Almost every inhabitant of the Colombian Amazon has an interesting story to tell about his home, one of the most surprising places in the world. This beautiful place of natural abundance has certainly provided him with survival experiences, “exotic” food, “extreme” recreation, and a unique livelihood. However, her character and future were formed in a context of poverty, harsh violence, limited opportunities, geographic disparities and gender inequality. Almost everyone has loved and lived under the magic of the Amazon, but they have also lost loved ones directly due to armed conflicts or indirectly due to the weakness of the state in enforcing the law or providing services to meet basic needs. Let me share one of my stories. I grew up in one of the most beautiful places in the Amazon region of Colombia, the Putumayo Basin. When I was a teenager, my parents bought a plot of land near an indigenous protected area in Mocoa. There I met Arcadio, a shy indigenous boy of the Inga ethnic group. We were good friends. With him and his brothers, I played wild animal finder, slid down muddy roads, and climbed the treehouse beneath the towering rainforest canopy. We ate food obtained from hunting and growing native species. One day, as a birthday present, he gave me a necklace he made with porcupine spines which I still have. Our lives were different but shared a similar reality; the Amazon had already defined them. When we grew up we never saw each other again. Eight years ago Arcadio was killed. His crime was not solved, but it was presumably related to the fact that he, as the leader of his community, had denounced the invasion of their territory and the plundering of the natural resources there. His family has lost a pillar of "life sustenance", in the words of his co...... middle of paper ......the top-down model has not been effective. I also think that evaluation should be a very important input into policy making. Finally, the government of Colombia is currently engaged in a peace process that requires post-conflict political agreements and public policies and will have many implications for sustainability and equity. I would like to be trained to help. I want to be an independent and rigorous voice to lead a multidisciplinary research team for the Putumayo River Basin to support sustainable human development and engage society's perspective. I chose the SIPA School because the high-quality multidisciplinary academic programs sharpen the student's skills to deepen knowledge on complex issues on a local, national and international scale. I know that the PhD program in Sustainable Development will provide me with the tools I need for my purpose.