Utría National Nature Park
Utría National Nature Park spreads over 54,300 hectares and is situated in the north coast of the Colombian Pacific. It was created in 1987 and contains a diversity of ecosystems set in the tropical rainforest.
Few places possess such mystery and beauty as the estuary of Utría. In its southern area, a number of foothills covered in exuberant tropical forest cut into the sea half hidden in the mist. Its calm and warm waters make the estuary an ideal place for migratory species such as birds and whales as well as a suitable location for the spawning of fish such as the Pacific agujon needlefish (Tylusurus acus pacificus).
The changing landscape in the estuary grows and subsides with the tides. At low tide, some land creatures move among the mangrove roots, but when the tides begin to rise, the subacuatic fauna takes over.
The Utría National Nature Park contains one of the four most productive and, at the same time, most fragile ecosystems on the planet: coral formations, mangrove swamps, tropical rainforest and marine ecosystems. Several species of sea turtle spawn on its beaches.
The humpback whales, killer whales and sperm whales visit the area every year. Likewise, there is a great diversity and abundance of sea turtles such as the Olive Ridley Sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), the galapago turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).
The park includes seven species of mangrove swamps of the ten reported to exist in the Colombian Pacific. Woody species such as the tobacco or thorn tree (state emblem tree), the medlar, the ginger gele tree (Aniba perutilis Hemsley), Colombian Mahogany (Cariniana pyriformis), the silk.-cotton tree, the calliandria, the wild cashew (used in the construction of boats), the satine (used by the indigenous black communities in woodcrafts) and arc wood grow there. There are also palm trees, such has the peach-palm (Bactris gasipaes) and the Mil Pesos palm (Oenocarpus bataua) which play an
important role in the diet of the local populations and the Iraca palm, used to make pickles and crafts. There are also some species of medicinal plants.
Currently 80% of the protected area is occupied by three indigenous settlements of the legitimately recognised Emberá tribe and Afrocolombian communities who have settled in the Park?s area of influence. These communities survive on subsistence farming and river and marine low scale fishing.
