Bogota has been strikingly affected by climate extremes, from droughts causing water rationing to severe flooding that disrupted daily life. Many neighborhoods, especially those over wetlands, grapple with repeated flooding, highlighting the city's ecological and infrastructural vulnerabilities stemming from deforestation and climate change. Additionally, the increasing pollution in Bogota's waterways raises health concerns among residents. The local wetlands are essential ecological regions acknowledged by the Ramsar convention, providing crucial flood control and habitat for various species, amidst a backdrop of extreme weather events that impact a significant portion of the city's population.
The city's perspective was that the water bodies were there to drain the sewage from our homes, says Hector Lorenzana, who has lived by the wetlands since his childhood. Long ago, you could smell the woods and its different trees. Nowadays, even the sound of the water has changed.
Bogota is located in an ecosystem comprising 11 wetlands locally known as District Ecological Wetland Parks (PEDH) whose importance is recognised by the Ramsar convention. Six more areas await the same recognition and are officially marked as protected zones by the local government.
These wetlands regulate the freshwater supply from the city's rivers, providing flood control and groundwater conservation an important function since the country has experienced the highest recurrence of extreme weather events in South America, with 84% of its population and 86% of its assets located in areas that are exposed to two or more natural hazards.
People living in neighbourhoods built over wetlands, such as Suba Rincon, suffered a double impact from these extreme events, that served to underscore the city's vulnerability to deforestation, El Nino and the climate crisis.
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