Los Katios National Park

The Colombian national protected areas agency is the land manager, represented by the local unit in charge of the property. There is coordination within the national protected area system SINAP, including the regional unit to which the property belongs. The management system encompasses elements of local participation, as well as important and increasing efforts to cooperate with institutions and sectors in charge of or otherwise shaping land and resource use in the broader landscape. A comprehensive 5-year management plan is being implemented. Inside the property, zonation is used as a major management instrument. Controlled resource use is in principle possible as long as it is compatible with conservation objectives (IUCN, 2015; State Party of Colombia, 2016). Even though the area was originally nominated as an extension to the previously inscribed Darién National Park in nearby Panama, the site is formally not inscribed as a transboundary property. There are modest recent efforts to increase the conservation dialogue between the two countries as regards the two contiguous national parks and properties, which are intricately linked ecologically, ethnically and culturally. During the last three years, there has been no direct communication between the management of both properties (IUCN Consultation, 2020).

Management effectiveness has been severely constrained in the past by longstanding armed conflict deeply affecting the region, but also limited resourcing. However, recent improvement of the security situation and increasing investment has produced tangible results in terms of management effectiveness. As such, the management system is transitioning from reactive emergency measures to a much more structured and systematic approach to law enforcement and community involvement. Given that all overarching threats and challenge stem from outside the property, the coordination and cooperation with stakeholders and rights-holders at various levels outside the property is a decisive factor in the management effectiveness equation. While much remains to be done, such coordination and cooperation is steadily improving improving (IUCN, 2015, State Party of Colombia, 2016; 2018). Agreements with local resource users are encouraging to this end, however, issues relating to illegal activities including logging, and overfishing and harvesting in rivers and wetlands remain which cannot be fully controlled by the Park's management and negotiations with communities and stakeholders in resource use surrounding the site should be pursued further (UNESCO, 2019; World heritage Committee, 2019). Potential reducing budget may increase these threats (IUCN Consultation, 2020).

Los Katíos National Park is relatively small in size, certainly when compared to the vast Darién National Park to the west. The designation of the national park was partially related to the objective to maintain a natural barrier to livestock diseases (IUCN, 2011). Therefore, the configuration of the park partially focused on areas targeted by agricultural and ranching interest in the lower elevations. Thereby the adjacent and ecologically distinct higher elevations along the international border were not included. There are credible hints at intact areas of high conservation value nearby, for example in the Serranía de Darién (IUCN, 2015). Some concern also remains regarding the identification of a formal buffer zone. Whilst existing cooperation measures with surrounding protected areas and local communities amount to a de facto functional buffer zone, a formal delineation of buffer zone boundaries remains to be completed, as requested of the State Party by the Committee (UNESCO, 2019; World Heritage Committee, 2019).

Los Katios is within the Pacific Subsystem within Colombia’s National Protected Areas System (SINAP). All regional subsystems must develop regional action plans which are complementary to the national action plan for SINAP. There is also a strong reference to land use planning as a complementary conservation strategy to ensure connectivity of the units of SINAP. Regional and local governments, including but not limited to environmental authorities, are required to work towards a landscape approach, which considers conservation and connectivity across sectors, land use and institutions. In terms of coordination with the adjacent land users and managers, the main entry point for the protected area authority (UAESPNN) are the so-called Regional Autonomous Corporations (CAR) and Corporations for Sustainable Development (IUCN, 2015; IUCN, 2011).

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) have been carried out for the two planned port projects (Pisisí and Antioquia), and indicate no direct impacts of the projects to the conservation of the site's values (State Party of Colombia, 2018). Further efforts should be pursued to ensure that any potential indirect impacts on the site are fully considered during their future planning and implentation, particularly of the Antioquia port, "including those caused by disturbance to other important ecological areas and the connectivity of the property" (World Heritage Committee, 2019).

The 2016 MoU signed between the States Parties of Colombia and Panama to strengthen cooperation and connectivity with the contiguous Darien National Park World Heritage site in Panama is undoubtedly beneficial to the regional planning with regard to the site's conservation. However, it is not currently considered a priority of the State Party to incorporate other adjacent areas within Colombia into the Los Katíos National Park, such as the Serrania del Darien National Protection Forest Reserve (State Party of Colombia, 2018;  UNESCO, 2019). This may be of some concern in the absence of a formal buffer zone despite laudable efforts to foster sustainable use of natural resources and improved ecological connectivity (World Heritage Committee, 2019). 

Decades of insecurity and violence continue to taint the relationship between governmental actors and local and indigenous communities despite encouraging signs of trust-building. After extended periods of limited or even lacking governmental presence, a new chapter in the relationship between local people and protected areas management has been opened over the last years. As is common in remote rural settings where resource-dependent communities live in the vicinity of or inside of protected areas, there are conflicts regarding the use of natural resources; the well-documented over-fishing of the freshwater systems in the lowlands being one major example. The management authorities, however, have been moving from confrontational law enforcement to working with communities to jointly assess and identify solutions. The undoubtedly most remarkable improvement in relationships is the indigenous Wounaan. While the Wounaan were historically expelled from the national park, they are today cooperating with the conservation authorities to facilitate the return to their ancestral lands within the property. The sensitive process in essence boils down to a negotiation of the terms of use of natural resources within the national park so as to balance indigenous needs and conservation objectives (State Party of Colombia, 2016; UNESCO, 2011). Agreements with both Indigenous and Afrocolombian authorities have been confirmed for the implementation of the already signed Special Management Regimes (REM) with the Wounaan community of Juin Phubuur and Use and Management Agreements (AUM) (State Party of Colombia, 2018), serving as tangible examples of the progress gained in this regard. The State Party have been encouraged to build on these relationships further and to consolidate upon them, as well as document them to be shared as examples of best practice in the future (UNESCO, 2019). 

The property is state-owned and has strong and adequate legal protection. The Colombian Constitution grants an exceptionally strong level of protection to federal protected areas, which are referred to as "“inalienable, imprescriptible, and unseizable goods" (República de Colombia, 1991). Fully acknowledging Colombia's ethnic and cultural diversity of local communities, the Constitution also stipulates strong protection for communal lands, as well as guidance for sustainable natural resource management. Colombia has several layers of environmental and land use planning legislation and policies, which are highly relevant at the landscape level. More specifically, there is a comprehensive legal and policy framework for protected areas. This framework is adequate but much remains to be done in terms of implementation. Progress has also been made in recent years towards the legal recognition of agreements between rights-holders, most notably through Use and Management Agreements and the Special Management Regime with the Wounaan community of Juin Phubuur to promote shared management and governance with indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian communities, and these should be further consolidated and documented to be shared as examples of best practice in the future (UNESCO, 2019).

Law enforcement temporarily broke down due to security challenges contributing to the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2009 upon request by the State Party. The situation could since be substantially improved permitting basic management operations, which in turn contributed to the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2015. It is clear that the ongoing peace process is a long-term commitment and challenge and that security issues may well resurface in the future. Park management cooperates with a range of governmental law enforcement actors (IUCN, 2015).

Overall the State Party is mostly effective in implementing and responding to World Heritage Committee decisions. In terms of the inscription on and subsequent removal from the List of World Heritage in Danger, the State Party has followed up on corresponding Committee decisions and recommendations in exemplary fashion, with encouragement for further consolidation, namely by through additional resource allocation and further investment in the promising partnership approach (World Heritage Committee, 2015; 2017; 2019).

In the most recent 2019 decision, the State Party was highly commended for "continuing to systematically respond to the Committee’s requests and recommendations, particularly with regard to enhanced resources, improved governance and effective partnerships with local communities, fostering sustainable use of natural resources and improved ecological connectivity" (World Heritage Committee, 2019). However, a number of issues remain, and the site is currently subject to a number of requests made by the Committee. Although encouraged to assess the feasibility of extending the national park so as to include the Serranía del Darien National Protection Forest Reserve (Colombia) and potentially other areas (World heritage Committee, 2017), it was not found to be a priority by the State Party (State Party of Colombia, 2018). As such, the Committee has encouraged the State Party to "continue exploring alternative options to reflect the evolving regional protected area network in the framework of the World Heritage Convention, where appropriate, for example through defining a formal buffer zone" (World Heritage Committee, 2019). Consolidating and integrating the conservation of the site into landscape planning and participatory resource management inside the park also remains the subject of requests from the Committee. The State Party have been encouraged to address the impacts and risks posed by the artificial connection between the Leon and Atrato Rivers, while respecting the socio-economic importance of the canal (World Heritage Committee, 2017), as well as reporting on the outcomes of EIAs related to two port development projects and provide updates on a proposed electricity transmission corridor between Colombia and Panama (World Heritage Committee, 2019). The State Party has responded to all these but corresponding activities remain to be fully concluded.

At a level beyond conservation management, the Committee, on the occasion of the inscription decision in 1994, recommended that the States Parties of Colombia and Panama “consider the inscription of the transfrontier site as a single entry on the List” (Decision CONF 003 XI). The recommendation remains valid to this day. In 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Panamá and Colombia, and Decision 43 COM 7B.23 repeats its encouragement towards both States Parties to continue efforts to implement actions in the management of the two contiguous properties of Los Katíos National Park (Colombia) and Darien National Park (Panama) (World Heritage Committee, 2019).

The main examples of sustainable use are freshwater fisheries in the lowlands and the localized re-establishment of an indigenous settlement. In the case of fisheries, the management efforts are a response to unsustainable resource management and can thus be described as an attempt to move towards sustainable use. The situation in the Wounaan community differs in that the return of the indigenous peoples marks a new beginning in the history of the park. The agreements with local resource users are promising instruments to address overfishing and overharvesting of rivers and wetlands and need to be pursued further. The same holds true for the Special Management Regime with the Wounaan community of Juin Phubuur. These efforts need to continue to be consolidated and documented. Therefore, it continues to be of some concern (State Party of Colombia, 2018; UNESCO, 2019)

Governmental core funding for Los Katíos National Park could be significantly increased, with external support from non-governmental, bi-lateral and multi-lateral sources historically supplementing funds to meet the capacity requirements for the management of the site (eg. WWF-Colombia/ Instituto de Investigacion de Recursos Biologicos Alexander von Humboldt, 2003; WWF Colombia, 2008; CEPF, 2005). While there is currently no drastic under-funding and the total budget for the management of the site doubled in the period between 2016 and 2018 (State Party of Colombia, 2018), it is clear that reliable funding will be required to respond to the ongoing challenges.

Staff are highly dedicated and qualified (IUCN, 2015). As long as funding enables adequate staffing levels, the required management capacity can be secured. Until 2020, staff levels has remained constant, however a reported budget cut in 2019 and a likely larger budget cut in 2020 (in the context of COVID-19 pandemic) may lead to a reduction of staff capacity (IUCN Consultation, 2020).

Both the State Party and NGOs engage in environmental education, including as regards the indigenous Wounaan and neighboring communities (State Party of Colombia, 2011; 2016). An environmental atlas of the park is a great example of effective environmental communication (WWF, 2012). External projects (funded by GEF BioCaribe, EU and KfW) provide support to conservation and community development in the area, including communication and education programs (IUCN Consultation, 2020).

The remoteness, comparatively difficult and costly access and decades of security concerns continue to impose limits to the realization of the tourism potential despite the indisputable attractiveness of the property (WDPA, 2011). While at the time of writing, Los Katíos is still closed to the public (UAESPNN, 2020) according to State Party (2019), a plan is under development to restore visitor facilities and promote nature-based tourism on relatively short term ("Ecotourism Corridor of Ciénagas” sponsored by the BIOCARIBE Connection Project – GEF and implemented by FAO).

Active monitoring is planned and underway for several vertebrate species, freshwater ecosystems and fisheries (State Party of Colombia, 2016). The main challenges requiring sustained long-term effort and investment are the participatory monitoring of the freshwater fisheries in the lowlands and the resource of the Wounaan.

The return of the indigenous Wounaan community is based on anthropological studies confirming the location of their ancestral lands, in fact an indispensable legal requirement underpinning the very option of their return. Another example of recent and ongoing scientific investigation are assessments and monitoring of freshwater fisheries in the lowland swamps linked to the Atrato River system. Other than that, the remoteness combined with decades of insecurity have limited research in the national park and its surroundings. Very little is known about the higher elevations of the Darién Range (Serrania del Darién), which undoubtedly harbors an important biological and ecological wealth. The enhanced security situation comes with an opportunity to better understand the conservation values and status of the Colombian side of the border area.