On Wednesday, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad presented the management plan for the Santa Marta's Cienaga Grande, the Colombian largest complex of coastal wetlands.
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This plan contemplates an investment of US$8 million for the recovery of an ecosystem whose environmental goods and services directly benefit over 25,000 people in the surrounding region.
To preserve this wetland complex, the National Environmental System will work together with local communities on projects related to issues such as economic reconversion, ecological restoration, and the reestablishment of connections through channels.
To achieve these goals, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will provide financing. These announcements were made in connection with World Wetlands Day, which is celebrated every year on February 2.
During the last decades, the Santa Marta's Cienaga Grande has been seriously affected in its ability to sustain fishing production, from which thousands of low-income families benefit.
The tweet reads, "We present to you the majestic Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta, the first site in the country included in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance."
"It's not just a matter of saving the ecosystem," said Muhamad, who explained that the administration of President Gustavo Petro also seeks to provide economic opportunities for local families so that they can dignify their way of life and culture.
Currently, there are 28 monitoring stations in the Santa Marta's Cienaga Grande, which was declared a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 1998 and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2000.
Through these stations, environmental scientists and technicians permanently evaluate the quality of water, a resource that nourishes an important fauna of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds.