Rising tide Colombians adapt as the sea creeps ever closer

Buenaventura is the most important port on Colombia's Pacific coast, handling about 40% of the country's foreign trade and acting as the gateway to the Uramba Bahia Malaga national natural park.

- Mario Toro Quintero

Buenaventura is the most important port on Colombia's Pacific coast, handling about 40% of the country's foreign trade and acting as the gateway to the Uramba Bahia Malaga national natural park. Every year, tens of thousands of tourists arrive there, heading to the village of Juanchaco or the beaches of Ladrilleros and La Barra.

But the coast around Juanchaco, in the Valle del Cauca department, is experiencing accelerated erosion that has already left damaged streets, collapsed homes and a local economy exposed to the elements.

Since the second half of 2024, more than 3,000 families have been affected in Juanchaco, La Barra and Ladrilleros. In Juanchaco, erosion has destroyed more than 100 metres of coastline and compromised another 800; in La Barra, nearly 60% of inhabited land has been lost, according to the National Unit for Risk Management.