Together with the regional environmental authority (Corpoguajira), the Ministry of the Interior and the Wayuu indigenous communities of La Guajira department, we have supported a dialogue process to declare a regional Marine Protected Area (MPA) following the Colombian Roadmap for MPAs. A pivotal step in this declaration is the prior consultation, where the vision and traditional knowledge of local communities is included. The future MPA of “Bahías Honda y Hondita” is located in the northeast of Colombia and is part of the indigenous reservation.

Within the dialogue process, we have enhanced agreements on the use and management of marine resources between the Wayuu and the authorities. Those agreements take into account the vision and cosmogony of the communities, which will be the basis for the management plan of the MPA. The MPA declaration is part of a broader strategy of integrated planning and management of coastal and marine areas developed by the MIMAC project.