Plant nurseries of the Impulso Verde Network obtain ICA registration and mark a milestone for ecological restoration in Colombia
©Photo 1: Seedling developed by the Ecoturagro community plant nursery association, Impulso Verde Kuaspue Foundation 2025.
Impulso Verde begins 2026 with a strategic advance for community ecological restoration and the preparation of the territories for the implementation of Law 2173.
At the end of 2025, the Impulso Verde Kuaspue Foundation confirmed the obtaining of registration with the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) by five indigenous and rural associations that make up its Network of Community Plant Nurseries in Nariño, consolidating a technical, organizational and territorial milestone for the conservation of Andean ecosystems.
The associations that obtained the registration resolution are: the Ecological Tourism and Agricultural Association – Ecoturagro (Santa Bárbara village, Pasto municipality), the Agroecological Indigenous Association Reviving the Green of Our Pumamaki Field (Guachucal municipality), the Sinchimaki Agroecological Association (Cumbal municipality), the El Chalguar Agroecological and Community Tourism Environmental Cultural Association (Pupiales municipality) and the Plantando Vida Peasant Association – ACPVIDA (El Encaño village, municipality of Pasto).
©Photo 2: Technical visit of professionals from Copornariño and ICA to the Impulso Verde plant nursery network, Fundación Impulso Verde Kuaspue 2025.
With this achievement, these organizations join the club of the certified plant nurseries with the Manantial de Vida Agroecological Association, registered in 2024. Currently, almost 50% of the plant nurseries that make up the Impulso Verde Network have ICA registration, and by 2026 the incorporation of new nurseries is projected, expanding the scope and formalization of this community network to the department of the Valley of the Cauca River.
This official recognition authorizes the associations as producers and marketers of forest plant material for reforesting in Colombia, opening new economic opportunities for community plant nurseries, while guaranteeing compliance with the national phytosanitary standards required for ecological restoration processes.
A process built step by step since 2016
For Impulso Verde, the way towards the registration of community plant nurseries with the ICA has been a strategic and long-term decision. During 2025, the Foundation strengthened institutional dialogue with the ICA and led a training process aimed at the entire Network of Community Plant Nurseries, focused on the guidelines of Resolution 0780006 of 2020. These trainings allowed to collectively understand the importance of registration and its technical, legal and administrative implications for plant nurseries. At the same time, Impulso Verde provided close and systematic support to the associations in the preparation of the requirements for the certification.
©Photo 3: Technical review of the plant nurseries of the Green Impulse Network, Impulso Verde Kuaspue Foundation, 2025.
Este proceso se sustenta en un trabajo formativo continuo que la Fundación desarrolla desde 2016, orientado al fortalecimiento de capacidades locales para la producción de plantas nativas, desde la colecta responsable de semillas hasta la entrega de material vegetal apto para la siembra.
En este camino, el equipo técnico de Impulso Verde ha garantizado la asistencia técnica permanente exigida por la autoridad ambiental, un requisito clave para la obtención y
This process is based on a continuous training plan that the Foundation has been developing since 2016, aimed at strengthening local capacities to produce native plants, from the responsible collection of seeds to the delivery of plant material suitable for planting. On this path, the technical team of Impulso Verde has guaranteed the permanent technical assistance required by article 4, numeral 4.1.10 of Resolution 0780006 of 2020 of the ICA, a key requirement for obtaining and sustaining registration as producing and marketing plant nurseries.
Preparing for the new challenges: Law 2173 and “Sowing to connect”
Having community plant nurseries registered with the ICA allows associations to market native plant material with technical support, participate in institutional projects and contribute directly to the application of Law 2173 of 2021, which establishes specific obligations for the business sector in terms of ecological restoration.
This regulation provides that, each year, medium and large companies must plant at least two trees for each employee, using native species and complying with technical and environmental criteria that guarantee the sustainability of the planting and restoration processes.
©Photo 4: Technical review of the plant nurseries of the Impulso Verde Network, Impulso Verde Kuaspue Foundation, 2025.
In this scenario, the Impulso Verde Foundation promotes the “Sowing to connect” strategy, a commitment that goes beyond the ponctual act of planting trees. The initiative articulates ecological restoration with specialized technical support, community strengthening, and the construction of links between companies, communities, and ecosystems.
Through this strategy, Impulso Verde wants that the implementation of Law 2173 translates into long-term processes, capable of generating real and measurable environmental impacts, strengthening local economies and promoting a genuine connection between people and the territories where it is planted.
©Photo 5: tree planting day with Banco Contacto as part of its Environmental Responsibility program, Fundación Impulso Verde Kuaspue 2025.
What’s next for 2026
The process continues. The main challenge for 2026 will be to accompany the obtaining of the ICA registration of the remaining percentage of plant nurseries in the network and those that will be linked in the future.
This year begins with accompanying four community plant nurseries — San Martín La Vega, Mujer Emprendedora, Tulpas Ambientales and Laguna Chiltazol — in the first phase of the process. These associations already have the certificate granted by Corponariño, as they are plant nurseries of native species, a key requirement to subsequently submit the application for registration to the ICA, in accordance with the provisions of article 4, numeral 4.1.11 of Resolution 0780006 of 2020.
Likewise, Impulso Verde will continue to strengthen the plant nurseries that already have a registration resolution, guaranteeing the continuity of technical assistance, the phytosanitary quality of the plant material and the proper ecological management of each species.
The Foundation begins 2026 with the conviction that sowing from the territories, together with the communities and under solid technical and environmental criteria, is the path to sustainable ecological restoration and the Green Impulse that Colombia needs.
Comunicaciones Fundación Impulso Verde
Fundación Impulso Verde Kuaspue
contacto@impulsoverde.org
