Beautiful, ancient  Cartagena de Indes, Colombia,
is located at sea level:
the beaches and waves are right outside the old wall.
To create more land for buildings and roads,
the city and its residents are filling canals
and wetlands with garbage
(like most parts of the developing world,
Cartagena has a waste disposal problem)
which can leak toxics into the water.

The bad news is that with the expected rise
of sea level due to global warming,
the wetlands and canals will be badly needed
to absorb the excess water and storm surges.
Many of the lagoons and wetlands
are naturally bordered by mangroves,
trees specializing in growing in salty water
and reducing impact from storm surges.
“Manglares” have protected the coasts
and interior low lying lands for millennia.

Mangroves also provide
vital bird habitat for aquatic birds,
and are a “nursery” for fisheries
and other aquatic species. 
Now the mangroves are being cut and discarded
just as the storms and storm surges
are becoming more violent,
also due to climate change.

We propose a collaboration between the 3 eco-artistas,
the community artists of Cartagena,
marine biologist Luis Fernando Sanchez,
science students at the University,
and the community of Barranquilla,
to raise consciousness of this issue
and promote conservation and restoration
of the mangroves and wetlands.