Colombia, a country of water: 31,702 wetlands at risk | Explora Park
Wetlands are havens of water, and their protection and their collapse can begin in our own homes. The Colombian Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences and Parque Explora present one of the most impactful environmental topics: wetlands in Colombia, some 31,702 of which include bodies of water smaller than 25 hectares.
The Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as areas of marsh, fen, peatland, or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish, or saline, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.
GUEST:
GABRIEL ROLDÁN PÉREZ, member of the Colombian Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences, director of the Antioquia chapter, director of publications for the Academy, and representative to the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS).
A biologist and chemist from the University of Antioquia, he holds a Master of Science degree from Kansas State Teachers College, USA, and a PhD from the University of Kassel-Max Planck Institute for Limnology in Germany. At the University of Antioquia, he was a professor, head of the Biology Department, head of the graduate school, and head of the Research Center in the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences. He is an honorary professor at the Catholic University of the East and has published 14 books and more than 60 scientific articles in national and international journals.
SEVEN ATTRIBUTES OF WETLANDS:
-They buffer water levels
-They are purifying and reoxygenating lungs
-They are refuges for migratory birds
-They are areas of high biological productivity, suitable for the reproduction, feeding, and growth of animals
-Their vegetation contributes to the absorption of toxins
-They determine the water balance of the ecosystem and the hydrological cycle
OBVIOUS OR HIDDEN: THREATS
-Deforestation
-Construction
-Mining
-Hydroelectric dams
-The expansion of intensive agriculture
-The lack of plans for protected areas
-Global warming
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