Multistakeholder partnerships: The case of the Colombian Roundtable for Sustainable Cattle

The Colombian Roundtable for Sustainable Cattle (Mesa de Ganadería Sostenible de Colombia, MGS-Col) is one of Latin America’s most significant multistakeholder initiatives promoting sustainability in the cattle sector. Established in 2015, the platform brings together producers, government agencies, researchers, NGOs, financial institutions, and international organizations to address the environmental, social, and economic challenges associated with cattle ranching in Colombia. Its creation responded to growing concerns over deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and weak rural governance linked to extensive cattle production, while recognizing the sector’s importance for livelihoods and rural development. The brief highlights how the MGS-Col has strengthened collaboration, policy dialogue, and institutional learning across historically fragmented sectors. It has promoted climate-smart livestock systems, silvopastoral practices, ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, and integrated landscape management. One of its most important achievements was contributing to Colombia’s Policy for Sustainable Cattle 2022–2050, helping consolidate sustainability efforts into a coordinated national agenda. At the same time, the document emphasizes persistent challenges, including weak accountability, uneven participation, fragmented implementation, limited traceability, donor dependence, and structural inequalities such as land concentration and weak territorial governance. The Colombian experience demonstrates that multistakeholder partnerships can support innovation and coordination, but lasting sustainability transformations ultimately require strong public institutions and long-term political commitment.