Since 1992, The United Nations Organization designated the 22 May of each year as Biological Diversity Day, in order to raise awareness on the planet about the need to preserve the variety of animal and plant species in its environment.

Arcesio Romero Pérez, General Manager Corpoguajira, He specified that “for environmental authorities it is important to increase the declaration of protected areas as a conservation strategy that allows the population to be guaranteed the environmental goods and services provided by biodiversity.”, especially the water sources”.

A sample of the above, is the environmental management developed by Corpoguajira, which has allowed during the last months, the department has three new Protected Areas: Integrated Management District of Musicians, Serranía de Perijá Integrated Management District and the Manantial de Cañaverales Protective Forest Reserve.

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 species of birds which is equivalent to 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.

Likewise, ensure the preservation of forest communities and particularly plant species threatened with extinction or that are classified as close to the threat and guarantee the permanence of fauna species that are under threat of extinction..

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
It corresponds to a tropical dry forest ecosystem, 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).

«It is important to have the participation of all sectors, governmental, economic and community for the conservation of protected areas, "It is the only way to guarantee the sustainability of biodiversity for the future.", added Romero Pérez.

According to the International Convention on Biological Diversity, This term is understood as the wide variety of living beings on Earth and the natural patterns that make it up., result of billions of years of evolution according to natural processes and also the growing influence of human activities. Biodiversity also includes the variety of ecosystems and the genetic differences within each species that allow the combination of multiple forms of life., and whose mutual interactions with the rest of the environment support the support of life on the planet.