The Ciénaga de Mallorquín, a lagoon north of Barranquilla on Colombia's Caribbean coast, stands out – even for a country rich in natural beauty and biodiversity. A fundamental part of the city’s identity, the estuary wetland is the result of the confluence of the Magdalena River and the sea. It hosts four of the five mangrove species found in Colombia and is teeming with a rich variety of flora and fauna –including a mind-bending array of birdlife.
Sadly, this fragile environment has been in jeopardy for decades, starting with the construction of the Bocas de Ceniza canal almost 100 years ago and continuing with rapid urban expansion, which together has resulted in extreme pollution and the erosion of the fragile mangrove forest habitat and its diverse inhabitants.
