Fight plastic pollution in the bay of Cartagena

Humanitarian Aid and Environmental Change in Punta Arena

Punta Arena is a potential paradise beach town 6 minutes from Cartagena on the island of Tierra Bomba. With the only white beaches within the bay of Cartagena, the town of roughly 1,000 to 1,200 inhabitants has been hit hard economically during the pandemic. What historically used to be a town of fishermen has morphed into a tourist haven, its beachfront dotted with restaurants and swanky hotels. People in Punta Arena, as in the other 3 towns of the island of Tierra Bomba, relied heavily on tourism for their means of subsistence. Before Covid-19 nearly 76% of island dwellers already suffered from poverty and hunger, and 95% of them depended on fishing and tourism for their livelihoods. Not to mention the island´s lack of running water, sewage or health systems due to longstanding neglect from local and national governments.

In order to help combat hunger and enable island dwellers to remain safely at home during the lockdown, which started in March 2020, the Fundación Bahía reached more than 5,750 homes in the islands of Tierra Bomba, Isla Fuerte and San Bernardo with 4,250 kilos of fish, 1,500 basic food provisions, Covid-19 prevention instructions and more than 1,000 face masks donated, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. In July, we revised our humanitarian aid approach and decided to combine it with volunteer work, bringing environmental purpose and sense of self-worth to beneficiaries in the communities of Tierra Bomba, as well as preparing them for when tourism reopens.

We have successfully implemented an innovative approach to humanitarian aid delivery by combining it with environmental actions at the core of our mission. Thanks to an alliance with SOS Cartagena, we were able to provide food for these vulnerable communities. SOS Cartagena delivered 250 lunch boxes daily which fed families in our volunteer program, who in turn benefited the environment and their entire community by cleaning up. Now, we are providing the environmental volunteer families with monthly food provisions thanks to the generosity of the Tamarin Foundation which supports the humanitarian endeavor as well as the environmental concern over plastic pollution in our ocean.

 A clean and thriving environment means better health for all. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is the inherent and unavoidable link between the environment and human health. In Punta Arena, working with local recyclers, young environmental guards and displaced Venezuelans, we jointly constructed an environmental action plan to help: recover and protect the vital mangrove ecosystem of the Ciénaga la Salina; reinforce environmental education and awareness to combat plastic pollution through improved consumer choice, separation at the source and recycling practices; and, clean-up of informal dump sites, streets, trails, fronts, backyards and lots.

 After 3 months of the project implementation in Punta Arena the following has been accomplished:

• 92 well-nourished families thanks to the SOS Cartagena lunch boxes and to the monthly food provisions currently in place, coming together in a motivated and novel environmental volunteer program
• 5 informal dump sites around Ciénaga la Salina cleared
• 22.8 tons of solid residue removed from the community and the island, which included:
• o   1.6 tons of recycled material from which local recyclers profited 
• o   7 tons of glass residue removed with the help of Veolia given to CORECA recyclers

• Increased environmental and community awareness
• Recovering ecosystems, cleaner streets, beachfront and town with help from the entire community
• Empowered recyclers and guard youths whose efforts are appreciated by all
• Education by example with clean-up efforts and an artistic fish sculpture donated by Fundación Bahía to encourage recycling in children 
• Overall improved community well-being and health.

In view of the changes in Punta Arena, the community of Caño del Oro in Tierra Bomba asked for our support. We began the environmental volunteer program there for a month on August 21st, with the aid of SOS Cartagena and another daily 250 well-prepared, balanced lunch rations to benefit vulnerable families.

Apart from supporting continuous cleaning and educational efforts in both communities, we held an artistic and environmental workshop in Punta Arena to help build and paint signs made from recycled materials for marking recovered dump spots and to encourage inhabitants to protect their environment and biodiversity.

This model and approach empower not only members of the volunteer programs but the entire community, setting forth peer to peer controls for the sustainability of the actions and positive results in time. “Now that we have all put forth the effort to clean up our community, there is no way we will allow any more garbage to pollute our town!” says Ms. Coneo, community leader in Punta Arena.

There is still a long way to go! We definitely need your support to pursue our social and environmental work so please contribute to our cause and help us continue to supply vital technical assistance, clean up implements and educational workshops to these island communities in our joint fight against plastic pollution at sea. When possible, please visit and enjoy Punta Arena´s beaches, mangroves, bird watching tours led by local environmental guards and follow the trail of the biggest clean-up during the pandemic!

Please follow us on Instagram: @fundacion_bahiaFacebook: @fundacion bahia de cartagena       Visit www.fundacionbahia.org 

Many thanks to all of you! 

Going forward!

During the months of April, May and June, Fundación Bahía has been sending humanitarian aid to the insular communities of Tierra Bomba and further beyond. Island communities have been suffering from poverty and hunger even before the pandemic and have been hit especially hard with the halt to tourism which provided means of obtaining basic livelihood. Fundación Bahía´s efforts have concentrated on serving these insular communities reaching around 5,970 households, sending around 1,500 basic provisions as well as 4,250 kilos of fish, thanks to a generous fish donation from the Antillana Company, and lately 220 biological safety protection kits (face masks and alcohol bottles) to the communities of Punta Arena and Tierra Bomba. The provisions have been delivered to the different island communities thanks to the help of the Colombian Naval Forces, and equally distributed to the different households with help of local community leaders - the Consejos Comunitarios. The whole operation, supervised by Fundación Bahía, has been done with the support of the Cartagena Mayor´s Office. Private partners for this project, donors, Antillana, the Armada, Rotary Club Cartagena, and the Company Beatriz Camacho, have also contributed greatly. Thanks for your support!

Here are some of the activities that Fundación Bahíi held prior to the pandemic, in our constant struggle to fight plastic pollution at sea!  

Bird watching workshop for the children of Punta Arena! The 6th and 7th of March, children from the school and from the Environmental Guard of Punta Arena, invited by Fundación Bahía and children and teachers from the Montessori school of Cartagena went on a bird watching workshop to La Salina, Punta Arena. La Salina is an inland mangrove marsh area in Punta Arena. It is a sanctuary for a lot of bird species that the children learned to see and identify with the help of the biology group from the Montessori School. Thanks to the workshop, the children of Punta Arena rediscovered their surroundings, learned proper use of binoculars and understood the importance of conservation and cleanliness for this rich environment. Part of the Fundación´s Punta Arena Sostenible Project for the recovery of this important ecosystem is to change the current use of the Salina as a satellite dump ground to a park and ecotour destination that could benefit locals trained to be eco guides and bird watching experts!  Participants had a great time learning about their environment and fauna and the importance of its preservation, as a whole ecosystem.

Big plans for Punta Arena! Fundación Bahía is working hand by hand with Punta Arena’s community and its leaders to reduce plastic pollution, preserve its environment and strengthen its economic framework. Punta Arena is the most touristic part of the island of Tierra Bomba with its beautiful white sand beaches. Fundación Bahía is designing a project that would allow to continue helping the community during this pandemic, but also engage beneficiary families in environmental work. The idea is to benefit families in need with food provisions in exchange of their commitment to preserving La Salina and helping clean up the future eco trails. Stay tuned for upcoming actions!

We’re going citywide with #MarLimpio2020! Mar Limpio 2020: Guardianes del Oceano (Ocean Guardians) is an environmental education campaign, whose goal is to encourage all inhabitants to heighten their conscience, conserve the environment and feel a part of their ecosystem. Fundación Bahía and Universidad Tadeo Caribe have partnered in order to develop an educational booklet for public school children, that can also be scaled up to University students. It consists of explanatory sheets about oceans, the ecosystems surrounding Cartagena and the problems affecting the environment on local and global scales. Each fact is clear enough for anyone to understand, and the explanations are followed by quick and fun activities for children and students. Cartagena is a city surrounded by water, and each of its ecosystems is connected to the Ocean. Protection of mangroves, tropical rainforests, beaches, and coral reefs are all essential for the well-being of every Cartagenero. Still under development, Mar Limpio 2020 aims to offer an educational program, with a web platform, an Ocean Preservation Pact, the educational booklet and easy to share social media pieces for all to fight against single use plastics. Part of the project are also utilitarian sculptures to be used as educational tools to get people to recycle. The Foundation is preparing its educational program for all to get to know the bay and all other vital ecosystems around Cartagena, through private, public and educational partnerships. Thanks to all of the institutions and persons who have signed the Ocean Awareness Pact and are now aware of the actions required to help our Ocean! Please visit our website www.fundacionbahia.org and sign on!

Fundación Bahía also participated in LimpiArte the 6 of march! The event, organized by Fundación Tucultura, gathered local associations, private actors and Colombian police to clean up one of Cartagena’s most frequented places, the Portal de los dulces. The clean-up day was preceded by awareness raising actions, in which students and members of Fundación Bahía discussed with local business owners about their ecological actions and the existing rules they have to comply with. Saving our oceans and the beautiful bay of Cartagena from plastic pollution is an immensely complex task, that can only be dealt with collectively. This is why we need you to visit our website and sign on to the Ocean pact!  

Thanks again for your continued support to our cause! Together, we can change the world!

Warmest regards,

Diana de la Vega