Since 1992, la Organización de las Naciones Unidas designó el 22 de mayo de cada año como el Día de la Diversidad Biológica, con el fin de sensibilizar al planeta sobre la necesidad de preservar la variedad de especies animales y vegetales en su medio ambiente.

Arcesio Romero Pérez, General Manager Corpoguajira, precisó que “para las autoridades ambientales es importante incrementar la declaratoria de áreas protegidas como estrategia de conservación que permita garantizarle a la población los bienes y servicios ambientales que presta la biodiversidad, en especial los nacimientos de agua”.

Una muestra de lo anterior, es la gestión ambiental desarrollada por Corpoguajira, la cual ha permitido que durante los últimos meses, el departamento cuente con tres nuevas Áreas Protegidas: Distrito de Manejo Integrado de Musichi, Distrito de Manejo Integrado Serranía de Perijá y la Reserva Forestal Protectora Manantial de Cañaverales.

District Integrated Management Musichi (Manaure)
Its main objective is to preserve the habitat necessary for the maintenance of the populations of pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber) living there, as well as natural areas which are used by the contingent of migratory birds from the northern hemisphere to temporarily occupy their territory.

Musichi, home values ​​and biotic ecosystem of great value to the department of La Guajira, such as mangrove forests and scrub subxerophytic, characteristic of this part of the department, which are poorly represented in the Protected Areas System of Colombia. It is habitat for a large population of pink flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber), species nationally qualified low risk of extinction Vulnerable .

It has a rich biodiversity, because it is the habitat of 15 amphibian species, 52 reptile species potentially present, 22 mammal species and 242 especies de aves lo que equivale al 13% of birds recorded for Colombia, the 65% distributed in the lowlands of the country, and 61% of all recorded in the Caribbean region of Colombia between 0 and 1000 m. Additionally it is a place of temporary residence, feeding and resting a large contingent of migratory birds which move along the edges of the marshes, lagoons and estuaries.

Integrated Management District Serrania de Perija
The area covers a surface fit of 23.882,7 hectares, located in the jurisdiction of the municipalities of Barrancas, Fonseca and San Juan del Cesar, which was declared in order to protect the perpetuity, dry forest ecosystems, Andean and sub-Andean existing in this portion of the Perijá, to ensure the survival of both flora and wildlife existing there, the maintenance of ecosystem services essential for human well-being guarantee of local populations.

Así mismo asegurar la preservación de las comunidades boscosas y particularmente las especies vegetales amenazadas de extinción o que se encuentran calificadas como cercanas a la amenaza y garantizar la permanencia de las especies de fauna que se encuentran bajo amenaza de extinción.

The declaration also seeks to protect the habitats of migratory birds boreal species in the area with one of their sites access, stop and supplies. Safeguard the upper watersheds of the rivers Cañaverales, Palomino and Cerrejón; Rabbit and streams, La Quebrada, Seco y Caurina; tributaries of the River Rancheria, to contribute to the maintenance of surface water flows that originate in the area and ensure the supply of water for the population.

In addition to the declaration, management zoning was adopted for the area, in which they were established their uses: principal, compatible, prohibited and conditioned. Likewise, the following zones were defined: sustainable use, restoration, options for preservation and restoration for sustainable use.

An Integrated Management District is a geographical area, in which landscapes and ecosystems retain their composition and function, although its structure has been modified and whose natural and associated cultural values ​​are placed within reach of the human population to be allocated to sustainable use, preservation restoration, understanding and enjoyment.

Protected Forest Reserve Manantial de Cañaverales
Corresponde a un ecosistema de bosque seco tropical, whose particularity lies in the presence of an outcrop of groundwater from which urban and rural residents residing in this portion of the municipality are supplied for human consumption and for the development of their productive activities., aspect that gives it great strategic importance at the local level. The new Protective Forest Reserve is located on the foothills of the Serranía de Perijá, at an altitude of 250 meters above sea level, within the sub-basin of the Cañaverales river.

As a result of this declaration, it is strictly forbidden to carry out all kinds of exploration or mining activities in the Manantial; only the secondary fruits of the forest will be allowed to be obtained as defined in its Management Plan.

With the declaration of the Manantial de Cañaverales as Protective Forest Reserve, the department of La Guajira completes a total of seven protected areas (four regional and three national).

«Es importante contar con la participación de todos los sectores, governmental, económico y comunitario para la conservación de las áreas protegidas, pues es la única forma de garantizar la sostenibilidad de la biodiversidad para elfuturo», agregó Romero Pérez.

Según el Convenio Internacional sobre la Diversidad Biológica, se entiende por este término la amplia variedad de seres vivos sobre la Tierra y los patrones naturales que la conforman, resultado de miles de millones de años de evolución según procesos naturales y también de la influencia creciente de las actividades del ser humano. La biodiversidad comprende igualmente la variedad de ecosistemas y las diferencias genéticas dentro de cada especie que permiten la combinación de múltiples formas de vida, y cuyas mutuas interacciones con el resto del entorno fundamentan el sustento de la vida sobre el planeta.