The Colombian instituto de ciencias naturales (1936-2019): From the natural history to the knowledge on the biodiversity in Colombia

Abstract

We describe the background and main highlights regarding the origins of the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Institute of Natural Sciences, National University of Colombia) connecting them along a timeline. We also analyze the Institute´s contributions to the knowledge of the natural history of Colombia during the 20th century, as well as its main achievements during the first two decades of the 21st century in the fields of teaching, research, and scientific dissemination of the country’s biodiversity and nature conservation.