Supporting dialogue process to declare a regional MPA in La Guajira, Colombia

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by Julian Castro-Gomez, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Proposed MPA in La Guajira, Colombia

GIZ and Corpoguajira

Together with the regional environmental authority (Corpoguajira), the Ministry of the Interior and the Wayuu indigenous communities of La Guajira department, we have supported a dialogue process to declare a regional Marine Protected Area (MPA) following the Colombian Roadmap for MPAs. A pivotal step in this declaration is the prior consultation, where the vision and traditional knowledge of local communities is included. The future MPA of “Bahías Honda y Hondita” is located in the northeast of Colombia and is part of the indigenous reservation.

Within the dialogue process, we have enhanced agreements on the use and management of marine resources between the Wayuu and the authorities. Those agreements take into account the vision and cosmogony of the communities, which will be the basis for the management plan of the MPA. The MPA declaration is part of a broader strategy of integrated planning and management of coastal and marine areas developed by the MIMAC project.

Last update: 08 May 2020

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Contexto

Défis à relever

Increasing temperatures

Land and Forest degradation

Unsustainable harvesting incl. Overfishing

Conflicting uses / cumulative impacts

Lack of access to long-term funding

Lack of alternative income opportunities

Lack of infrastructure

Lack of food security

Unemployment / poverty

Scale of implementation

Local

Subnational

Ecosystems

Coastal desert

Lagoon

Mangrove

Seagrass

Coastal forest

Coral reef

Beach

Tema

Ecosystem services

Protected and conserved areas governance

Indigenous people

Traditional knowledge

Ubicación

Uribia, La Guajira Department, Colombia

Caribbean

South America

Impacts

This regional MPA will contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the adaptation to change climate. This dialogue process will enhance the conservation of around 48.000 hectares that shelter strategic ecosystems like mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass meadows. The Wayuu communities rely on those ecosystems for some of their activities such as fishery and tourism.

More than 250 members of the Wayuu communities have received training about their rights and duties in the consultation process before the dialogue started. Furthermore, around 500 people have participated in the consultation workshops. These include the identification and analysis of possible impacts of the MPA, and the formulation of management measures.

This dialogue process has enabled stakeholders and communities to exchange information regarding natural resources and their use. In this way, we have developed social cartography, seasonal calendars and other technical results in cooperation with the communities.

Corpoguajira has raised awareness about the formulation of the management plan in meetings with more than 25 communities. Moreover, we supported the establishment of agreements on the use of the natural resources in the MPA, such as respect for the cultural and ancestral use of mangroves by Wayuu communities or the promotion of sustainable fishing techniques.