Identification and implementation of water efficiency and decontamination technologies in the Colombian coffee sector

The "Improving Water Efficiency in the Coffee Sector in the Magdalena region" project, funded by the Government of the Netherlands through the Partners for Water (PfW) programme, aims to enhance water efficiency and biodiversity conservation in Colombia’s coffee sector. 

As a consortium of three partners, led by AidEnvironment, with Fundacion Herencia and Deltares, the project partners will work on the the Aracataca and Fundación river watersheds in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM). The area covers 18,000 hectares of coffee plantations managed by over 5,000 smallholder farmers. 

The project addresses the balance between the local coffee economy and the preservation of downstream ecosystems, particularly the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM), a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The partners take a catchment approach to water resources management and biodiversity, linking upstream issues and options to the potential impact in the CGSM.