World Biosphere Reserve Colombia

The Archipelago of San Andres Providencia and Santa Catalina.

The name itself conjures ideas of an exotic land full of history and beauty.

It is that and more .

Just out side Nicaragua there is an archipelago that has become one of the protected treasures of the the Atlantic.

The World Conservancy group of Washington DC declared this small area of the Caribbean a most priced procession, in fact it is one of the 10 most important ecosystems in the world and has been identified by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve.

How exotic are these islands?

Sir Morgan the pirate and plunderer of many treasures habitually made his residence in San Andres, every day her there is a chance of findind his treasures.

This colorful gentleman was a General a Judge, a Governor, a pirate, a buccaneer, sounds like your average politician today? Well according to noted Jamaican historian, Clinton Black, Morgan was "more than a buccaneer captain. The same man who could swear and curse and drink and whore with the best of them in many a den of murder, or lead a bunch of desperadoes for miles through hostile jungles and fever-ridden swamps...was also to prove an astute politician with a breadth of vision far, far beyond that of the men he drew to him with his rare magnetism" (1989, p. 29).

My aunt lived in San Andres island during the late 50’s and I visited with my parents often since I was 7
The roads were mudd and stone sprikled with occasional coconut shels, traffic was sporadic and only got busy when the flights from the main land would arrive, one plane maybe two per day.

Life was slow and for the most part quiet. Mr. Benony Taylor would stop by in his taxi to bring goods to my aunt and occasionally take me for a ride in his cab if my aunt did not want to go someplace. The beach was often empty of tourist and it was mostly locals you met on the streets. By 1960 there was a steady flow of goods and business people coming inn from the mainland importing electronics from the USA, porcelain from Italy, perfumes from France and all sort of goods to satisfy the desires of Colombians who could now spend a few fun days in the islands and load with tax free bounty to bring back to Bogota and all the other cities.
Unfurtunally there was no great deal of planing for the expected growth in population and the island became overbudened with people demanding non existing services.
At my return on one of my trips I contacted The Island Resources Foundation to ask for help for the Islands, I thought the place was so run down and neglected some one from the USA might be able to offer some form of help.

After several meetings and e-mails with Coralina (a Colombian NGO) , we agreed on a car donation program that I would fund and IRF would administer.

It was the most fun I ever had selling cars, here was proof that even a car salesman from Maryland could affect change in the global environment.

The following is a letter from Bruce Potter of IRF in Feb 2003.

"This article from today's Washington Post gives me an opportunity to

publicly thank Luis Lora , who is a used car broker

in the DC area who has organized a small used-car donation program

which has generated a few thousand dollars in donations for community

based projects in San Andres in the western Caribbean.

Luis's unselfish donation of his time and expertise to set up

these deals --- which always take a few hours worth of paperwork and

documentation to satisfy both the US Internal Revenue Service and our

auditors --- is a very nice example of the kind of volunteer spirit

that underlies a lot of the dozens of small projects that are

conducted under Island Resources Foundation's auspices every year.

Luis is originally from mainland Colombia, but he used to visit an

aunt who had a small guest house on Providencia when he was growing

up. His memories of the insular beauties of Providencia and Santa

Catalina stimulated him to contact Island Resources as a result of

reading about us on the web at http://www.irf.org, two or three years

ago. Although the donation of cars for charitable purposes was still

a novelty in those days, he showed us how it could be done with

minimum risk or diversion of attention from the Foundation's main

operations.

Over the years since then, we have benefited from the sale of four or

five cars. The proceeds are targeted for community-based

environmental projects organized through CORALINA in the archipelago

of San Andres, Providencia and Sta. Catalina.

Thanks to Luis for his continuing support and assistance ---

Bruce potter

>

>Washingtonpost.com

>

>Fair Exchange

>Old Cars Help Fund Nonprofit Groups While Donors Get Income Tax Deductions

The archipelago is located 480 miles north from Colombia it is so coveted among nations that Nicaragua has filed suit in the World Court to take the islands. So many times they changed owners in the past the Nicaraguans are hopeful it can happen again. Between the Dutch, Spain and England the archipelago changed hands with the tied of its clear blue waters. There are other small island and cays: Cayo San Bolivar and Albuquerque islets, Johnny cay, within swimming distance from the beach in San Andres, Rocky, Crab cays, Serrana, Serranilla, Quitasueno, Alicia and Bajo Nuevo sand banks.

The Spanish settled the territory in 1510; the islands were part of Panama, then part of Guatemala and Nicaragua. The Dutch and English stopped to fill their ships with plentiful bounty and left a contingent here and there to rule the land. Henry Morgan's treasure is still lingering in one of the island caves.

English Puritans had the islands until 1821 when General Santander liberated the territory and took the islands. English remains the main language in Providencia, where the inhabitants fight change and the uncontrolled growth that San Andres has experienced, this small island has been overrun by the good intentions of the Colombian government who in all its wisdom decided to create a free port in the 50's with the unintended consequence of overpopulation, defoliation, loss of habitat for most of the animal and plant species and the general ugliness that comes from lack of services for the thousands of new comers.

ENVIRONMENT:

The following is an excerpt from commentaries made by Bruce Potter of Island Resources Foundation http://www.irf.org/, about the state of coral reefs in the world.

It is printed with his permission

The year is 1998

Colombia

There are many well-developed reefs around offshore islands,

including the Islas de San Bernardo and the Islas del Rosario on the

shelf, and a few distant coral banks and atolls (the Colombian

Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia). San Andres is densely

populated with about 50,000 people in 30 km2. It is an active

commerce and tourism centre, and human impacts on the reefs include

sewage pollution, dredging, coastal construction, over-fishing,

tourism, oil pollution, and boat and anchor damage. There are few

hurricanes this far south, but the San Andres archipelago suffers

occasional impacts. Diadema died out in 1983, there were mass

mortalities of gorgonians in the 1980s, and significant coral

bleaching in the 1980s and in 1995.

Extensive coral mortality has occurred around the coral reef islands

near Cartagena: Islas de San Bernardo and Islas del Rosario. Acropora

species, P. Porites and Ag. tenuifolia were severely affected, and

some massive corals also declined. The reefs of San Andres were

healthy from 1968 to 1973, but they were found to be in poor

condition in 1992, with about 52% of the coral recently dead. The

corals most affected were Acropora cervicornis (which has almost

disappeared from around San Andres), Ac. palmata, Eusmilia fastigiata

and C. natans. Since then, many algae have proliferated (mainly

Dictyota, Halimeda, Lobophora and Padina).

Similar results were seen at the three unpopulated atolls of San

Andres and Providencia (Courtown, Serrana, and Roncador) in

1994-1995. The amount of recently dead coral was between 43% and 56%,

with the most affected species being branching (Acropora spp.,

Porites Porites) and massive corals (Montastrea annularis,

Siderastrea siderea, C. natans, Diploria spp.). However, the

mortality of the two Acropora species and Gorgonia spp. were much

lower than on San Andres.

Environmental management was boosted by creation of the Ministry of

the Environment in 1993, which administers national parks and

reserves, including Tayrona and Islas del Rosario. Both have some

local rangers to enforce regulations, but resources and

infrastructure are still insufficient for effective control.

Management plans and legislation are being prepared for these and

other proposed protected areas (including Islas del San Bernardo, San

Andres, and Providencia). Legislation and regulations are also being

prepared for coastal area management and further protection of

mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. A nation-wide monitoring

programme, on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts, was introduced in

1998.

Many changes have taken place in the islands since 1510 however there are still no rent a cars in Providencia, no traffic jams, and very little air traffic since only two planes are allowed to land per day and these carry only about 22 passengers each. on my last stay you could hear a Vespa driving to the hotel Cabañas Aguadulce from almost downtown 4 miles away

I was the only guest at the hotel for two days, went snorkeling on the reef by myself, it was so idyllic, so tranquil, just the perfect retreat. Or not.

Dr. Jerry McElroy passed on this article from the CSM. . .

from the June 18, 2002 edition -

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0618/p07s01-woam.html

An island in Colombia's war

A tiny English-speaking archipelago off Colombia's coast is feeling

mainland fallout.

By Martin Hodgson

Virginia Archbold's clapboard house sits between a mangrove swamp and

a mirror-calm sea. From her porch she has a perfect view of the

white-sailed catboats racing into the bay.

This Caribbean island is the quietest - and safest - corner of South

America's most violent country, free from the drug-fuelled mayhem

that wracks mainland Colombia.

Old Providence and its larger sister island, San Andres, constitute

Colombia's smallest state: a tiny archipelago of coral reefs, coconut

palms, and dazzling beaches 400 miles off Colombia's northern coast,

and only 120 east of Nicaragua.

But the miles of deep blue sea haven't saved the island from the

fallout of war.

Over the years, more and more mainlanders have moved here, fleeing

violence, political turmoil, and the highest kidnapping rate in the

world. The islands' English-speaking inhabitants - descended from

Puritan settlers, African slaves, and British pirates - say that

their culture is being overwhelmed by the newcomers. Overcrowding has

caused a growing social crisis, and relations between native

islanders and Spanish-speaking newcomers are increasingly bitter.

"Everything is gone to a mess," says Ms. Archbold, a local historian.

"We are losing our customs, our culture, our tradition, and

everything behind it."

Frustrated with Colombian rule, islanders have called for greater

autonomy and new legislation to protect their language and way of

life.

"If we are to survive, autonomy and home rule are fundamental," says

Juan Ramirez Dawkins, a community leader who has represented the

islanders before the United Nations. "We were here for many years

before the Republic of Colombia existed, but most [government]

officials are sent from the mainland. This is still a colony," he

says.

The islands were first colonized in 1631, when 100 Puritans sailed

from London to Old Providence on the Seaflower, a sister ship to the

Mayflower.

The settlers soon realized that the uninhabited islands were perfect

for growing tobacco, cotton, and indigo - and for launching raids

against the Spanish fleet. But Britain never formally claimed the

islands, and in 1822 the islands joined the newly independent Gran

Colombia, a massive state comprising modern-day Venezuela, Colombia,

and Ecuador.

When the union disintegrated in 1830, the islands were passed to

Colombia, but until the mid-20th century, the islanders' closest

relations were with the US, Britain, and the English-speaking

Caribbean.

For many years, San Andres provided half the US coconut market. The

island's first Baptist church was shipped beam by beam from Alabama.

Apart from a handful of government officials, the population was

overwhelmingly English-speaking and Protestant.

"We were brought up reading Longfellow and Shakespeare," recalls

dancing teacher Cecilia Hall.

Her pupils learn the same polkas and quadrilles that have been danced

here for centuries. But like many islanders, she believes that their

identity depends as much on moral values as it does on folk

traditions.

"The first people who came here were civilized people," she says. "If

you passed a gentleman on the road, he would lift his hat and salute

you. Little children were respectful. Now these things are not the

same. People are more careless. They have abandoned the old English

ways," she sighs.

Things started to change in 1953, when San Andres was declared a

tax-free zone, and daily flights to the mainland were established,

kick-starting the first wave of immigration.

By the 1980s the island had become a magnet for Colombian shoppers

seeking cut-price TVs and imported perfumes. Traditional gingerbread

houses were torn down to make way for hotels - often built by drug

traffickers.

In just 20 years, the official population of San Andres has grown

from 26,000 to at least 80,000, but local leaders estimate that,

including illegal immigrants, there could be more than 100,000 people

crammed onto the eight-mile strip of land, making San Andres one of

the most densely populated islands in the Caribbean.

Now its public services are in crisis, water supplies are running

low, and the 25,000 English-speaking native islanders have become a

minority in their own land.

Taxi driver Pedro Ramirez has lived on San Andres for 25 years, but

doesn't speak a word of English. "I don't really have much to do with

the natives, because they discriminate against us," he says. His

children were born on the island, and he has no intention of

returning to the mainland. "The islands can't cope with this

overpopulation, but they can't just send everyone back."

Many islanders say that the Colombian government has deliberately

flooded San Andres with newcomers to forcibly impose mainland culture

- and secure its claim in the archipelago, which has long been

disputed by neighboring Nicaragua.

Last year, the Nicaraguan government filed suit before the

International Court of Justice in The Hague challenging Colombia's

claim to the islands - and the 135,000 square miles of territorial

water around them. But few locals are eager to live under the

Nicaraguan flag.

Archbold says islanders should be free to choose their own future.

"My grandparents left me under Colombia, but we're not from there. I

am Colombian, but only as long as I want to be," she says.

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