Last updated: May 2025
The Ciénaga de las Quintas is a coastal wetland located alongside one of Cartagena’s main roads, adjacent to the public market square and situated between the Jiménez and Bazurto Bridges. It is home to two predominant mangrove species (Ref 1). The wetland currently faces pollution problems because it is used for the disposal of solid waste, such as plastics and construction materials, and it receives wastewater and household garbage from nearby residences. Las Quintas is also the main waste disposal area for the Bazurto market, which handles 43,430 tons of food products each month (ref 3). The recovery initiatives for the Ciénaga de las Quintas are led by the Environmental Public Establishment of Cartagena (EPA Cartagena) in collaboration with other public institutions, the private sector, and citizens, with the main goal of achieving the ecological restoration of the city's water bodies and to maintain and preserve our mangrove ecosystems (ref 2). Since 2020, key implementation activities have included the removal of solid waste, planting of native tree species, dismantling of informal structures within the mangrove zone, and the rehabilitation of areas previously occupied by debris (Refs 4, 5).
planting session perfomed by EPA Cartagena
https://epacartagena.gov.co/web/continua-jornada-de-recuperacion-de-orillas-en-cienaga-de-las-quintas/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Coastal wetland, mangroves and salt marshes
- Mangroves
Key challenges
- Environmental quality
- Waste management
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Environmental Degradation
- Poor water quality
- Other
Key priorities
Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)
Focus
Maintenance and management of urban nature, Maintenance or upgrade of exisiting green spaces (e.g. parks), Urban reforestation, restoration of street trees, Coastal landscape management or protection, Coastal ecosystems restoration and maintenance (mangroves, dunes, saltplains, underwater meadows), Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Restoration of wetlands (other types than peatlands and mangroves, e.g. seagrass), Restoration of mangroves
Project objectives
- Achieve the ecological restoration of the city's water bodies and maintain and preserve the mangrove ecosystems (ref 5).
- Plant trees to restore mangrove ecosystems and improve biodiversity. (Ref 4)
- Recover areas of the wetland that have been filled with debris or damaged by human activities. (Ref 4, 5), along the Ciénaga de Las Quintas shores, between the Jiménez Bridge and the Bazurto Market through solid waste removal (ref 5 and 6).
- Improve navigability through solid waste removal (ref 7).
- Minimize the disposal of solid waste, wastewater, and household garbage into the wetland. (Ref 1, 3)
Implementation activities
- Tree planting sessions with plants donated by the EPA (ref 12, 13).
- Collaboration with communities: The Municipal Ombudsman’s Office of Cartagena convened actors in a working group to find a solution to the contamination of the body of water of the Ciénaga de Las Quintas, where merchants and those who use this public space participated. They committed to keeping the sector this clean, and the Environmental Police also committed to generating greater controls to prevent this over time. ecosystem from continuing to be contaminated (ref 1, 10).
- Implementation of the ecobloque initiative: The interinstitutional group Ecobloque, coordinated by the Environmental Public Establishment (EPA Cartagena), aims at recovering the shores of the Bazurto Canal and Ciénaga Las Quintas, near the Bazurto Market. Ecobloque is an interinstitutional strategy where entities come together with the goal of demonstrating government presence through control and surveillance of the territory to protect the environment and strategic ecosystems. (ref 4, 8, 9)
- Waste removal: The General Secretariat, Public Markets Office, Public Space Management, and Veolia restored 20 sq. meters of public space at Ciénaga de Las Quintas, dismantling makeshift shelters used for storing recyclable waste, which polluted the area (ref 11).
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore native species
- Restore ecological connectivity
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Taskforce groups
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The project is being led by the Environmental Public Establishment of Cartagena (EPA Cartagena) in collaboration with other actors. Participants included the General Secretariat, Office of Public Services, Environmental Guard, Environmental Police, a delegate from the District Attorney’s Office, the Fundación Verde que te Quiero Verde, and the Veolia Waste Management Consortium (ref 2).
The interinstitutional group Ecobloque, coordinated by the EPA Cartagena, organised the recovery process of the shores of the Bazurto Canal and Ciénaga Las Quintas, near the Bazurto Market (Port Authority, Police, and Coast Guard, among others (ref 4, 9).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Since 2020, EPA Cartagena has been carrying out numerous operations in this sector under the Recovery of Degraded Areas program and the Environmental Education area (ref 5))
Type of enablers
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€2,000,000 - €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of goods
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved water quality
- Achieved improved water quality
- Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Achieved enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Achieved increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
The Regional Center for Responsible Business and Entrepreneurship (CREER) (2024). Impacts on Mangroves and Swamps in Cartagena and Exploration of Alternatives for their Restoration and Protection. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Cartagena Mayor's Office (2023). Inicia recuperación de zona degradada en la Ciénaga de las Quintas. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
3.
El Universal (2020). Ciénaga de Las Quintas y caño Bazurto, en la mira. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
4.
EPA Cartagena (2022). Ecobloque continúa recuperación de orillas de Ciénaga Las Quintas y Caño de Bazurto. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Caracol Radio (2023). 20 toneladas de residuos sólidos fueron recolectadas en la Ciénaga de Las Quintas. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Caracol Radio (2022 ). Realizaron intervención a orillas de la Ciénaga de las Quintas. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
7.
CartagenaEnLinea.com (2023). Cardique recuperó ambientalmente el Caño de Bazurto y Ciénaga de Las Quintas. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Caracol Radio (2022). Inicia recuperación en Ciénaga Las Quintas y Caño de Gracia. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Cartagena Mayor's Office (2024). Alcaldía de Cartagena instaló la primera mesa de trabajo y planificación para la reactivación del Ecobloque. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Caracol Radio (2021). Responsables del deterioro de Ciénaga de las Quintas asumen responsabilidad. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
11.
El Universal (2024 ). Desmontan dos cambuches a la orilla de la Ciénaga de Las Quintas. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
12.
EPA Cartagena (2023). Continúa jornada de recuperación de orillas en Ciénaga de Las Quintas. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
13.
Caracol Radio (2023). 110 nuevos árboles fueron sembrados en zona degradada de la Ciénaga de las Quintas. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
14.
Tirado, O.; Manjarrez, G.; Díaz, C. (2011). CARACTERIZACIÓN AMBIENTAL DE LA CIÉNAGA DE LA QUINTA LOCALIZADA EN CARTAGENA DE INDIAS, COLOMBIA, 2009 - 2010. Accessed on August 25, 2024, [Source link];
planting session perfomed by EPA Cartagena
https://epacartagena.gov.co/web/ecobloque-continua-recuperacion-de-orillas-de-cienaga-las-quintas-y-cano-de-bazurto/
planting session perfomed by EPA Cartagena
https://epacartagena.gov.co/web/ecobloque-continua-recuperacion-de-orillas-de-cienaga-las-quintas-y-cano-de-bazurto/
waste collection activity
https://caracol.com.co/2023/01/22/20-toneladas-de-residuos-solidos-fueron-recolectadas-en-la-cienaga-de-las-quintas/
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.