Life in high mountain areas brings us closer to having a healthy lifestyle, for many people who have lived in cities, taking a moment to disconnect is a necessity and immersing oneself in nature is in many cases the first alternative to escape the daily routine.
When we decide to undertake a trail in high mountain areas, we can recognize the environment, those who have had the opportunity to traverse the páramos, leave with a heart full of joy, it is there where we can have a state of consciousness that functions as therapy for the body and mind, favoring reasoning and creativity, the most amazing thing is that it makes us feel free and capable.
Knowing the Páramos in Colombia
Embarking on a road trip, let yourself be surprised by Colombian landscapes, we are fortunate to be able to be at any thermal floor in a few hours, the páramos are imposing, when we pass through them we immediately perceive the changes in temperature and vegetation. Automatically, we are transported to magical places full of mysticism and tranquility. Colombia has 49% of the world's páramos.
We must get to know our páramos, which contain countless reasons to protect them, many times we are unaware of the characteristics and services they offer us.
In our beloved Colombia, the páramos are located on tropical mountain ranges and account for approximately 2.6% of the country's surface, with 34 delineated páramos, covering a total area of 1,932,395 ha.
Letting ourselves be carried away by the adventure of exploring each mountain is the need of a true mountaineer, it is the passion that gives vitality to the need to explore every corner of Colombia, and the páramo is undoubtedly a place that offers us the perfect conditions for hiking, with some paths more demanding than others, the landscape and the isolation from city noise provide each hiker with a perfect dose to escape monotony.
Immersing ourselves in a páramo leads us to understand its importance, as they are high mountain ecosystems vulnerable to changes, characterized by climatic conditions, low temperatures, frequent precipitation where fog or horizontal rain also contributes moisture to this environment. The vegetation has adapted to capture water and start the water cycle that supplies 70% of the population in Colombia. We have the privilege of being neighbors to many páramos. The department of Boyacá contains 18.3% of the national total, as well as the largest extension of humid páramos. Followed by the departments of Cundinamarca (13.3%), Santander (9.4%), Cauca (8.1%), Tolima (7.9%), and Nariño (7.5%).
The Importance of Protecting the Páramos
Protecting the páramos is undoubtedly a collective task of great importance as they provide ecosystem services, however they are suffering changes due to anthropogenic activities such as extensive livestock farming, grazing, and deforestation, which alter the soil and compact it, increasing erosion, agriculture (mainly potato cultivation), and the use of chemical pollutants that persist in the environment.
Additionally, the growing mineral-energy exploitation directly affects underground and surface water bodies with high concentrations of mercury and cyanide. Mining based on the extraction and exploitation of gold, coal, and construction materials like limestone causes serious damage to these strategic páramo ecosystems.
Along with these negative environmental impacts, the accelerated global warming contributes to increased degradation. The rising temperature change forces species accustomed to average temperatures and characteristics of the páramo to migrate to higher and cooler areas in search of optimal conditions for their survival, causing species migration.
Furthermore, the loss of biological diversity, and the decrease in their extent, pose a risk of ecosystem loss, and with it, the loss of ecosystem services, the habitat of emblematic species such as the Andean condor, the Andean bear, the deer soche or white-tailed deer, the panther, among others, and undoubtedly, the flora could disappear, with plants that only live in these regions.
The páramos are the most vulnerable and threatened ecosystems of the Neotropics and northern South America, they have a reduced area compared to other ecosystems, which means they are fragile in the face of climate change effects and human activities that expose them to the risk of losing the life they shelter. Let us not forget that páramos are fragile ecosystems of great global importance as they give rise to water formation and regulation, a perfect and harmonious process where, systematically, with the help of páramo guardians like the famous frailejones, which look like warriors due to their height and robust presence adorned with beautiful yellow flowers, as well as mosses that resemble mattresses, full of water, and the star of the páramo, which are unique but very important for the ecosystem to function properly, as they capture humidity, condense it, store water, and later release the vital liquid in a regulated manner.
If we stop just a moment to think about what would happen in the country if the páramos disappear, we do not get a very encouraging picture since in Colombia 70% of water captured in páramos is for human consumption. Contributing to the conservation of these amazing ecosystems goes beyond ideologies and beliefs because they guarantee life for everyone equally, nature is just and wise; protecting it from activities that destroy it is going beyond denial of economic development, it is including sustainability in our economy, ensuring that our markets maintain social, economic, and environmental balance, prioritizing conservation.
Colombia has the honor of possessing the largest páramo in the world as is SUMAPAZ, with an extension of 333,250 Ha, where community work is a vital tool for its conservation, despite the problems faced by the territory, it remains an emblematic place for Colombians.
Ecotourism plays an important role in transforming the country's development, as it integrates conservation. When practicing hiking, we enhance ecotourism because hikers have the power to transform through economic contributions to local communities, which can see the opportunity to earn by conserving. We should not only be hikers in the mountains, but also hikers of the people, hikers of nature, pollinating our knowledge to other environments and creating bonds of brotherhood. When we learn about a new place, our brain seems like páramo moss because it absorbs all experiential knowledge acquired during the trip, which we leave in the incredible stories we tell our friends or family, sharing the experience from the recognition of cultural and natural heritage related to the páramos.
The invitation today is to give ourselves the opportunity to know our territory, let ourselves be conquered by the breathtaking landscapes of our mountains, their grand hills, and their majestic bodies of water, which undoubtedly transport us to the history of our indigenous communities and the geology that has characterized these places, as territories of peace, of love, as places of intimate connection that soften thoughts and strengthen the walk of mountaineers, who close their eyes when contemplating and open their hearts to never forget visiting the mountains again.
We must be in harmony with the environment; only then can we achieve true sustainable development. Our consumption practices and economic activities should be directed towards the cultural and environmental conservation of the territory, to reduce the rapid consumption of unnecessary things, be more respectful to nature, reflect on our actions, and empower ourselves as a community to protect the páramos, as this is a rational and empathetic action towards all manifestations of life. Knowing these ecosystems through hiking and ecotourism gives us the opportunity to be agents of positive change to conserve.
By: @ecoviajeracolombia