CONSERVACIóN Y USO SOSTENIBLE DE LOS BOSQUES DE ROBLE EN EL CORREDOR DE CONSERVACIóN GUANTIVA - LA RUSIA - IGUAQUE, DEPARTAMENTOS DE SANTANDER Y BOYACá, COLOMBIA

oak (quercus humboldtii) dominated forests stands are some of the most peculiar ecosystems of the colombian andean forests. they are distributed in 18 departments of the country in the range of 750 and 3200 meters above sea level, which make them very important from a biological and socio-economic perspective. this article analyzes the most important factors that would facilitate the development of a strategy for the conservation and sustainable use of oak forests in the guanti va – la rusia – iguaque conservation corridor. this analysis is based on: the criteria and indica tors proposed for the sustainable management of forests by the international tropical timber orga nization (oimt); directives of the biological diversity agreement; social processes of the region; and data compiled and generated in the framework of the project “oak forest conservation corridor, a strategy for forest conservation and management in colombia,” executed by the fundación natura – colombia. as a result of the analysis, the sustainable oak forest use was identified as a fundamental component of an integral conservation strategy for this oak forest corridor. however, there is a set of technical and socio-political aspects orienting and conditioning the sustainable management of these forests. finally, this article proposes the need to implement oak forest research and management initiatives based on the dialogue among various disciplines (such as forest engineering, conserva tion biology, and the knowledge of the local communities) in order to develop the proper strategies for the conservation and conventional management of the natural ecosystems.