01/06/2005 - Colombia
– WWF is celebrating the recent declaration
of the Serranía de los Yariguíes
as a national park.
The declaration of the park, covering an area
of 78,387ha of paramos (high grasslands),
cloud forests, and sub-Andean forests, brings
the total number of protected areas within
Colombia's national parks system to 51, representing
10,330,244ha of conservation areas throughout
the country.
“The establishment of new protected areas
is a fundamental baseline to ensure that all
types of ecosystems have some kind of conservation
status and protection," said Mary Lou
Higgins of WWF Colombia.
“The declaration of the Serranía de
los Yariguíes represents a significant
step forward with respect to the conservation
of the northern Colombian Andes."
Located on the west flank of the Eastern
Cordillera of the Colombian Andes, the Serranía
de los Yariguíes provides a significant
water source for the department of Santander
and feeds important river basins such as the
Magdalena.
The new park is home several large mammals
such as the spectacled bear and more than
half of the bird species recorded in Colombia,
as well as amphibian and plant species – some
of which are only just starting to be studied.
Forest species such as South American oak,
guacharaco, and tomatillo are also found in
the new protected area.
“The national parks system is protecting
a strategic region for the generation of environmental
goods and services in Santander,” stated Fabio
Villamizar, director of the Northern Andean
Section of Colombia's National Parks Authority.
“The Serranía de los Yariguíes,
the largest national park in the Department
of Santander, will act as a natural barrier
regulating climate in the area, as well as
being a water source for wetlands in the Magdalena
Medio region.”
In recognition of the new park’s importance
and biological diversity, the area was included
within the debt for nature swap under the
Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) signed
by the governments of the United States and
Colombia in April 2004. WWF, Conservation
International, and The Nature Conservancy
also participated in forging the above deal,
providing funds to make the agreement possible.
"The declaration of this protected area
is the result of a long process of coordination
which will facilitate the effective management
of the area and is an important step towards
ensuring biodiversity conservation in large
regions of the country," added Mary Lou
Higgins.
The Serrania de los Yariguíes was
identified as a priority area for conservation
within the Northern Andes ecoregional vision.
Conservation of this area guarantees the maintenance
of a wealth of biodiversity and the continuance
of important ecological processes, such as
flyways for migratory birds on their way to
other regions of the Andes, and the provision
of environmental services for local communities.
NOTES:
• The debt for nature swap was conceived
under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act
(TFCA), created to help countries with significant
areas of tropical forest to reduce their debt
with the United States government, while at
the same time protecting their forests. By
signing the deal, Colombia reduces the amount
of debt with the United States in exchange
for conservation actions in the country’s
tropical forests.
• As well as covering the Serranía
de las Yariguíes, the debt for nature
swap also covers areas such as the national
parks of Tinigua, Sumapaz, Guanentá,
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Tayrona, Isla
Salamanca, Ciénaga Grande de Santa
Marta, Los Flamencos, and El Tuparro.
• The Northern Andean Ecoregional Complex
is located along 2000km of the tropical Andes,
covering an area bordered by the Cordillera
de Mérida (Venezuela) in the north-easter
and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the
north (Colombia) to the Huancabamba Depression
(Peru) in the south. The latter constitutes
a geographical barrier for many species, separating
the Northern Andes from other mountainous
ecosystems to the south of the continent.
• WWF has been working on conservation activities
in Colombia since 1964. WWF Colombia works
in the Chocó region, Northern Andes,
and Orinoco Basin, coordinating its conservation
and sustainable development strategies with
strategies related to environmental education,
capacity building, environmental policy, and
communications.
