Coastal erosion is causing serious effects on marine and coastal ecosystems and on the rights of communities along Colombia‘s Caribbean and Pacific coasts.
Among the most affected areas are eight communities in Nuqui (Choco), one in La Guajira (La Cachaca 3, belonging to the Wayuu ethnic group), and three community councils in Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca), which have been seriously affected.
In the municipal seat of Nuqui and its communities of Tribuga, Pangui, Coqui, Jovi, Partado, Arusi, Termales, and Jurubira, the Ombudsman’s Office identified impacts caused by marine and river erosion, flooding, and the loss of beaches.
Advancing water affects economic activities
In several locations, the same families have had to repair or relocate their homes. Damage has also been recorded to trails, access roads, aqueducts, electrical networks, and recreational spaces. When the sea rises and covers the beach, people’s passage is interrupted, making daily travel and access to health services more difficult.
Likewise, the advancing water affects economic activities such as fishing and ancestral traditions such as “navel planting,” a cultural practice that strengthens newborns’ bond with the land and that now faces obstacles due to the loss of plants and sacred sites.
In response to this situation, the agency responsible for promoting and protecting human rights identified the importance of providing technical and legal assistance to support environmental recovery initiatives and risk management in the area.
Among the main findings in Nuqui are the loss of beaches, ground erosion, infrastructure damage, and the exposure of homes to marine events.
Coastal erosion in the area is persistent and worsened starting in May 2024 following the overflowing of the Aguas Calientes and Ostional rivers, an event that led to the declaration of a public calamity.
The increase in the intensity and frequency of rainfall has heightened the territory’s vulnerability, putting at risk the lives, livelihoods, and continued residence of more than 1,300 families threatened by environmental displacement.
In northern Nuqui, communities such as Tribuga and Jurubira suffer recurrent river overflows. Meanwhile, in the southern area, which includes Pangui, Coqui, Jovi, Termales, Partado, and Arusi, rising waters cause temporary flooding in residential areas, inundating homes, trails, and community spaces, as well as carrying away sediment and waste.
Retreat of the coastline and loss of beaches
In the ancestral territory of La Cachaca 3 (Twulia), belonging to the Wayuu ethnic group and located in the rural area surrounding Riohacha, the capital of the department of La Guajira, the Ombudsman’s Office says it has documented the retreat of the coastline and the progressive loss of its territory since 2005.
The community reports that this phenomenon intensified starting in 2009, following the construction of seven groynes in Riohacha by the La Guajira Governor’s Office, a project that may have altered wave patterns toward the southwestern territories.
This situation has led to the destruction of two homes, an Indigenous cemetery, the local pier, and several of the community’s work barges. In addition to eroding families’ livelihoods, this damage has prompted the forced displacement of part of the population to cities such as Santa Marta, Pereira, and Bogota.
On the Pacific coast of Valle del Cauca, the Ombudsman’s Office has focused its monitoring on Juanchaco, Ladrilleros, and Punta Soldado, coastal destinations in Buenaventura where erosion affects Black and Afro-Colombian communities. According to community reports, 551 people have been affected in Punta Soldado, 748 in Ladrilleros, and 500 in Juanchaco.
In these locations, homes, fishing areas, piangua harvesting sites (a type of mollusk), community infrastructure, and tourism activities such as whale watching are at risk. In Ladrilleros, the complete loss of the beach led residents to relocate to higher areas of the territory.
In Punta Soldado, interventions have focused on the infrastructure of the naval base, while the civilian population requires specific measures tailored to its needs. In Juanchaco, businesses, homes, the local port, and the children’s playground are exposed to erosion. The playground has containment measures built by residents themselves using sandbags.
The Ombudsman’s Office carried out this monitoring through technical visits in Cordoba, in San Bernardo del Viento, on July 25, 2026; in Buenaventura, on July 28, 2026; and in Riohacha on September 28, 2026.
Drawing on technical information from the Institute of Marine and Coastal Research (Invemar) and the Coastal Erosion Master Plan, the fieldwork conducted by the Ombudsman’s Office shows that coastal erosion creates dynamics that go beyond the physical loss of beaches: it disrupts community life and traditional work and, in some cases, prompts families to relocate when environmental conditions deteriorate.