El Niño is here

El Niño is here: Joining forces to find out what this means for the Gulf of Tribugá, Colombia.

As a very strong El Niño unfolds across the Pacific, Colombia's social-ecological coastal systems brace for significant environmental change. While the magnitude of the foreseen impact of this extreme event remains uncertain, we prepare to capture what it might mean for coastal biodiversity, ecosystem services, and local livelihoods in the Gulf of Tribugá, Colombia.

Supported by #BMFTR through COLDEMAR, researchers from Universidad del Valle (CO) and Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) GmbH join forces with Universidad de Antioquia, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, BioGeCo and local coastal communities in Nuquí to study how El Niño may affect rocky reef and mangrove biodiversity, land-sea connectivity, and human adaptation measures (#PilotResearch).

This effort follows on-site concern-sharing dialogues among community leaders, fishers, tourism operators, environmental authorities, and scientists, which, earlier this year, led to an agreement to co-develop research together in 2026 and 2027.

We hope this initiative marks the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration to address pressing global challenges through research grounded in local priorities.

#COLDEMAR
#ElNiño
#ClimateChange
#MarineScience
#Biodiversity
#CommunityEngagement
#ColombianPacific