Posted on diciembre, 23 2019

Colombia is one of the most privileged countries for the abundance of freshwater with  6 snow-capped peaks, 36 montane grasslands (páramos), five mega-catchment areas, 30 great rivers, 1,277 lakes and more than 1,000 marshes and wetlands. However, our lack of knowledge of these ecosystems together with agricultural activities, pollution, deforestation, over-extraction and overfishing create enormous pressures on this resource which is vital to all Colombians and all living beings as well as to economic development. This year we sustained our commitment to strengthening governance by publishing the River Basin Health Report for the Mira-Mataje binational basin, a tool for supporting multi-stakeholder platforms to defend the integrity of two of the several rivers that originate in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Nare River in Antioquia. 
 
For the first time ever, two binational basins were subjected to a rigorous health check. Thanks to the creation of the Basin Health Report Card led by WWF, we learned what the health status is of the Mira and Mataje rivers, shared by Colombia and Ecuador. After 18 months of collaborative work carried out by 30 organizations in both countries, a score of 3 out of 5 points was determined, demonstrating that the basin gets a just barely passing score. Factors such as governance, living conditions, biodiversity, climate interactions and water quality were examined. Thanks to this project, both countries now have information that is essential for more sustainable planning and management of these frontier basins to benefit and conserve its enormous biological and cultural wealth.


©  Gobernación de Nariño

 
This year we also focused on consolidating governance processes promoting the conservation and sustainable use of the Frío and Sevilla Rivers in the Magdalena department and the Negro and Nare Rivers in Antioquia, as part of the implementation of our Water Custody strategies. One of these is the Cooperation and Water Custody Platform concerning the Frío and Sevilla Rivers which originate in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and furnish part of the freshwater that is essential for the survival of the Ciénaga Grande. These are also indispensable to economic activities related to palm and banana cultivation and supply water to nearly 132,000 local inhabitants. The Platform resulted from an alliance between 17 public and private organizations and regional community representatives which have over time created settings for dialogue and open discussion to articulate, manage and promote collective action regarding basin conservation and restoration, and water and solid waste management.  
 
The process entailed consolidating an action plan covering 12 collectively created projects that has helped to move forward the building of a basin vision that can serve as a basis for planning activities and developing future initiatives.  
 
In Antioquia we completed the Nare and Negro River Basins Water Custody initiative, a process begun in 2016 in collaboration with Isagen, 60 community organizations and 34 private and public regional organizations with the purpose of finding conservation and sustainability alternatives that would suit these Eastern Antioquia basins. Local communities, institutions and entrepreneurs came together to achieve a single purpose: to come up collectively with alternatives that would allow for better regional water usage. This was how 13 agreements regarding natural heritage conservation, civic participation, rural development, drinking water and basic sanitation, among other issues, came into existence. In 2019 a good portion of these resolutions were achieved and a public agenda was collectively designed, the 2020-2023 Water Custody policy, accepted by elected officials as part of the development plans that will be formulated in 2020.