Ciénaga grande

The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta is Colombia’s largest wetland ecosystem. The waters from the Caribbean sea that meet the waters from the mighty Magdalena river and the rivers that descend from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains maintain its balance. Amphibian cultures, as sociologist Orlando Fals Borda would call them, have built various floating towns in its interior, known as “pueblos palafitos”. Many of their inhabitants are fishers. The Ciénaga and its communities is agonizing due to the construction of roads that interrupt water flows, the diversion of rivers for extensive agriculture, the introduction of foreign invasive species and pollution.