Madgalena River Watershed by https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40 Overview, Challenges, solutions, en-us 2019-07-22 14:35:04 UTC 2025-10-03 20:32:00 UTC hello@padlet.com Location lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371907920 The River Magdalena source is the Lake called the Macizo Colombiano. Mazico Colombiano is actually one of the major and important sources in the world. “The river does discharge at Bocas de Ceniza in Barranquilla in the north of the country.” (Hill, 2015). The Bocas de Cenizas which is the rivers mouth is in the Caribbean Sea. It actually flows to the Western part for about 1000 miles which is about halfway the western part of Colombia (Baumhardt, 2015). Below is a map showing the drainage river of Magdalena River basin.]]> 2019-07-22 14:45:51 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371907920 Size lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371907958 The Madgalena River is said to occupy the drainage area of 257400km2 and is estimated to occupy about 24% of the Colombian territory . The river has been described as the “… aquatic lifeblood of the country: supplying water to 80 percent of the country’s population, it is also home to 2,735 species of animals, 20 percent of the world’s bird species (Baumhardt, 2015).”  Due to its size and the length it has occupied position five in terms of the size of the basin compared to other river basins in South America. The video provides more details on the size of the river and the roles it plays. ]]> 2019-07-22 14:46:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371907958 Social Parameters part 1 lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908041 The valleys in which it flows through are characterized by the fertile soils that have enabled the activities such as the cultivation of coffee, corn and cacao (Aguirre). The river is characterized by the “ecosystems such as the forests, mountains, valleys, wetlands, and ocean” (Aguirre). The video presents the importance of the Magdalena water basin.]]> 2019-07-22 14:47:32 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908041 Land Uses lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908169 Both agriculture and fishing have been identified as the main economic activities along the river or in the watershed. 

]]> 2019-07-22 14:48:55 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908169 Political Influences lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908304 There have been occurrence of forceful displacement of people and armed conflicts due to resources and the political powers. This has lead to the formation of slums that amount to around 400 thousand that host about 2000.000 Colombians (Goez, 2005). Below is an art that is done and opposes the construction of dams on the Magdalena river.]]> 2019-07-22 14:50:08 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908304 Challenges: lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908429 The river is apart from being hub of business activities that bring positive outcomes. There is also the negative activities taking place such as the dumping of the agricultural waste, commercial and illegal mining (Baumhardt, 2015).  The video discusses why the river is under a threat.]]> 2019-07-22 14:51:34 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908429 Pollution part 1 lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908642 It is is actually very important to note that the “Colombia’s state-owned oil company, Ecopetrol… largest refinery is located along the most polluted banks of the Magdalena in the town of Barrancabermeja, where 80 percent of Colombia’s oil is processed” (Baumhardt, 2015). The video shows the impact of oil spills in the past along Magdalena river.]]> 2019-07-22 14:53:11 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908642 Species Loss lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908814 The Basin is already a host to two artificial dams and there is also an agreement signed by the Chinese government to have the river host additional dams that will be from 11 to 15 dams. “The future dams would have major negative impacts across the board: communities, wildlife species, fisheries, and the Columbian economy would all suffer. 103 bird species, 13 reptile’s species, and three mammal species are already in danger of extinction and are located in the 842 hectares of riparian forest that would be flooded by this plan” (Aguirre, n.d). The river has really contributed to the loss of the Carribean sea ecosystems such as the coral reefs and seagrass (Alvarado, 2009). Below is Podocnemis lewyana which is a river turtle that is endemic to Magdalena River and is endangered.]]> 2019-07-22 14:55:11 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371908814 Flooding lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371916755 The Magdalena River Basin is characterized by the regular flooding especially at the tributaries. The slums a long the river are flooded leading to the displacement of people. The following picture shows the section of Magdalena river at La Gabarra Cesar Magdalena's Flood that is flooded.]]> 2019-07-22 16:34:47 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371916755 Precipitation lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371918308 The approximated annual precipitation is 2000 mm which varies between 800 mm to 5000 mm in some zones. Due to the steep Geography the river is characterized by torrential flow which decreases down stream. It forms meanders downstream to the extent of forming small islands at the Middle Magdalena. Below images shows pitctorial representation of slope, elavation and precipitation in relation to Magdalena. ]]> 2019-07-22 16:55:35 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371918308 Precipitation part 2 lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371918797 The Magdalena basin can be classified into 3 areas that have different precipitation traits at different periods of the year as shown in table below. 

]]> 2019-07-22 17:00:37 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371918797 Role in the economy lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371921108 The River hosts 40 dams that have been he source of 86% of the Colombia Gross Domestic Product. supports the 75% of agriculture and the source of 90% of electricity (The Nature Conservancy, 2019). The River also connects most of the land to the sea. The Link below have a video leads to a video and a blog post that gives the overview of Colombia's past, present and future
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/latin-america/colombia/stories-in-colombia/magdalena-river/]]> 2019-07-22 17:30:51 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371921108 Climate Change lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371921110 The river has continued to be exploited to support the economy of the country. This has lead to the degradation in the quality of the river. In addition, it has been affected b climate activities such as La Nina floods between 2010-2011 that caused disturbances to 2.2 million people (US Agency for International Development, 2017). The events are projected to be intense in future if right steps are not taken.]]> 2019-07-22 17:30:52 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371921110 Solutions Part 1 lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371922757 The government of Colombia is currently working on developing Integrated River Basin Management that focus on the bringing the stakeholders onboard in decision making together with the incorporation of the scientific based solutions and actions. There are also steps in achieving sustainable solutions all over the basin (The Conservancy, 2019). The project focus is mainly on.
i. Conservation areas 
ii. Floodplains Management 
iii. Hydric Resource Management 
iv. Sustainable ranching 
The picture below shows some of the part of the river that need to be conserved]]> 2019-07-22 17:55:34 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371922757 Connecting to the Ready Player one lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371924220 The novel is based on the future of the world and what it portrays is that the human has reached to a point of many crisis in the world. This is attributed to the collapse of the important realms of sustainability such as the environment and the economy. The collapse has the human hard and without much options human is determined to escape form the reality and wants to spend more time on the virtual simulation called the Oasis. In the novel the theme of the technological advances is enhanced and is already present through the ability of the people to be able to have a virtual occurrence that is very different from the reality. The technological advances can have both the negative and the positive impact on the environment. In the novel the technological advances enable the people to escape the reality which is can only happen in imaginations. In reality we can escape the reality for sometime and harming the environment will lead to the nature fighting back.
The picture below show what have been imagined on the left to have been achieved versus what is real as represented on the right.

]]> 2019-07-22 18:17:49 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371924220 References lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371924798
Aguirre, M. The Magdalena and the “Master Plan” - Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved from https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/magdalena-master-plan/#!
Alvarado, M., 2009. Diseño  de  las  obras  de  estabilización del canal navegable de acceso al puerto
 
Baumhardt, A. (2015). The Magdalena and the “Master Plan” - Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 16 July 2019, from https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/magdalena-master-plan/ 

Cline, E. (2012). Ready Player One. Retrieved 15 July 2019, from https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448
de  Barranquilla  en  el  sector  Siape.  En  [In]:  Alvarado,  O.M.  (Ed.).  Magdalena  River. 

Giraldo, C. (2014). New species of fish found in Colombia's heavily polluted Magdalena River. Retrieved 23 July 2019, from https://colombiareports.com/new-species-fish-found-magdalena-river-researchers/

Goez, H. (2005). Flood management and slums formation in Magdalena?s River Basin-Colombia (página 2) - Monografias.com. Retrieved 15 July 2019, from https://www.monografias.com/trabajos43/magdalena-river-basin/magdalena-river-basin2.shtml 

Hill, D. (2015). Colombians start ‘Big Mobilisation’ to save the country’s principal river. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2015/mar/14/colombians-big-mobilisation-save-countrys-principal-river 

Meurs, E. (2015). Playing our part in the Magdalena river basin in Colombia | IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. Retrieved 17 July 2019, from https://www.un-ihe.org/stories/playing-our-part-magdalena-river-basin-colombia

Moreno-Madriñán, M., Rickman, D., Ogashawara, I., Irwin, D., Ye, J., & Al-Hamdan, M. (2015). Using remote sensing to monitor the influence of river discharge on watershed outlets and adjacent coral Reefs: Magdalena River and Rosario Islands, Colombia. Retrieved 16 July 2019, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303243415000094 

Navegación  Marítima  y Fluvial  (1986-2008).  Ediciones  Uninorte,  Barranquilla.  pp.  406  - 
The Nature Conservancy (2019). Past, present and future of Colombia: Magdalena River Basin. (2019). Retrieved 16 July 2019, from https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/latin-america/colombia/stories-in-colombia/magdalena-river/

US Agency for International Development (2017). Ecosystem-based adaptation in the Magdalena river basin - Colombia. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/ecosystem-based-adaptation-magdalena-river-basin

Walling, D., 2009. The Impact of global change on erosion and sediment transport by rivers: current progress and future challenges. The United Nations World Development Report 3: Water in a Changing World. Scientific Paper. UNESCO, Paris, France. 26 p. 


]]> 2019-07-22 18:26:05 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371924798 Water Quality lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371925931 The water at the source of the Magdalena river is of good quality. However, as one progresses downstream the water quality continues to be lower as the pollution increases. The source of pollution is the discharge from towns, slaughterhouses, the oil spills. The video link below shows how the water quality of the river is good at the source

]]> 2019-07-22 18:44:59 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371925931 Pollution part 2 lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371927521 There is also the threat of coal spillage and accidents as it happened to three ships that were carrying coal to the Caribbean coast. The coal is among the unclean source of fuel and have been identified to have adverse impacts to the environment even in the raw form (Baumhardt, 2015). 

]]> 2019-07-22 19:02:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371927521 Pollution part 3 lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371927591 The river has been identified to be a major transporter of the sediments to the Caribbean  sea. In fact, it has been identified to possess one of the highest discharge rate in the world (Walling, 2009). The video illustrates the process of sedimentation. ]]> 2019-07-22 19:02:57 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371927591 Social Parameters part 2 lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371927807 There are about endemic animals that are supported by this river and it is approximated currently that 2,735 species in total are found along the Magdalena watershed. An example of the endemic species found along the river is the Grey-legged Night Monkey (Aotus griseimembra) (Aguirre). Together with these animals there is over 120,000 inhabitants that apart form agricultural activities they also practice the fishing and agriculture (Aguirre). The video discusses the ecosystems of the Magdalena river watershed. ]]> 2019-07-22 19:05:05 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371927807 Solutions Part 2 lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371964457 Improved Scientific Information
There has been need and continued input by researchers and innovators to develop and improve the scientific information for the decision making and promote watershed management and climate adaptation (US Agency for International Development, 2017). The remote sensing techniques have been applied “to estimate and monitor the relationship between water quality at the coral reefs around the Rosario Islands, in the Caribbean Sea, and the rainfall patterns in the Magdalena River watershed” (Moreno-Madriñán et al., 2015). This is one of the areas that is emphasized in the Ready to Play one.   “knowledge of these trends will facilitate further studies to explore relationships with human activities in the watershed and mechanisms to correct or ameliorate negative effects” (Moreno-Madriñán et al., 2015). ]]> 2019-07-23 01:40:26 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371964457 Large hydroelectric dams lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371985427 The Magdalena river is a host to 23 dams and there is about 29 dams that have been planned and four of the dams are under construction. The large number of dams is projected to continue causing challenges especially to the people. One is their displacement from their homes. The will be death of species such as fish which have been major source of food and house income for many ears. ]]> 2019-07-23 04:06:35 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371985427 Unique species lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371986544 In 2014 despite the contaminated state of the river. The Farlowella fish species was discovered. The fish belong to the family same as "corroncho" and are used as an ornamental fish (Giraldo, 2014).]]> 2019-07-23 04:15:58 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371986544 Background information lingjiawei9 https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371990797 The Magdalena River is the major river in Colombia. The colombia river is a hub of activities starting from being a habitat for the various species both aquatic and terrestrial. It is also utilized for economical activities such transportation and cultivation. ]]> 2019-07-23 04:47:17 UTC https://padlet.com/lingjiawei9/l0jhp3jgyp40/wish/371990797