La Guajira Coastal Wetlands Complex (14440)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: D1a

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Complejo de Humedales Costeros de la Guajira

Central coordinates: Latitude: 11.9200, Longitude: -72.2200

System: terrestrial, marine

Elevation (m): 0 to 15

Area of KBA (km²): 2174.19583

Protected area coverage (%): 15.64

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: La Guajira Coastal Wetlands Complex is an area located in the north of Colombia on the western margin of the La Guajira peninsula. It is a corridor approximately 211 km long and 15 km wide along the coast. It is a transition zone between the arid plains of La Guajira and the Caribbean Sea in which are located marine habitats, wetlands, marshes, swamps, peat bogs, swamps and other bodies of stagnant fresh or brackish water or with little circulation, permanent or of seasonal character (Díaz and Guerra 2003). The predominant habitats in this KBA correspond to wetlands and desert scrub. Additionally, there are secondary forests, shallow marine areas and a small proportion of industrial areas. In the area there is a Wayúu indigenous reservation, whose main populations are Camarones, Riohacha, El Pájaro, Manaure, Uribia and Puerto Bolívar. There is construction of shrimp farms in Alta and Media Guajira, and the main economic activities are fishing, salt extraction, ecotourism, exploitation of coal mines, and raising goats. Different research projects have been carried out in the area aimed at improving knowledge of the region's biodiversity. For example, the study on ecological aspects of the Caribbean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber) in the Navio Quebrado and Musichi lagoons, department of La Guajira (Pantaleón-Lizarazú and Rodríguez-Gacha 2003), a project financed by the Conservation Scholarship Program of Threatened Species of the Humboldt Institute.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: From the population data recorded for American Flamingo in this KBA, it is estimated that 2.5% of the hemispheric population of the species uses this KBA. Thus, this site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international importance and meets the KBA thresholds for the American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), fulfilling criterion D1a.

Manageability of the site: The management of this KBA is mixed, exercised by the National Natural Parks of Colombia, communities of the Wayúu indigenous reservations and residents who own farms. For more than a decade, the Calidris Association has worked in this KBA, strengthening the Wayuu communities and PNN officials, so they have participated in the site evaluations and together they have carried out follow-up and monitoring actions for the species. In these years, spaces have been created to advance in the mitigation of threats to American Flamingo populations. One of the strategies to reduce pressures on the species in the KBA was to form the group of tourist informants with an emphasis on bird watching. Currently several NGOs and Universities work with this group of tourism informants, made up of park officials and people from indigenous communities.

Other site values: Data about the presence of Wayuu indigenous community inside the KBA

Delineation rationale: The limits are given by the corridor of approximately 211 km in length and 15 km in width along the coast that goes from the SFF Los Flamencos to Punta Gallinas. Includes two PAs: Los Flamencos Fauna and Flora Sanctuary and Bahía Portete-Kaurrele National Natural Park

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: Guajira coastal wetlands include several PAs, inside there are seagrasses, coral barriers, mangroves, desert areas and dry forests that make this KBA a heterogeneous ecosystem.

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest	50	Forest – Subtropical/tropical dry
Grassland	45
Savanna	5
Wetlands(Inland)	10	Wetlands (inland) – Seasonal/intermittent freshwater lakes (over 8 ha)
Desert	10	Marine Neritic – Pelagic
Shrubland	15
Marine Neritic
Artificial - Terrestrial	10	Pastureland
Forest	10	Forest – Subtropical/tropical mangrove vegetation above high tide level
Artificial - Aquatic	5	Water Storage Areas [over 8 ha]
Marine Coastal/Supratidal
Marine Intertidal

Threats

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads		Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities		Ongoing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest]	Ongoing

Additional information