A laboratory to protect a forest in danger

At Cerrejón, we created an alliance with the Humboldt Institute to develop the first laboratory of tropical dry forest in the Colombian Caribbean. It is the first permanent mega-plot for monitoring this ecosystem in the country. In the first census carried out in the project, 17,000 plants of more than 47 native species, some of which have some degree of threat, were identified.

This laboratory, which is the only one managed by a private company in Colombia, has an area of 10 hectares and is already providing information for the management and conservation of the dry forest in the country, one of the most threatened in Colombia.

There is a tropical dry forest monitoring network in the country with multiple permanent plots established throughout the territory, within which 15 are one hectare in size, and about 80 plots are 0.1 hectares. The inclusion of the extensive monitoring plot allows for a better understanding of the patterns at an ecosystem and landscape scale that will allow scientific information to be obtained to make comparisons with other plots established at the global, national, and regional levels.

Cerrejón recognises the value of forests to the ecosystem of La Guajira, and thus will continue to strengthen its protection and preservation programs.