Travelogue of Laguna de Fúquene

By Marion Hammerl, GNF President (August 2006)

"Travel to Colombia – isn’t that too dangerous?" worried colleagues and friends were asking me when I told them to where I was going to travel this time. Colombia is always related with news from drug barons, Guerrilla and kidnappings and not with the enormous biodiversity of this country. Colombia which sizes the same as France, Spain and Germany together – is covered with partially imperviously primeval forest (more than 10 % of the countries’ area), tablelands up to 3,000 metres, Caribbean and Pacific coastal regions and impressing rivers such as Río Magdalena, Orinoco or the 2,000 km long Amazon building the frontier to Peru and Brazil. And of course Laguna de Fúquene, which is represented in the international Living Lakes network.

Until the 1970’s Laguna de Fúquene was Colombia’s largest lake. Today only 3,000 hectares are left from the originally 10,000 hectares – the flat lagoon was dried or filled with land to gain acreage for agriculture and stock farming.

Mauricio Valderama, director of the Living Lakes partner organisation Fundación Humedales, picks us up in Bogotá and takes us to Laguna de Fúquene, which is 80 km away and lies on 2,800 metres on the "Paramo". Lots of "tractomulas" like they call the heavy lorries here are making the journey arduous and long lasting. Hardly a chance to overtake one of this smelling monsters. After two and a half hours we finally reach the Laguna and the San Fernando hostel – a beautiful farm which is used today as a hotel and a building for seminars. Mauricio informs me about the current situation in Fúquene: the tributary Ubaté regulated and the inflow of water is not sufficient, too much water is used for the irrigation of the fields.

Besides there is the dehydration or the natural siltation of the lagoon to gain more areas for the stock farming. The sewage of the surrounding communities is running without being clarified into the lagoon. Together with the entry of fertilizers of the stock farming they are responsible that water plants are growing fast and huge carpets of water hyacinths are spreading. These plants extract oxygen from the water and are decreasing the free water areas.

Laguna de Fúquene is only declared as "Very Important Bird Area" by the IUCN and has no protection status. The efforts of Fundación Humedales to declare the lagoon as Ramsar wetland site of international importance have not been seized by the Colombian government until now. Against a national or international protection status there are high reservations from the local inhabitants and from the provincial government. Although for all responsible people environmental and nature protection seems to be important they do not want a "interference with economic development". Now a protection status named "Reserva Integral" is discussed and Fundación Humedales hopes that this will be a first step towards the right direction. Therewith a basis would be created to claim a higher water level of the lagoon with the expansion of the water area.

At the moment the acceptance for renaturation is again low. After intensive rain falls in the last rain period the lagoon got back a part of its old areas and has flooded meadows and fields. Mauricio and his colleagues German and Hairo now hope for the CONPES for Fúquene, which is a development plan with a competence for directives and a budget for the implementation of programmes elaborated by a commission appointed by the government. Fundación Humedales was assigned as a consultant to the CONPES committee and has now the possibility to introduce suggestions for a sustainable development of the region.

Among other things it concerns the development of an ecotourism that means a tourism that is concentrated in nature experience. Within this topic Laguna de Fúquene would have to offer a lot: more than 200 bird species and the spectacular landscape of the Andes.

Furthermore a good regional cuisine, multifaceted handicraft, villages with a long history and nice inhabitants – all together components to motivate nature-interested tourists for a more days lasting stay.

In the province capital Ubaté I was invited to a conference about the potentials of ecotourism in the province. It was about definitions and criteria to improve quality and how to integrate the local population and especially farmers, fishermen and artisans into the tourist offers and how they can profit from this development.

Colombia has now realized its potentials as ecotourism country. Since 2004 the "Política Nacional del Ecoturismo" exists and quality criteria are right now elaborated. 17 % of the small and middle sized touristy enterprises are offering "Ecoturismo" – so far predominant for the regional or national market. International tourists only amount 16 % of the clients.

After a refreshing boat trip at the lagoon, a visit of the village called Cucunuba and the enjoyment of outstanding typical dishes like Ajiaco – a substancial hotpot with papas and chicken -  I can only support the assessment of Fundación Humedales: Laguna de Fúquene has good opportunities to become an acknowledged and well-known ecotourism destination – if the region manages to protect the lagoon and to improve the water quality. And if the different stakeholder groups agree on one common aim with concrete guidelines and quality criteria and start to implement them in a consequent way.

Fundación Humedales will play an important role in this process – as intermediary and facilitator for the fishermen and artisans, as expert for lakes and wetlands and with tourist offers like the new opened information centre located directly at the lagoon. This information centre was established with the support of Humboldt Institute and Global Nature Fund. The areas belonging to the centre were afforested with native alluvial forest. In the information centre further training courses for fishermen and other groups are taking place. Tourists can inform themselves and in the future also book excursions. Furthermore a programme for school classes from Bogotá is elaborated.

To improve the situation of the lagoon the foundation in coordinating since one year a so-called "Conversatorio" – a process in which the different local groups can formulate their interests and rights. Therefore fishermen and artisans are getting the necessary background knowledge from Sandra and Liliana – two biologists of the foundation: about the actual state of the lagoon and the impact of their life circumstances, the laws and responsibilities and the possibilities to improve the situation in a positive manner. The responsible authorities are obliged to prove the requirements formulated in the Conversatorio and to find a for both sides acceptable compromise which then has to be implemented bindingly. Sandra and Liliana have even engaged a teacher from the theatre who helps the fishermen to learn speaking in front of an audience. "In one year they became much more self-confident and not tolerate anymore that their livelihood is destroyed", Sandra is telling gladly. Until now the fishermen are counting among the poorest of the region. They hope that ecotourism and the offer of boat tours will be an additional source of income for them, too.

A future tourism manager is arranged right now: thanks to the support of Fundación Humedales. Leonel does not have a concrete professional wish until now, but it should be a profession dealing a lot with plants and animals and contribute to the protection of Laguna de Fúquene.