Jeferson Panche Chocue

Jeferson Panche Chocué, from the Indigenous Nasa people, was born and raised in the Guaico Alizal region of Cauca, Colombia. From an early age, he was drawn to the land—diving into the crystalline waters of the Ovejas River and marveling at the surrounding biodiversity. Enchanted by these experiences, he decided to study Biology at the Universidad del Valle in Cali, where he worked with various zoology groups, focusing especially on the insects he most cherished.

His path led him to the Amazon, where he explored its extraordinary biodiversity and contributed to science through detailed descriptions of new species. There, he also learned about water quality bioindication—a discovery that inspired him to continue his academic training. He later earned a master’s degree in Biological Science at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá. Yet his heart remained rooted in his ancestral land, his most treasured refuge.

Jeferson’s desire to unite academic knowledge with ancestral wisdom and community practices gave rise to his vision of Community Environmental Monitoring. Through his ORA project, he works to strengthen these processes across Abya Yala—uplifting the work of the true guardians of Mother Earth in the face of extractive and steamrolling development. He is committed to cultivating a deep-rooted culture of care, where science and ancestry come together as acts of resistance against the destructive vortex threatening the planet.