COLOMBIA ANNOUNCES NEW TOOLS FOR THE PROTECTION AND

DEVELOPMENT OF THE OCEANS

Today we are going to talk about the coasts of the seas, that extremely extensive
Colombian portion of two thousand nine hundred kilometers divided into two great coasts,
two great seas. We live behind the sea, and the sea is where our great part of biodiversity
is. By 2021, according to ecologists or environmentalists, with the studies and research
already carried out, they say that they have been able to investigate more or less 9% or
10% of biodiversity and they still lacked at that time 90% of the maritime resources. By
2012 the Ministry of the Environment said: because the sea is so important, we have
created a maritime and coastal direction that never existed before, this is something very
important for which they are working on coastal erosion, beach plan, mammal plan on the
coasts, on protected areas of Uraba Antioqueño and different types of issues at sea, as
this is the main resource that the country has.

The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia,
stated that as a mega-diverse country, we are committed to the conservation, protection,
and sustainable development of the oceans, through the implementation of policies, plans,
and programs that indicate the national, regional and global importance of the topic.
“Celebrating the beauty, wealth and potential of the oceans, implies recognizing the
importance that seas provide us, such as oxygen and food, in addition to the important
regulatory role against the climate, added to multiple benefits such as guaranteeing the
health of our communities and future generations; for this reason, it is essential that we
take care of the oceans with the same intensity that they take care of us, ”explained Murillo
Urrutia. Another of the most significant actions from Minambiente refers to the progress of
the Marine Protected Areas Subsystem that is part of the National System of Protected
Areas made up of 32 national and sub-national marine and coastal protected areas.

“This strategy for the conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems seeks to contribute
significantly to the sustainability of our natural resources and coastal communities in
Colombia. Additionally, we have a portfolio of priority conservation areas with 100 sites in
the Caribbean and 36 sites in the Pacific”, added Murillo Urrutia.  The country has carried
out the review and analysis of the existing economic and financial instruments for
environmental management in Colombia and the possibilities of application in the coastal
marine environment, as well as the preparation of regulatory proposals for the application
of said instruments.Regarding the conservation of strategic coastal ecosystems, within the
framework of the Program for the sustainable use, management, and conservation of
mangrove ecosystems in Colombia, a work to review and update regulations around this
important ecosystem of the country is being carried out. In reference to marine species,
publications such as the Red Book of Marine Fishes and guides such as the Responsible
Sighting of Aquatic Mammals in Colombia, the Attention to the stranding of aquatic
mammals in Colombia, and a Mammals Geoportal have been developed.  Finally, the
official invited Colombians to carry out actions for the conservation of marine ecosystems,
such as not throwing garbage into the oceans, since these wastes are mostly plastic,
which pollutes our seas generating a devastating effect on marine fauna and birds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQTUWK7CM-Y