The voice of Colombia in the fight against climate change

Agronomic Engineering Knowledge Manager, participated in a scientific article on climate change with researchers from 46 countries in the journal The Innovation.

By: Alejandro García Suárez – Advisory Office of Communications

The University of Cundinamarca achieved significant international academic recognition with the participation of one of its researchers in a prestigious scientific publication. Diego Alexander Hernández Contreras, Knowledge and Learning Manager for the Agronomic Engineering program at the Facatativá extension, collaborated on an article published in the US journal The Innovation. The journal is recognized in the Q1 (Scimago) and A1 (Publindex) categories, representing a major achievement for the institution's AGROCIENCIA research group.

The article brings together the vision of researchers from 46 countries, all members of the United Nations ECOP (Early Career Ocean Professionals) program. Together, they propose a global action agenda to study carbon sinks, which are fundamental elements for regulating the planet's climate.

In Latin America, only nine researchers are participating in this initiative, distributed across Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico. Hernández Contreras is the sole representative from Colombia. The publication is a collective proposal with a global scope that reflects on the importance of carbon sinks to combat climate change, explained the Manager.

The researcher highlighted that any change in the water cycle due to climate change affects daily life and alters agricultural production models, problems that require global solutions.

Recognition of collaborative work

For the Knowledge and Learning Manager, this publication represents “personal and professional satisfaction, but above all, recognition of the collaborative work we do from the University of Cundinamarca.” The experience of writing with researchers from different cultures and languages was enriching. The work was developed as an open forum moderated from China, where each participant contributed from their local context.

Hernández Contreras explained that carbon sinks “capture and store carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases. Without them, global warming would be much faster.”.

This achievement strengthens the AGROCIENCIA group by connecting it with international networks and opening new collaborations. For the academic community, it means the opportunity to participate in international projects and contribute to concrete solutions from the local context.

Participation highlights the name of the University of Cundinamarca in international academic arenas and demonstrates that the regions can also contribute to global science.

Here you can read the article published in the magazine Innovation: 10.1016/j.xinn.2025.101007.

Listen to our Podcast:

More news from Extension Facatativá at the News Agency