -Governance of Boyacá-, national and regional academia -National University of Colombia, Pontificia Javeriana, Antioquia and Valle-, NGOs -Corporación Nacional de Investigación y Fomento Forestal, Conif and Fundación Pro-Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta-, and representatives of the National Environmental System, Sina -Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas Sinchi, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras José Benito Vives de Andréis (Invemar), Corporación para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Sur de la Amazonia (Corpoamazonia), Corporación Autónoma Regional de la Frontera Nororiental (Corponor)-.
The General Assembly delegates its decisions to the Board of Directors, which, in turn, appoints the General Director, who, in addition to being the legal representative, directs, coordinates, controls and plans the Institute's activities and enforces the decisions of the General Assembly of Members and the Board of Directors.
The organizational structure includes four directorates: Knowledge, Relationship, Organizational Development, and Financial and Administrative, as presented in the organizational structure section.
Under this structure, the Institute currently employs around four hundred people from different parts of the country, with diverse academic backgrounds and of different ages, ethnicities, gender, sexual, political and religious orientation.
Biologist with a Master's degree in Ecology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He has extensive experience in management positions oriented to science management, research and project management that have enabled informed decision making for biodiversity conservation in government, private enterprise and society.
He has more than 20 years of experience in research and working with interdisciplinary teams related to biodiversity sciences.
After a 13-year career linked to the Institute Humboldt, he is currently the General Director of the entity, a role that has focused on connecting scientific networks with key decision makers for the integrated management of biodiversity in Colombia and its global positioning.
He has authored more than 30 scientific products (articles, books, book chapters) related to tropical forest dynamics, sectoral environmental planning and biodiversity conservation.
Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Judicial Notifications:
notificacionesjudiciales@humboldt.org.co
Anti-corruption hotline: 01 800 518 9191
Atención al ciudadano:
Correo PQRSF:
atencionalciudadano@humboldt.org.co
