FIHAC and Universidad del Magdalena sign an agreement to promote coastal management in Colombia

Between September 22nd and 26th, technical meetings and field visits will be held in Cantabria, within the framework of the signing of the agreement to develop the Coastal Modeling System (SMC-MAC 1)

The Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the Universidad de Cantabria (IHCantabria) receives, from September 22 to 26, a delegation of authorities from the Colombian Department of Atlántico and the University of Magdalena (UNIMAGDALENA), headed by the rector Pablo Vera Salazar. The purpose of this visit is to formalize the specific agreement with the Fundación Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de Cantabria (FIHAC), to create the Coastal Modeling System (SMC-MAC 1) and to strengthen scientific and technical cooperation with the Corporación Autónoma Regional del Atlántico (CRA).

The group of Colombian authorities visiting IHCantabria’s facilities is made up of representatives of the CRA Board of Directors, including Eduardo Ignacio Verano de la Rosa, Governor of Atlántico and President of the CRA Board, and Jesús León Insignares, General Director of the CRA; as well as Laura Villamizar Pacheco, delegate of the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia. These authorities are accompanied by other personalities from the CRA and the government of the Department of Atlántico, as well as academic representatives, such as Professor Gustavo Hernández Cortez, former student of the Master’s Degree in Coasts and Ports of the University of Cantabria.

Work agenda in Santander

The working sessions will begin on Monday 22nd with a visit to IHCantabria’s laboratories and facilities and the signing of the agreement in the Patronage Hall. The rest of the days will be devoted to the presentation of application cases of the Coastal Modeling System in different environments (such as Baru and Bavaro), advances in the generation of oceanographic databases and methodologies applied to the management of coastal areas, estuaries and beaches. Nature-based solutions (NBS) for climate change adaptation will also be addressed and the results of a study developed within the same framework of collaboration between UNIMAGDALENA and the CRA will be presented. That study focused on proposed solutions and stabilization of Barranquilla’s beaches in a context of climate change and socioeconomic transformation.

This week will include technical visits to the bay of Santander and surrounding beaches, in order to share experiences in coastal management and show the practical application of methodologies developed by IHCantabria.

Continuity of a strategic partnership

This new agreement gives continuity to the joint work initiated in 2024 with the environmental and hydrodynamic study of the Mallorquín, Manatíes and Balboa marshes, in Barranquilla, whose development counted with the active participation of IHCantabria. In this new phase, the objective is to provide the CRA with a coastal modeling platform and databases of climate and marine dynamics, which can facilitate the planning and sustainable management of its coastline, with an initial investment of 500 million Colombian pesos (about 106,000 euros).

“This agreement strengthens academic and technical cooperation between Spain and Colombia, and will allow the transfer of knowledge applied directly to the management of the Colombian Caribbean,” said Raul Medina, vice president of FIHAC and general director of IHCantabria.

For his part, the rector of UNIMAGDALENA, Pablo Vera Salazar, emphasized that “this is a strategic opportunity to consolidate the Marine-Coastal Engineering program of our university and to support the authorities of the Atlantic in the protection of its natural heritage”.

About UNIMAGDALENA

The Universidad del Magdalena, based in Santa Marta, Colombia, is a public institution accredited by the Colombian Ministry of Education and recognized internationally as an ‘Engaged University’.

About FIHAC/IHCantabria

FIHAC is a regional public foundation created in 2007 together with the University of Cantabria. From this alliance was born IHCantabria, an international center of reference in research and integrated management of aquatic and coastal ecosystems.