The Combeima River rises in the Tolima snow-capped mountain, at 5 225 masl, is the main source of environmental goods and services for the city of Ibagué, capital of the Department of Tolima, supplying water to 87 percent of the population, approximately 550 000 urban inhabitants and 13 100 inhabitants in the rural area. It also meets the irrigation demand of 7 000 hectares of technified rice, sorghum, maize crops; intensive livestock, poultry farming and for the agro-industrial development of the city, including power generation.

 The basin is highly deteriorated due to inadequate occupation and use of the land, characterised by steep slopes, deforested areas with loss of rainwater infiltration capacity and severe erosion problems.  To protect production and water regulation zones,  the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Tolima (CORTOLIMA - Spanish acronym for Corporación Autónoma Regional de Tolima ), the Government of Tolima, the Mayor's Office of Ibagué, the Association of Irrigation Users of the Combeima River canyon, Serviarroz, and the Empresa Ibaguereña de Acueducto y Alcantarillado (IBAL), are purchasing overexploited land in strategic areas in the upper part of the basin, to be used as protective forest reserves.  This work is complemented by the conversion of these areas to protection, production and water reserve forests.

The practice is based on the reconversion of intensive land use areas for livestock or agricultural purposes to watershed protection areas, to catch and retain water resources in order to increase their availability.  It should be noted that rearrangement of land occupation and use is carried out through the purchase of land by local institutions and the reconversion from production to protection systems, relocating farmers to land with lower risk and better quality for production.

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