Sierra Nevada mangrove guardians: restoration and regenerative tourism

Mangrove ecosystem restauration and Regenerative Tourism in Santuario

Colombia and Venezuela 

Conservation, Restoration, mangroves 

Project story

Colectivo Luz de Mangle prides itself on having one of the best mangrove experts of the Caribbean region and a work team that is linked to a complex network of organized local communities that we are supporting to become local restorers of the mangrove ecosystem. We have built a project pilot that links restauration-regenration processes on mangrove ecosystems with regenerative tourism, that is Santuario. With that pilot we hope we can get this model to enforce our processes along the Caribbean and the Pacific. Starting in Colombia and Venezuela and building the context-community adjusted model to fractalize it. We are an example of new ways to enforce community engagement and expected impacts, that are game changers for our civilizatory and environmental crises. Money raised for this project  will go directly to support restoration processes with the communities of mangrove wetlands in the biodiversity hotspot of Sierra Nevada in Colombia and the Venezuelan coast of tue Coro Gulf - Paraguaná. This will boost biodiversity conservation and strengthen their flora and fauna populations, bringing health to the ecosystem, the inhabitants and the whole region. With these locally led processes we have supported for the last year's we believe this prize can make an enormous change.

Our mission

The Colectivo Luz de Nangle believes in the power of consciousness, of the connection to nature and the recognition that we are part of it.  We believe it starts with the guidance of the elders, adding simple regenerative actions, and maintaining detailed efforts, that invest in the health and wellness of the communities, the individuals that connect, and the environment that needs support. We have gained important experience in hosting volunteer-based actions, with regenerative residents, that allow our community to contribute to environmentally regenerative actions, building an economically sustainable model project that is ad portas to expand  and  reach out to territories that could develop with sustainability and regeneration. The goal is to recover areas of 20 ha and let them under local guardians that are connected to a knowledge network and center (in Playa Bonita) that certifies them as mangrove restorers and regenerators. With this growing team and local experiences developing we can get to more areas that need urgent support and build alternatives that are sound with the environment, the communities and their pockets. 

Background & Problem Statement

The coast of Santa Marta is one of the largest tourism centers in Colombia and functions as a final destination for national and international tourists. In the last 10 years increased development, the peace process (2016) and the constant search for economic sustainability by the local inhabitants has resulted in the massive urbanization, construction of residential, hotel and service buildings, led to the degradation of the environment and brought new negative impacts for local communities.

The speculation and sale of land, lack of training and education in the labor and environmental needs of development put this region in new risks. Hiigh cost of living has caused the displacement of local families to surrounding communities and with it, loss of quality of life due to the few economic activities that allow stable income. Poorly planned coastal development has contributed to the loss of key ecosystems for marine-coastal life and wealth such as mangroves, coral communities, and forest patches, putting in danger food sovereignty for communities that depend on fishing. This environmental deterioration can be seen reflected in coastal erosion, absence of species, and change in the landscape of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. 

Solution

Mangrovel ecosystem restoration provides the opportunity to effectively halt and reverse degradation, improve ecosystem services, and restore biodiversity. Mangrove ecosystems are a key ecosystem since they function as nurseries for an enormous number of species of flora and fauna of land and aquatic life.  They are a biologically complex ecosystem. This project aims to regenerate natural mangrove ecosystems lost in the Caribbean coast because of centuries of development, through a complex and strong community-led methodology that empowers local leaders to be mangrove restorers and guardians. Securing that regeneration stays, and a long term process perdures. This is key to increasing the number of strong mangrove forests,  and the recovery of its structural complexity, which results in greater availability of habitat and food for a great diversity of marine species as for humans with consent consumption.

Opportunity

This mangrove ecosystems regeneration  is easily accessible, presenting the opportunity for regenerative and conscious tourism through experiences near nature, spirituality guided by the indigenous local elders and with many natural trips around cascades, rivers, and ancient indigenous sanctuaries, with increased opportunities to view unique wildlife. The project is easily accessible by tourists using the main country roads, and we look forward establishing a local laboratory on the coast, as an innovative and necessary platform to promote education and ownership in coastal communities about marine, wetland and basin life and its importance. This knowledge center, with a laboratory and a method for fractalization will allow a diverse public to approach science, indigenous knowledge and culture, and mangroves as founders of key ecosystems for the health of the oceans, the lands and humanity itself. It is a platform that will allow research science, education, and awareness through experiential experience.