Country information
Basic facts on marine waters
- Territorial sea (12 NM): 928 660 km2
- Exclusive Economic Zone in km2: N/A
Technical resources related to MSP
- Identification of Synergies and Conflicts in Coastal and marine uses in Colombian Pacific: a Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis.
- Marine Spatial Planning: Concepts, Principles and Methodological Guidance. Marviva
- Marine Protected Areas Subsystem Action Plan SAMP – 2016-2023.
- Southern alluvial plain coastal environmental unit: characterization, integrated diagnosis and environmental zoning.
- Integrated management plan for the coastal zone of the Guapi Iscuandé mouth complex, Colombian Pacific – Phase II.
- Conflicts of use in the process of coastal marine management: Vision of maritime authority in the department of Bolivar, Colombia
- Spatial Data Infrastructure – DIMAR
Relevant MSP projects
- Maritime Authority Vision (OMC:VAM), Port Captaincy of Cartagena and Port Captaincy of Coveñas jurisdiction
- Maritime Authority Vision (OMC:VAM), jurisdiction Port Captaincy of Buenaventura and Port Captaincy of Tumaco.
- Management Plan for the Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo National Park (2020 – 2025).
- Marine Spatial Planning Pilot Project in the Bay of Cartagena – DIMAR
- Marine Spatial Planning Pilot Project in the Bay of Buenaventura – DIMAR
- Integrated Management Plan for the coastal zone of the Guapi Iscuandé mouth complex, Colombian Pacific – Phase II
- SAMP Marine Protected Areas Subsystem Action Plan – 2016-2023
- MSPglobal – Transboundary pilot in the Southeast Pacific (2018-2021)
- Southeast Pacific data and information network in support to integrated coastal area management (SPINCAM Project) (2009-2020)
Overview of MSP related maritime uses
Current main uses:
Shipping | Oil and gas |
Ports | Nature conservation |
Fisheries | Aquaculture |
Cables and pipelines | Scientific research |
Military | Tourism and leisure |
Underwater cultural heritage | Coastal protection |
Mining |
Others: Anchorage areas, change areas, fishing areas and routes, communities, maritime signaling (buoys and lighthouses), diving areas.
Which marine spatial plans exist?
Name of the plan (year) |
Coastal Marine Management, Port Captaincy of Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia |
---|---|
Scale of the plan |
Local |
Pre-planning |
Status: Complete |
Assessment for planning |
Status: Complete |
Plan development |
Status: Underway |
Plan completion |
Status: N/A |
Plan approval |
Status: N/A |
Plan implementation |
Status: N/A |
Plan review |
Status: N/A |
Name of the plan (year) |
Coastal Marine Management, Buenaventura Port Captaincy |
---|---|
Scale of the plan |
Local |
Pre-planning |
Status: Complete |
Assessment for planning |
Status: Underway |
Plan development |
Status: N/A |
Plan completion |
Status: N/A |
Plan approval |
Status: N/A |
Plan implementation |
Status: N/A |
Plan review |
Status: N/A |
Name of the plan (year) |
Coastal Marine Management, Tumaco Port Captaincy |
---|---|
Scale of the plan |
Local |
Pre-planning |
Status: Complete |
Assessment for planning |
Status: Underway |
Plan development |
Status: N/A |
Plan completion |
Status: N/A |
Plan approval |
Status: N/A |
Plan implementation |
Status: N/A |
Plan review |
Status: N/A |
National authority in charge of MSP |
Colombian Ocean Commission, CCO |
Governmental funding |
Charged to the budget of each entity that is part of the CCO |
External funding |
No |
Public-private funding |
No |
Size of planning area |
Approximately 928.660 km² corresponds to Colombia’s maritime area (Caribbean and Colombian Pacific). |
Time required to complete the planning document |
2030 in accordance with the provisions of CONPES 3990. |
Main issued that led to the adoption of MSP (drivers) |
IOC-UNESCO at the international level and CCO at the national level with all the entities that are part of this commission. |
Stakeholder engagement activities |
Outreach workshops and webinars organized by the different national entities with competence in maritime management, and at international level those organized by MSPGLOBAL. |
Sectors included in planning |
Environment, Ports, Fisheries, Tourism, Communications, Heritage. Research, Energy, Mining and Hydrocarbons, Security and Defense, Aquaculture, Territorial entities. |
Articulation between MSP and coastal zone management |
Coastal Zone Management articulates the MSP and integrated management of the coastal zone as it takes into account maritime activities and the coastal and maritime spaces. This process provides inputs for decision making by promoting the sustainable use of maritime space, through interrelationships between socioeconomic activities and governance agreements that ensure the integrity of the habitat and guarantee the ecosystem services on which humans depend.
There is mutual interaction due to the direct relationship between the two environments (MSP/ICZM), which is also proposed in the methodology to be developed for the realization of the marine spatial plans Likewise, there are works related to ICZM being carried out by different institutions, of which DIMAR, the Ministry of Environment and territorial entities |
Articulation between MSP and marine protected areas |
It is articulated because within the Coastal Zone Management methodological process, the marine protected areas established in the country are taken into account, considering them to be of high importance and value, which supports their conservation objectives.
The relations between maritime activities and marine protected areas are coordinated and framed within the current regulations for the use of these areas Likewise, the methodology proposed includes a direct relationship with the National Natural Parks System of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development |
Articulation between MSP and sustainable blue economy |
Coastal Zone Management is a tool that helps determine the compatibilities between uses/activities that are developed in Colombian marine areas. In the long term, it seeks to ensure that the activities with the greatest growth tendencies are carried out simultaneously, considering variables of efficiency and effectiveness, and seeking to minimize conflicts and environmental impacts. |
Plan approval process |
Working groups at the inter-institutional level within the framework of the Colombian Commission on the Ocean |
Legal status of the plan (guiding or legally binding) |
Not defined, only what is established in CONPES 3990. |
Plan review process |
Pending definition of this phase |
Performance monitoring and evaluation |
Pending definition of this phase |
Legal framework
Political Constitution of Colombia:
- Article 80: The State will plan the management and use of the natural resources, to guarantee its sustainable development, its conservation, restoration or substitution. In addition, it shall prevent and control the factors of environmental deterioration, impose legal sanctions and demand the reparation of the damage caused. Likewise, it will cooperate with other nations in the protection of ecosystems located in border areas
Decree Law n° 2324 of 1984, “By which the General Maritime and Port Directorate is reorganized”:
- Article 2°. Jurisdiction. The General Maritime and Port Directorate exercises its jurisdiction up to the external limit of the exclusive economic zone, in the following areas: internal maritime waters, including intercostal and maritime traffic channels; and all those marine and fluvial-marine systems; territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, marine bed and subsoil, supra-adjacent waters, coasts, including beaches and low tide lands, ports of the country located in its jurisdiction, islands, islets and cays and over the rivers listed below, in the areas indicated (…)
- Article 3°. Maritime activities. For the purposes of this Decree are considered maritime activities those related to: (…)
- 18. The administration and development of the coastal zone
- Article 5°. Functions and powers. The General Maritime Directorate has the following functions: (…)
- 21. Authorize and control the concessions and permits in waters, low tide lands, beaches and other public properties in the areas of its jurisdiction
- 22. Regulate, authorize and control the construction and use of the islands and artificial structures in the areas of its jurisdiction (…)
- 26. Authorize and control dredging, filling and other ocean engineering works in low tide lands, beaches and other public properties in the areas of its jurisdiction
- 27. Advance and rule investigations for the violation of merchant marine regulations, for maritime accidents, for the violation of cargo reservation regulations, for the contamination of the marine and fluvial environment of its jurisdiction, for undue or non authorized constructions in the public properties and lands submitted to the jurisdiction of the General Maritime Directorate, and impose the corresponding sanctions (…)
Resolution n° 0825 of 1994, “By which the limits of jurisdiction of the port authorities are established”
“National Environmental Policy for the Sustainable Development of Oceanic Spaces and Coastal and Insular Zones of Colombia – PNAOCI” of 2000, which follows the ecosystem approach and the conceptual framework of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). Regarding this Policy, in 2002, the DNP issued CONPES 3164. This policy framework defined the criteria to guide the definition of the coastal zone in the country as well as the delimitation of spatial units (Coastal Environmental Units – UACs) as continuous geographic areas, which involve land and sea space, with clearly defined ecosystems, which require a unified visualization and management that brings together local and subregional territorial entities. In the legal context, with the establishment of the Law 1450/2011, it was possible to generate the normative support to the UACs and the Integrated Management Plan for the Coastal Environmental Unit (POMIUAC) as a planning instrument (Decree 1120/2013, compiled in the Decree 1076/2015); moreover, based on practical cases, a methodological framework with technical guidance for the preparation of the POMIUAC was developed and adopted through the Resolution 768/2017.
“National Policy for the Ocean and the Coastal Spaces – PNOEC” (initially formulated in 2007 and then updated for the 2016-2030 period) integrates elements from the environmental part of the PNAOCI.
CONPES 3990 of 2020, “Colombia Sustainable Bioceanic Power 2030”:
- 4.3.4. Planning and management of marine, coastal and insular spaces – Line of action 4.1. Generate instruments for the management of maritime and territorial planning:
In order to have relevant land management tools for coastal, marine and insular spaces that allow the use of their natural resources, the management of activities in the coastal and marine area and the benefits of connection with other countries, the following actions will be carried out. On the one hand, the National Planning Department (DNP), as technical secretariat of the Commission for Territorial Planning (COT) and entities of the COT, in coordination with DIMAR and other entities that make up the Colombian Ocean Commission (CCO), will make recommendations on the planning of coastal, marine and insular spaces to be included in the General Policy for Territorial Planning (PGOT). This action will be carried out between 2020 and December 2022. On the other hand, the DIMAR, in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory, will formulate orientation documents for coastal marine spatial planning in the jurisdiction of each of its 13 port authorities. This action will be carried out from 2020 until December 2030.
At the same time, DIMAR and the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory, as the leading institution for territorial planning and in coordination with other entities participating in the COT, will evaluate the scope and define the articulation of these documents with other planning and management instruments, as well as their formalization by updating current regulations that are considered relevant (…)
Contact
General Maritime Directorate
CC Jonathan Gómez – General Maritime Subdirector