Tag: wetlands

Travel Guide to the “Ciudad Vanidosa”: Ciénaga, Magdalena, Colombia

Posted on by Frank59872

Ciénaga is considered one of the most beautiful towns in Colombia, it was the setting for the inspiration of the book One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Walking through the streets, squares, and houses of Cienaga you can bring to life the characters and events that are narrated in the book.

Founded in 1751, its historic center, consisting of 76 blocks, was declared National Heritage in 1994. Ciénega was also declared a Heritage Town in 2012 for its history, culture, and architectural richness, which further boosted tourism.

Within its architectural heritage, you can find the Templete, the Chapel of the Santa Teresa School, the Old Railroad Station, the Church of San Juan Bautista, the Masonic Lodge, and the Casa del Diablo (House of the Devil).

At the cultural level, its main events are the Cienaguero Cayman Festival held every January 20th and the National Guitar Music Festival that pays tribute to Guillermo Buitrago every June.

Besides, Cienaga has the magic to make you travel back in time for its historical, architectural, urban, environmental, and social values. In this guide, you will receive the necessary information to make the most of your visit to this special heritage town.

Exploring Ciénaga

This town and its surroundings have gone through difficult situations of violence and armed conflict in the past. Today, ecotourism, cultural tourism, and community-based tourism are economic bets for the people of the region.

Ciénaga Magdalena is known as the “Ciudad Vanidosa” because it has an endless number of water mirrors around it that reflect its beauty from any point you look at it.

It is located in the department of Magdalena, 33 km from Santa Marta, on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, and next to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, at the northeastern end of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, a Ramsar area of Colombia and one of the biosphere reserves present in Colombia.

Ciénaga is wealth in water, with reserves coming from the Caribbean Sea, the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, the Toribío and Córdoba rivers. It also has the hot springs Volcano, located in the village of Cordobita, just ten minutes from Ciénaga, which is the only hot spring in the Caribbean region.

The average temperature in Cienaga is between 23 ºC (73ºF) to 35 ºC (95 ºF) and the best time of the year to visit Lórica for hot activities is from mid-December to the end of February.

How to get to Cienaga Magdalena

  • Bogotá – Santa Marta– Cienaga

Take a 1,5-hours flight from El Dorado (BOG) in Bogotá to Simón Bolivar International Airport (SMR) at Santa Marta city. Once at in Santa Marta you take an approximately 40 – minutes ride (33 Km) to Cienaga Magdalena.

  • Bogotá – Barranquilla – Cienaga

Take a 1.5 hour flight from El Dorado (BOG) in Bogotá to Ernesto Cortissoz International  Airport (BAQ) in the city of Barranquilla. Once in Barranquilla, it takes approximately 1,5 – hours (72 km) to Cienaga Magdalena.

Where to stay in Cienaga Magdalena

Ciénaga has a low hotel demand but we recommend the hotel: Casa D’remedios La Bella Hotel Boutique.

Thanks to its proximity to the city of Santa Marta we recommend these hotels in the city:

  • Hotel Nueva Granada,
  • Oasis Fresh Hotel,
  • Placita Vieja Hotel Boutique,
  • Hotel Boutique Don Pepe and
  • Hotel Santorini Casablanca Santa Marta.

Attractions and Activities in Ciénaga, Magdalena

This beautiful town is a place where you can still breathe colonial air and where you can see the most beautiful landscapes due to its location at the foot of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

Visit the Cienaga Grande, Biosphere Reserve of Humanity 

Ciénaga del Magdalena - Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Ciénaga del Magdalena view from Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

It is possible to enjoy this beauty, thanks to a tour called The Tour of Nature, which allows you to visit all the rivers that are tributaries of the swamp complex which concentrates a large number of important species of flora and fauna.

Visit the Palafito Villages of the Ciénaga Grande

Here you will experience a cultural exchange with fishing communities on a trip that includes land and boat transportation. The palafito villages of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta have colorful wooden houses, and canoes are a vital part of the landscape.

Nueva Venecia, Buenavista and Trojas de Cataca are the only palafit towns in Colombia. Their streets are made of water and can only be moved by canoe, the only bridge that exists connects the school and the church.

Nueva Venecia

It is a magical town on the water, where you can discover a different reality in the country, with a surprising lifestyle. To get there you must do it by the river, it takes approximately 2 hours from the point of Tasajera.

Walking through its streets in canoes you will be able to explore and get to know a new reality. This place has an infinity of species in flora and fauna; it has its own Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, a magical place to connect with nature.

Nueva Venecia is completely fluvial, amphibious, and palafitic. To cross the town, visit neighbors, go to the store or to the police station, you must necessarily go by canoe.

Cultural and Architecture Places

Ciénaga, Magdalena, Colombia. Photo by Edgardo Perez Diaz, CC BY-SA 4.0

Historic Center of Ciénaga

Touring the historic center is to marvel at the magical realism that inspired the Nobel Prize winner in literature to recreate Macondo, the splendor of its buildings, there are also corners and moments taken as if from a book. You can enjoy sunsets with shades of yellow, red, and orange painted in the sky.

The Santa Cruz de Papar Farm

This is one of the places you can’t miss, it will transport you to colonial times thanks to its architecture. It was a hacienda where sugar was planted and alcohol was produced for export.

Centenario Square

This square has an ecclesiastical style, giving it the shape of an eight-pointed star, designed by the French architect Eduardo Carpentie. You will also be able to appreciate four water fountains, donated by the Italian colony, bordering this square.

San Juan Bautista Church

It was built in 1612 at the request of the indigenous people of Ciénaga to the representatives of the Spanish crown. The walls of this church have stucco murals. According to historians, its construction lasted several decades, due to the multiple battles that plagued the town.

Municipal Palace

It has a republican style, it was built in four stages. Its plans were designed by the firm Parrish of Barranquilla. What stands out the most is its tones have varied between a strong yellow and white, color that is already established for the buildings that are the heritage of the country. What will impress you the most are its arches, wooden doors, and floor.

Ruins “Casa del Diablo”

It is a corner mansion with two floors and republican style, white facade with 14 Roman columns and crowned by a pediment with zither shapes, built by Manuel Varela.

Its name is due to the fact that the inhabitants of Cienaga say that every year Manuel Varela sacrificed a worker from his banana plantation to Satan as payment for the prosperity granted to him.

Despite being a possible myth, other versions speak of some 300 dead, and some estimate that there were thousands, a tragedy that remained in the history of Colombia as “The Massacre of the Banana Plantations”.

Gabriel García Márquez was also tempted by this myth and therefore also referred to this event, unreal or not, in his book One Hundred Years of Solitude.

References
About the Authors

Sara Colmenares

The current director of Sula. Doctor in Biological Sciences. Her main interests are to explore and understand the organism-environment interactions, taking advantage of emerging knowledge for the management and conservation of species and ecosystem services. She is currently working as a consultant in functional ecology, ecosystem services, and conservation projects in Colombia related to ecotourism and birdwatching.

Luisa Martin

Engineer, world traveler, amateur photographer, traveling blogger, and foody.

Wetlands of Bogotá are the Best Spots for Birdwatching in the City

Posted on by Frank59872

The accelerated and unplanned urban expansion of Bogotá in the last 50 years has been the most preponderant factor in the notable reduction and deterioration of its wetlands. Global warming, pollution, the disposal of garbage, rubble and household waste are a great threat to the wetlands of Bogota, putting at risk the species that inhabit these ecosystems.

Unfortunately, the species most affected by the deterioration of the wetlands are birds, especially migratory birds. At the moment, one species endemic to Colombia and the Bogotá savannah is already extinct, and another three are in serious danger of disappearing. For this reason, the protection and adequate management of Bogota’s wetlands is a priority for the conservation of endemic and associated threatened species. Also for the migratory birds whose survival depends on the health of this ecosystem.

Ecological tours are one of the conservation strategies for people to enjoy and visit these ecosystems.

Bogota Natural Areas. Wetlands Represented in Blue. Image by Bogotá City Hall.

Ramsar category Wetlands of Bogotá

Bogotá is the first city in Colombia to have an urban wetlands complex with the highest environmental certification in the world, and is also the only city in Latin America with ecosystems in this category. These are 11 of the 14 Wetland District Ecological Parks, PEDH, which with a total of 667.38 hectares, meet the criteria of the International Ramsar Convention.

The Ramsar category urban wetlands complex is integrated by the wetlands: Tibanica, la Vaca Norte, El Burro, El Tunjo, Capellanía, Santa María del Lago, Córdoba, Jaboque, Juan Amarillo, La Conejera and Torca-Guaymaral.

This recognition also highlights the ecological value of these urban ecosystems as permanent and transitional habitat for a significant number of plant species, mammals and water and migratory birds ─ Many migratory birds have the urban wetlands of Bogotá as strategic points for recovering energy and finding food, shelter and rest.

Wetlands Birds of Bogotá

Bogotá’s wetlands are home to more than 200 species of birds, including three endemic, two of which are endangered: the Bogotá Rail (EN) (Rallus semiplumbeus), the Apolinar’s Wren (EN) (Cistothorus apolinari) and the Silvery-throated Spinetail (Synallaxis subpudica). It can also be found the almost endemic and endangered bird, the Rufous-browed Conebill (Conirostrum rufum).

In addition, nine locally endemic subspecies can be found in Bogotá’s wetlands:

  • Spot-flanked Gallinule (Porphyriops melanops bogotensis)

  • Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis andina)

  • American Coot (Fulica americana columbiana)

  • Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus bogotensis)

  • Grassland Yellow-Finch (Montane) (Sicalis luteola bogotensis)

  • Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis bogotensis)

  • Spot-billed Ground Tyrant (Muscisaxicola maculirostris niceforoi)

  • Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris peregrina)

  • Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus bogotensis)

Migratory birds in Bogotá

The Bogotá wetlands and their forest edges provide suitable habitats for many of the migratory birds recorded in Colombia. However, the number of species that may be present in the wetlands depends on the quality of the habitats and their geographical location, mainly distance from the coast and height above sea level. It is possible that the remaining wetlands in Bogotá have become a unique and fundamental refuge within urban landscapes that are inhospitable to migratory birds.

The richness of migratory bird life in the Bogotá wetlands can be attributed to two factors: (1) the presence of both aquatic and terrestrial habitats that attract diverse species and (2) the geographic location of Bogotá, on the main migration route of the species that enter South America through the Darien and continue to the Amazon, the foothills of the Andes or Patagonia.

Of the almost 650 species that breed in North America, about 200 species are Neotropical migrants and approximately 125 of them frequently arrive in Colombia. Of these, about 65 arrive in the wetlands of Bogotá. Migratory birds require quality habitats in their non-breeding areas and depend on them year after year. The Bogotá savannah is an important stopover site before and after the birds cross the high parts of the Eastern mountain range of the Colombian Andes.

Most Neotropical migratory birds recorded in Colombia arrive mainly in the months of September and October. After six to nine months in the country, they head north again between April and May. Some of these species are only in transit, passing through Colombia on their way to non-breeding areas further south, stopping only for rest or to increase their energy reserves.

Generally speaking, the migratory species that arrive in Colombia are divided into two main groups, represented by a similar number of species: aquatic and terrestrial. Thirteen are classified as species of concern in North America, due to population declines, and are therefore listed as priorities for conservation. Sixty species are Boreal migrants and five are Southern migrants. The new world warblers (Parulidae) is the most represented family, with 12 species, followed by the tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae), and shorebirds, sandpipers and snipes (Scolopacidae) are also well represented.

It is important to highlight the presence of the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), categorized by BirdLife (2013) as Vulnerable (VU) at a global level, due to habitat degradation. Another important bird is the as well as the Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi), a species considered almost threatened (NT) globally. Other species that do not qualify as globally threatened, but are listed as of greater concern in North America, and are relatively abundant in the wetlands of Bogotá, include the Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria), the Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) and the Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis).

Endangered bird species of Bogota’s wetlands

Colombian grebe – Podiceps andinus – Agencia de Noticias UNAL

Locally, the Colombian grebe (Podiceps andinus), was a endemic species that inhabited the wetlands. It has already become extinct due to pressure on these ecosystems. The last time this grebe was seen was in 1977 in Lake Tota, near Bogotá. It frequented the lagoons of the Cundinamarca-Boyacá savannah, but it seems that erosion, contamination, drainage and the deterioration of water quality were putting an end to it. Its disappearance is also attributed to the change in vegetation in the habitats it frequented.

Similarly, Apolinar’s Wren and Subtropical Doradito (Pseudocolopteryx acutipennis) are found along the same path. In the wetlands and lagoons of the Eastern Cordillera, especially in the Cundinamarca-Boyacá highlands, some individuals of the Apolinar’s Wren can still be seen. But the contamination of the wetlands and possibly the action of global climate change seem to be affecting its populations. The Apolinar’s Wren can be seen in the La Florida wetland in Bogotá, and in Sumapaz National Park.

Apolinar’s Wren – Cistothorus apolinari E – Sumapaz

The Subtropical Doradito, on the other hand, is in a similar situation to the Apolinar’s Wren. Its records are scarce in the wetlands of the Sabana de Bogotá. It travels by short flights between the reeds of the wetlands. The Subtropical Doradito can be seen in the wetlands of Bogotá Jaboque or La Florida.

Bogotá Wetlands you can visit

Paradoxically, not all the Ramsar Wetlands in Bogotá can be visited. Of the 14 wetlands, only three of them are suitable to be visited. However, only two of them have the highest environmental certification worldwide Ramsar: Santa Maria del Lago and Córdoba.

La Florida Park Wetland

La Florida Park is the most important Regional Park in Bogota. It is located in the district of Engativá, at kilometer 4, via Engativá – Cota. It is a spot for ecotourism in Bogotá.

It has 267 green hectares and a lake that was enabled as an area for bird watching, with a modern bird observatory with strict bio-construction standards. It is a place very visited by nationals and foreigners. There you can find more than 75 species of birds, including those that live in the neighboring Jaboque wetland, among them the Bogotá Rail and the Apolinar’s Wren.

Santa Maria del Lago Wetland

Located in the district of Engativá, near Calle 80. You can get there using Transmilenio, getting off at the station Minuto de Dios. In the Santa María del Lago wetland there is a bird watching tower, and a path that borders the entire wetland area, with green areas where the American Coot (Fulica americana) can be seen.

Córdoba Wetland

The Cordoba Wetland District Ecological Park, located in the north of Bogota, in the middle of the noblest neighborhoods, has 40.4 hectares. It connects with the Cordoba and Molinos canals, to the west with the lake of the Choquenza Club, Los Lagartos Club and the Juan Amarillo Wetland, forming the Córdoba-Juan Amarillo system. The Córdoba wetland has three sectors:

  • Sector one: Located on 127th Street to the north, it borders the Monaco, Prado Veraniego Sur and Canódromo neighborhoods, and is the smallest and least visited of the three in the city.
  • Sector two: Located between Cordoba Avenue and Suba Avenue, it borders the Batan, Potosi, Puente Largo, Santa Rosa neighborhoods and a series of residential areas such as Córdoba Parks and Solis del Restrepo. Recently, works were carried out in this sector with paths, viewpoints and a bridge that allow greater comfort for visitors. In addition, seven small islands were adapted, where several species of reeds and trees were planted in order to restore the vegetation that serves as food and shelter for the fauna of the site.
  • Sector Three: It is the lower part of the wetland. The extension of this sector is 21.4 hectares It extends between Suba and Boyacá Avenues. It borders the neighborhoods Pontevedra, San Nicolas, Julio Florez and Niza Sur.

About 85 species of birds have been detected here, distributed in 62 genera and 32 families.

Other animals you can find in the Bogotá wetlands.

Bogotá grass mouse – Neomicroxus bogotensis. Picture by iNaturalist

According to the iNaturalist platform, around 767 species of living beings have been found in the wetlands of Bogotá, including all animal, plant and fungi groups.

Among them we can highlight: the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) which was introduced, the endemic Green dotted treefrog (Dendropsophus molitor), the endemic Thickhead ground snake (Atractus crassicaudatus), the quase endemic guinea pig (Cavia aperea anolaimae), the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra), the Long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata), the endemic Bogotá grass mouse or Bogotá akodont (Neomicroxus bogotensis), the Bogotá yellow-shouldered bat (Sturnira bogotensis), the Hoary bat (Aeorestes cinereus), the Red-tailed squirrel (Notosciurus granatensis), the Highland yellow-shouldered bat (Sturnira ludovici), the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and the Desert red bat (Lasiurus blossevillii), among others.

References

  • iNaturalist Website
  • Bogota Ornithological Association (ABO)
  • Bogotá Wetlands Foundation
  • News Agency Universidad Nacional de Colombia
  • Aves de la Sabana de Bogotá, guía de campo. Primera edición. Bogotá; ABO, CAR. Bogotá, Colombia. Asociación Bogotana de Ornitología.
  • Chaparro-Herrera, S., & Ochoa, D. (2015). Aves de los Humedales de Bogotá, Aportes para su Conservación. Asociación Bogotana de Ornitología-ABO-. Bogotá DC.
  • Rappole, J. H. 1995. The ecology of migrant birds: A Neotropical perspective. Wash., DC: Smithsonian Inst. Press.

About the author

Sara Colmenares

Current director of Sula. Doctor in Biological Sciences. Her main interests are to explore and understand the organism – environment interactions, taking advantage of emerging knowledge for the management and conservation of species and ecosystem services. She is currently working as a consultant in functional ecology, ecosystem services and conservation projects in Colombia related to ecotourism and birdwatching.

Wetland Destinations in Colombia: Ramsar Areas of Colombia

Posted on by Frank59872

What is a Wetland?

Wetlands are low-lying areas of land where water settles, gathers, and stays at or near the surface of the soil. They are kind of an “in-between” place for water. According to NOAA, there are five general types of wetlands: marine (ocean), estuarine (estuary), riverine (river), lacustrine (lake), and palustrine (marsh). Among them we can find those that we know and name as “marshes, estuaries, mangroves, mudflats, mires, ponds, fens, swamps, deltas, coral reefs, billabongs, lagoons, shallow seas, bogs, lakes, floodplains…” It depends on soil, topography, climate, water chemistry, and vegetation. But know the difference: if water runs off, then it’s just regular old land, but if the water is too deep then it might be a pond or a lake, or the sea, although many wetlands are associated with the latter.

Benefits of Wetlands

Wetlands come with some really great benefits: they collect flood water, help stem its flow, and it slowly releases it, so it doesn’t do so much damage, providing flood and erosion control. In fact, for this very reason, people who convert wetlands for human use are now required to offset their impact with water retention systems, at least in the USA.

Wetlands are also a great nursery for wildlife. Many of the threatened and endangered species depend on wetlands for survival in the early stages of their life, or during migration in the case of birds. Wetlands also play a huge role as filters of water. Within wetlands live lots of bacteria and other microorganisms that are continually breaking down matter. In addition to organic matter, wetlands absorb oil, nitrogen, phosphorus, sewage, sediments, and other pollutants before they reach rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.

Wetlands also offer several recreational activities like boating, hiking, sport fishing, nature photography, birdwatching, contemplation, among others.

Tourism in Wetlands

Wetlands, on a global scale, have offered significant opportunities for tourism and recreation, providing economic benefits to the governments, the tourism industry, the local communities, and the wetlands conservation itself (Ramsar and UNWTO, 2012).

It is estimated that half of all international tourists travel to wetlands, especially to the coast, and many wetlands are not just holiday destinations but are also tourist attractions themselves. Thus, tourism is an important and visible value provided by wetlands.

The integration of tourism in wetland conservation can be found globally. Examples are the Camargue Wetland in France, an epicenter for birdwatching in Europe, the Nabugabo Wetland in Uganda, the London Wetland Centre in the UK, the Danube Delta in Romania, or the Esteros de Iberá in Argentina with luxury accommodations such as the Rincón del Socorro reserve, among others.

The increased demands for tourism expansion have risen the alarm on the potential negative impacts on the health of wetlands. Although tourism in wetlands offers positive opportunities, it represents many challenges as well. Avoiding the direct impact of tourists on wetland ecosystems resulting from garbage accumulation, noise pollution, excessive trampling, disturbance of wild species, amongst others, is one of them. So, the necessity of a formally addressed wetland tourism with sustainable management is of huge importance. Wetlands bear recreational values and, if conserved and managed properly, they motivate visitors and generate resources needed for the development of local communities.

Wetlands in Danger

People who drain and fill wetlands have in mind they are rescuing land for more “useful purposes” like cropland, pastures, roads, homes, businesses, waterways, canals, and reservoirs. This thinking made the wetlands decrease in more than half of their territories in the last two centuries, becoming an endangered ecosystem.

Wetlands provide directly or indirectly almost all of the world’s freshwater consumption, and currently cover more than 12.1 million square kilometers, an area larger than Greenland. But only about 13-18% of them are included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance and are protected.

Ramsar, or the International Convention on Wetlands, is the oldest international treaty on environmental protection. It was signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar and came into force in 1975. It was ratified by 170 countries. Ramsar’s philosophy revolves around the concept of “wise use”, in which the conservation of wetlands, as well as their sustainable use and that of their resources, are at the heart of “wise use” for the benefit of humanity.

A Ramsar Site, or Wetland of International Importance, is a wetland area designated under the Ramsar Convention by the national government of a Member State. Currently, there are over 2,000 such sites covering over 192 million hectares: an impressive global network of wetlands that meet criteria related to their biodiversity and uniqueness.

Wetlands of Colombia

Colombia has about 31,702 wetlands, which are important as a source of fresh water, but only 13 have been declared as Ramsar sites. These are:

Map of Ramsar Places of Colombia. Orange dots represent their location. From https://rsis.ramsar.org/

According to the Bogotá Botanical Garden, it is estimated that about 87% of the Colombian population inhabits wetland areas. The relevance of wetlands, and water systems, in Colombia is so vast that there is even a book dedicated to it, Amphibian Colombia. A country of wetlands “which seeks to promote an acknowledgment and understanding of Colombia as an amphibian territory in which a great part of its geography and culture are directly associated with water”, says Humboldt Institute of Colombia.

Wetland tourism in Colombia

In Colombia, such natural areas are often taken for granted, and wetland tourism is not fully developed. We still need more projects that not only provide social and economic benefits to the communities but also support effective approaches to restore and conserve wetland ecosystems. Degradation of wetland areas is associated with their use for extraction of building materials, over-extraction of water, contamination by inappropriate waste disposal, and so on. The main threats to wetlands in Colombia are the expansion of the agricultural and livestock frontier, as well as illegal urbanization.

Ecotourism may play an important role in the conservation of these wetlands in Colombia, since by receiving an economic benefit through the provision of tourism services, local communities are motivated to care for these ecosystems. If you value wetlands make it a point to visit them and get involved in protecting them. Your visit adds economic value to these special places and helps to protect them for future generations.

In Colombia, you can visit any of the Ramsar places mentioned above. However, the most recommended places, due to their infrastructure and ease of visit, are:

  • Laguna de la Cocha (Nariño).
Laguna de la Cocha, picture by Sebastian David Martinez Canchala
  • Chingaza system (Cundinamarca).
Wetland System Chingaza National Park
  • Otún Lagoon (Risaralda).
Laguna del Otún Wetland
  • Sonso Lagoon (Valle del Cauca)

    Snail Kite – Rostrhamus sociabilis, juvenile., Gota de leche wetland, Valle del Cauca

  • Bita River Wetland Complex (Vichada)
Bita River Wetland Complex, picture by Jorge Garcia
Bogotá Wetland picture by Bogotá City Hall 

We’ll tell you more about these places in our next posts! Stay tuned!

If you want to know more about traveling to Colombia write us, leave us a comment, and visit our YouTube channel.

References

About the author

Sara Colmenares

Current director of Sula. Doctor in Biological Sciences. Her main interests are to explore and understand the organism – environment interactions, taking advantage of emerging knowledge for the management and conservation of species and ecosystem services. She is currently working as a consultant in functional ecology, ecosystem services and conservation projects in Colombia related to ecotourism and birdwatching.