By Julie Shaw
Colombian efforts to conserve some of the biologically richest land and water on Earth have resulted in three new protected areas.
The
Conservation International-Colombia program and partners helped pave the way for these new reserves. All three sites are in the Colombian portion of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena Hotspot, one of 34 global biodiversity hotspots important for both people and nature.
Two of the new reserves are in the collective territory of Afro-Colombian communities in Bahía Málaga:
La Plata Integrated Management System, with an area of 6,791 hectares, and the
Regional Natural Park of Sierpe, with 25,178 hectares. The sites include remnants of tropical rainforest and mangroves. The region also has been identified as one of the most important sites in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape for humpback whales.
“This is a remarkable conservation achievement as it stopped the planned construction of a mega port in Bahía Málaga, eliminating a major threat for the conservation of this region,” said Fabio Arjona, CI-Colombia executive director.
The Bahía Málaga Community Council initiated the new reserves with assistance from CI-Colombia supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF),
Fondo Para la Acción Ambiental y la Niñez,
WWF and regional institutions such as the Valle del Cauca Regional Autonomous Corporation.
A CEPF grant to the Fundación Centro de Investigaciones del Pacifico also helped get the Bahía Málaga effort off the ground by enabling the development of plans for establishing protected areas in the region and providing strong local support for and management of the reserves.
The third site, the 7,256-hectare
Serrania del Pinche Forest Reserve, is located in the Cauca region of southwest Colombia. The reserve is home to 382 species of birds, including the gorgeted puffleg hummingbird (
Eriocnemis isabellae). The flamboyantly colored hummingbird was discovered in the cloud forests of southwestern Colombia in 2005.
The Cauca Regional Autonomous Corporation will fund the design and implementation of a management plan for the reserve. CI-Colombia is now working with the Colombian vice presidential office, the Ministry of Environment and the National Parks Unit to establish a conservation corridor between the new reserve and nearby Munchique National Park.