Pacific Corridor Soon More Than Just Words
Two years after first being announced, a four-nation initiative to protect and sustainably manage five Latin American archipelagos in the Pacific is finally coming to fruition.

Representatives from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama are to meet here next month to put into operation the Pacific Biological Corridor, an initiative that has been talked about since 2002, but whose action guidelines have yet to be established.

The joint programme, first presented during the World Summit on Sustainable Development, in Johannesburg, seeks to streamline and coordinate administrative policies for the Galápagos (Ecuador), Coco (Costa Rica), Malpelo and Gorgona (Colombia) and Coiba (Panama) islands of the eastern Pacific.

The purpose of the Mar. 31-Apr. 2 meeting is to specify what actions are to be taken, "In other words, bring the project to earth so that the Pacific Biological Corridor begins to function," says biologist Jorge Rodríguez, coordinator of the Coco Island Conservation Area and one of the meeting's organisers.

"The idea of the Biological Corridor is a beautiful and interesting vision, but real goals must be established for the short, medium and long term," says Mario Piú, head of marine conservation at the Galápagos National Park.

Colombia's deputy environment minister Juan Pablo Bonilla stresses that the functioning of the Corridor will require the participation of public entities, non-governmental organisations and the scientific community.

A biological corridor is defined as a natural space, an interconnection of ecosystems that benefits the movement and migration of species from one habitat to another, and which possesses great wealth in terms of biodiversity, explained Rodríguez.

In the Pacific Marine Biological Corridor there is a high degree of ecological interconnectivity and complex oceanographic conditions, such as the convergence of major ocean currents, like the Humboldt Current, say experts.

Sea birds, whales, turtles, sharks, tuna and other manifestations of rich biodiversity are part of the treasure that would be cared for under the auspices of the corridor, which initially involved just Costa Rica and Ecuador, but later was expanded due to the interest expressed by Colombia and Panama.

The corridor also encompasses the coastal lakes, marshes and reefs, many of which are threatened today by the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources and other human activities.

This marine corridor is the first of its kinds in the world, and has awakened international interest amongst politicians and scientists.

Participating in the meeting in Costa Rica will be experts, representatives of environmental and scientific organisations, like the Charles Darwin Foundation and Conservation International, Mar Viva and the International Oceanographic Institute, as well as the environment ministers form the four countries involved in the initiative

"So far, the focus has been on financing, but concrete guidelines for action have not been established, and that is the purpose of the meeting," said Rodríguez.

Another is the creation of two regional commissions, one that is institutional-political in nature, and one that is technical, to help establish the policies to be followed.

The executive agency of the corridor is the regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), entrusted with managing its financial resources.

Preliminary calculations are that the first 18 months of work on the corridor's various projects would cost at least 900,000 dollars.

Currently, the corridor has the backing of three million dollars from financing by Conservation International and UNEP, Rodríguez said.

The initiative will help consolidate sustainable development efforts on the islands, the preservation of their biological diversity, rational use of marine resources, and coordinated action among the different entities, he said.

"The purpose is to create alliances to protect and study the marine resources. Many of the species in the corridor are migratory, so we don't really intend to define territories, but rather expand them based on a concept of sustainable development," explained the Coco Island reserve coordinator.

Piú underscored that joint coordination of the corridor would facilitate the exchange of experiences, and said it would be best to draft shared regulations for managing the protected marine areas.

"The experience of managing the Galápagos can be extended to other islands, and at the same time it is possible to establish common strategies for management, policy, rules and regulations," he said.

According to Piú, the Galápagos possess a high level of endemic species, great biodiversity and a sustainable development model that could serve as an example for the rest of the world.

The archipelago, made up of 13 big islands, six smaller islands and 40 islets, "is relatively new in geological terms, so it is an example of the formation of a new body of land," he said.

Bonilla, meanwhile, stressed that the islands of the Pacific Corridor are "united by a natural heritage enriched by the presence of dynamic marine, atmospheric and geological currents," but, he said, pollution poses a great threat.

"There is also overexploitation and inadequate management of fishing resources and a lack of management of tourism activity," said the Colombian environmental official.

As for Malpelo Island, Bonilla said it is a point of convergence for several major Pacific Ocean currents.

"It holds the most important coral formations of the Colombian Pacific, as well as a great number of marine fauna, such as sea stars (two endemic species), angel fish, moray eels, manta rays and whale sharks," and is a nesting site for marine birds," he said.

Coco Island, where studies are underway and which has two million dollars in financing for the corridor project, is famed for its natural wealth and for the legend of treasure.

Costa Rican historian Raúl Arias says that some 300 treasure-hunting expeditions have taken place on the island over the past century and a half, as there are 24 boxes of gold, weighing 300 lbs each, stolen from the cathedral of Lima on Oct. 19, 1820.

In 1997, Coco Island was included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.