Accrona Expert Voices: Páramos and the future of high-mountain ecosystems, nature and biodiversity

The Amazon rainforest comes to mind when most people think of critical ecosystems. But what about the high-altitude wetlands that supply 70% of Colombia's drinking water, power 153 hydropower stations, and support various economic activities while covering just 2% of its territory? At Accrona, we're committed to understanding ecosystems beyond the commonly discussed ones.

These are called Páramos and are found at altitudes between 2,600 and 5,000 meters above sea level across the Northern Andes. For context, Colombia has 37 Páramos. Daily temperatures can swing dramatically from freezing to 30°C, shifting rapidly from intense sun to cold mist or rain. Around 86% of their flowering plants are unique to these ecosystems. No equivalent ecosystem exists at tropical high altitudes with such biodiversity and water retention. Páramos also offer valuable insights for building resilience and serve as vital carbon storage systems. 

Scientists have described them as the fastest evolving biodiversity hotspot on Earth—not because of human pressure, but due to their harsh environmental conditions, which drive rapid adaptation and speciation. 

Yet today, human activities, particularly agriculture, livestock, logging, and mining, are degrading the soil, reducing its porosity and weakening the entire Páramos ecosystem. These pressures now threaten one of the planet’s most dynamic and irreplaceable ecological systems.

Andean Tapir, also known as the architect of the Páramos. Photo tapirs.org

This trust deficit creates a fundamental mismatch with private capital requirements—investors need predictable returns within defined timeframes, but ecosystem restoration operates on relationship-building timelines spanning decades.

We convened a panel of scientists, policy experts, and community leaders to better understand the Páramos, their dynamics, and the implications for sustainability and sustainable finance. Four key lessons emerged—lessons that scale beyond Páramos, offering systems thinking insights for ecosystem management and investment decisions globally. This insight piece is part of our Biannual Blueprint work on nature and biodiversity.

1. Symbols and stories matter because they mobilise only when backed by substance

Effective sustainability communication requires more than data and compliance reports. Our panel revealed how symbols and storytelling can unlock stakeholder engagement and make complex ecological issues more relatable to broad audiences—something traditional approaches struggle to achieve.

The Frailejón, an emblematic Páramo plant, exemplifies this power. In recent years, it has appeared in memes, songs, and educational campaigns across Colombia,  sparking widespread curiosity. Marcela Fernández, founder of Fundación Cumbres Blancas, asked: “If we Colombians don’t even know the frailejón, how could a French, German, or Dutch person possibly grasp such a strange plant?”

The Frailejón plant in the Páramo de Murillo.

But symbols are entry points, not endpoints. Marcela's team demonstrates how to build lasting value beyond awareness campaigns. They’ve gone beyond planting to creating nurseries, integrated revenue-generating species like wild blueberries, and invested in scientific research to improve propagation, turning conservation into financially viable community resilience.

The lesson for sustainability initiatives is clear: symbols mobilise, but substance sustains, and sustaining is not immediate; it takes time and persistent effort. Organisations need compelling narratives backed by operational rigour to deliver lasting results, whether launching conservation programs, communicating to investors, or building policy support.

2. Information gaps create financial risk—acting without understanding can be costly

Well-intentioned sustainability investments often fail because they lack the technical foundation for success. Our panel revealed how information deficits translate directly into financial losses and missed opportunities.

Dr. Robert Hofstede, a professor of tropical ecology, highlighted the scale of this problem: “We are talking a lot about money and funds, and that’s great, but what do we do with that? There is much more demand for information than for money. We are financing projects of five hectares that disappear in three years because nobody knows how to manage a Páramo well.” Without species-specific knowledge and context-appropriate management, even well-funded conservation projects become wasted capital.

The economic implications extend beyond project failure. Helena García, Head of Sustainability at Orbia, illustrated this through her work at Fedesarrollo (a Colombian think tank). Reflecting on efforts to value the Santurbán Páramo ecosystem, she noted: “We couldn’t measure many things due to a lack of information. For example, we priced carbon at five dollars. Today, that’s laughable, but it’s what we had.” When economic models can't capture ecosystem value accurately, investments systematically undervalue natural assets.

Her experience highlights the limitations of economic valuation tools when data is lacking. Effective sustainability investments require solid technical information and meaningful community engagement—yet many funding mechanisms struggle to account for these relational, long-term factors.

3. Trust is foundational in nature and biodiversity—without it, investments don’t last

Trust isn't a soft factor in sustainability investments—it's a prerequisite for project viability. Juan Manuel Moya, finance advisor at Tropenbos International, explained the stark reality: “In a country like ours [Colombia], the social fabric is broken, it’s very hard to build partnerships. People don’t trust the person next to them. And that’s where the problem starts when trying to create projects”.

This trust deficit creates a fundamental mismatch with private capital requirements. Investors need predictable returns within defined timeframes, but ecosystem restoration and community-based conservation operate on relationship-building timelines spanning decades. Even well-funded projects struggle to deliver promised outcomes without established trust networks and local governance.

Juan Sebastián Pacheco, CEO of CANOA-Impacto, highlighted the sustainability challenge: “USAID leaves, and projects are left half-baked. This isn't about hectares conserved. It requires different kinds of effort.” When projects depend on external funding cycles rather than embedded local structures, they become vulnerable to political shifts and resource gaps.

Helena García illustrated this through the Santurbán Páramo case. Mining restrictions in the Vetas municipality in Colombia were imposed without viable alternatives for local communities. Rather than reinforcing conservation, the policy deepened mistrust and resistance—demonstrating how top-down measures can fracture support when social realities are ignored.

This highlights a critical due diligence factor for investors: the strength of local governance structures and community relationships. Projects in high-trust environments show higher success rates and more predictable returns than those building foundations from scratch. This calls for financial tools that align with the territorial pace and address ecological and social time sensitivity.

4. Financial innovation can bridge ecosystem complexity and investment needs

Traditional financial instruments struggle with ecosystems like Páramos because they can't account for ecological uncertainty, long-term timelines, and complex stakeholder dynamics. However, innovative approaches are emerging that align investor requirements with ecosystem realities.

Juan José Guzmán, founder of Strata, developed a compelling example: a parametric insurance mechanism (parametric means triggered by measurable data points rather than subjective assessments) to protect Páramos and safeguard water balance. The model is funded by companies that depend on water—such as bottling companies—creating direct stakeholder alignment. When incidents like wildfires occur and trigger specific conditions, funds are released immediately to affected communities and environmental authorities, enabling a rapid response.

This approach solves multiple challenges simultaneously: it provides predictable risk management for water-dependent companies, creates immediate response capability for ecosystem threats, and generates sustainable funding for conservation. Most importantly, it doesn't require perfect scientific certainty to function effectively.

Guzmán noted, “Private finance won't be able to serve ecological goals if it's not paired with solid scientific knowledge. And that doesn't mean we wait for science to know everything... That's impossible.” The key is designing financial tools that can operate with incomplete information while building knowledge over time. He illustrated this with a striking example: “Why does the Bogotá Botanical Garden plant non-native species? Because we don’t know how to propagate the native ones, how to care for them, or what to do if they get sick. The species from China or Europe have fifty years of science behind them.”

Such mechanisms represent a new category of financial innovation: instruments that embrace ecosystem complexity rather than trying to simplify it away. For investors and financial institutions, this points toward parametric approaches, stakeholder-funded models, and risk-sharing structures that better match ecological realities.

Closing thoughts

Waiting for perfect certainty is not an option when ecosystems like Páramos face immediate threats. These high-altitude wetlands, the Páramos, demonstrate that protecting nature isn't just an environmental imperative—it's a strategic investment in water security, climate resilience, and economic stability. The four lessons from our expert panel reveal a fundamental shift: from viewing ecosystems as static resources to understanding them as dynamic systems requiring adaptive financial approaches.

The path forward requires bridging different timescales—ecosystems that operate across centuries while facing immediate threats, and investment horizons that must account for both. What truly matters is understanding the incentives that drive each actor and identifying where they intersect. 

That's where shared solutions emerge: success lies in financial instruments honouring ecological complexity while generating measurable returns, building partnerships between capital and communities that can withstand political cycles and funding changes, and risk-sharing structures that turn nature and biodiversity from a cost centre to a strategic asset.

Key questions to consider:

• How can your organisation balance immediate economic pressures with the long-term thinking that ecosystem protection requires?

• What financial instruments could better align investment timelines with ecosystem restoration cycles in your portfolio?

• Where are the trust networks and local partnerships determining project success in your region?

  
  

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At Accrona, we bring actionable insights and deep expertise in sustainability and sustainable finance. Discover our flagship thought leadership platform—Biannual Bluprint—on nature and biodiversity. We help organisations navigate the complexities of integrating nature and biodiversity considerations into strategy, financing, and risk management. We have worked on these challenges with several corporates, financial institutions, municipalities, and sovereigns globally. Contact us today to explore how we can help your organisation turn biodiversity challenges into opportunities for growth and resilience.