Flood management and slums formation in Magdalena?s River Basin-Colombia

1. Background
3. Objectives
4. Methodology
5. Magdalena’s
   River
6. Slum
   formation in Magdalena’s River
7. Framework for
   master plan
8. Conclusions and
   recommendations
9. Referencies

Hydraulic engineering and river basin
development individual study

1. BACKGROUND

1. General
   Features

The present individual study is intended to give some
directions and estimations of the slum formation in
Magdalena’s River Basin during the last past 10 years, in
order to fulfill and improve target 11 for the Millennium
Development Goals.

The increasing armed conflict and the precarious
economic situations does not give any choice for displaced people
than to settle in a dangerous place like a floodplain in
Magdalena’s Downstream watershed and struggle for survival
every day.

Colombia is located in the northeast part of South
America. Its total area is 1.141, 748 km2 being the
third largest country in South America. The population in 1993
was estimated 33.109, 840 according to the National
Administrative Department of Statistics DANE. The projection of
the data censes of 1993 for the 2000-year was 42.299. 301
inhabitants.

The country shares borders with Venezuela in
the northeast, with Panama in the northwest, with Brazil in the
southeast and with Ecuador and
Peru in the
southwest. The country is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean in the
western part and by the Atlantic Ocean by the northern
part.

The Andes mountains comes from Ecuador to Colombia in the
south part of the country, in that place the Andes mountains
divides into three chains of mountains that cross along the
country from south to north, and from west to east. The
Cordillera Occidental (western) and the Cordillera Oriental
(eastern) are separated from the Cordillera Central by the Cauca
and Magdalena River valleys. The Andes mountains divide the
country into five natural units: the Andean region itself, the
Pacific lowlands, the Caribbean coastal plain, the eastern Llanos
or Orinoquia, and the Amazonian lowlands. Thus, almost 1/3 of the
country is located in the mountain area. The other 2/3 is located
one part in the lowland area that is called The Orinoquia and the
rest in the Amazon forest.

Tropical characteristics may be the common denominator
of the climatic conditions of Colombia. Despite local variations,
there is no seasonal temperature fluctuation as in
middle-latitude climates. Latitude and elevation are the most
important factors determining the climate.

Colombia is made up of lowlands less than 10 degrees
north from the equator, warm climates are widespread with average
daily temperatures always above 24 C. Weather conditions are
controlled by the Intertropical Convergence Zone; a low-pressure
belt that moves back and forth across the equator bringing
together the trade winds and seasonal rains. Wet and dry seasons
alternate in the Andes, the Llanos, and the Caribbean plain. The
Pacific region and Amazonian, which are crossed by the equator,
have abundant rainfall evenly distributed throughout the
year.

A vertical environmental zoning results from the
decrease of temperature as altitude increases in the Andes. At
the bottom lies the zone of warm lands, to about 1,000m. Next the
temperate zone, reaches to 2,000m. On top of this lies a fringe
of cool climate, extending up to 3,000m. Finally, a zone of
treeless Paramus reaches to the permanent snow line at
about 4,700 m.

Colombia is one of the richest countries in water
resources in the world. The country has more than 500 rivers
along its area. According to the watershed the country is divided
in 5 hydrological regions that are the most important the main
hydrological features are shown in See Map 1-1 and Table
1-1.

Despite of the disponibility of resources in the whole
country, Colombian people have been displaced by the internal
conflict between 1985 and 1999, 392.000 families that form a
population of 1.900.000 persons, which 1.100.000 of them are not
adults. At least 450.000 boys and girls lived the violence
between 1985 and 1994 while more than 650.000 face this situation
since 1995.

In 1998 the amount of displaced population 308.000,
which 172.480 correspond to young people less than 18 years. By
1999 the conflict displaced 272.000 persons, and 176.800 of this
population were boys and girls, young and under aged.

In the last five years the forced displacement has
increased and expanded in the national territory, thousands of
boys and girls are driven by the migratory current without any
choice, pressed by the violence and left in a dramatic situation
of survival.

The cities, which receive more displaced people, are
Bogotá, Medellin, Cali,

Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Monteria,
Barrancabermeja, Cucuta Sincelejo, Villavicencio, Soacha, Bello,
Malambo, Tierra alta,
Apartado, report high arrival of displaced population, and a high
percent of them settle in the flood plains of the rivers or in
the inner jungles.

The departments or states that have more expultion of
population due to the conflict are Antioquia, Bolivar, Choco,
Cordoba, Tolima, Santander, Cesar, Norte Santander, most of them
located in Magdalena’s river basin.

This data is the reflex of the reality that will tend to
increase in the Future, as a consequence and continuity of the
armed conflict and its diverse expressions of degradation, the
formation of slums in cities and river flood plains represent an
humanitarian problem of big proportions, that requires effective
mechanisms of prevention, attention and protection. See map
1-2

Colombia faces floods every year. This kind of natural
event is a usual situation during the months April, May, October
and November during the rainy seasons. See pictures 1-1 and
1-2