In the Cocora Valley a vehicle was crushed by a wax palm

This Good Friday, tourists visiting the Cocora Valley, located in Salento (Quindío), got a big scare, after one of the wax palms of the sector fell on a private vehicle that was parked in a parking lot of the nature reserve.

According to the newspaper El Quindiano, the KIA Picanto ION vehicle with JEY-763 plates was apparently crushed by the palm after a strong breeze that caused the plant to be torn down.

Regarding the incident, which caused shock among visitors to the place, the director of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Quindío, José Manuel Cortés, said to Caracol Radio's microphones that the facts are the direct responsibility of the owners of the parking lot, since it is a private property.

In this regard, Cortés emphasized to the station that, to date, the entity has no record that the owners of the place have requested advice on the care they must take to keep the wax palms in good condition.

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Through social networks, they actually denounced that, apparently, the fall of the plant would be directly related to the lack of health care to prevent pests or diseases from destroying these specimens.

The citizen also pointed out that the overload of tourists in the Cocora Valley would also be causing environmental impacts on the nature reserve, not only because of the waste that visitors leave in their passage through the place, but also because of the lack of information on the part of the authorities on the care they should take people during their visit.

“Thousands of vehicles pass through the reserve emitting GHG, generating particulate matter and noise that affects flora and fauna. In addition, the areas for parking spaces are expanded”, explained the Internet user, adding:

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The complaint, in which it was stated that “tourism in the Cocora Valley is unsustainable”, was supported by hundreds of Twitter users, who said that during their visit to the natural area they have not found “measures or control for tourism” either.

“The paddocks are used as a parking lot, ending the pastures generating large barrizales”, “We need some ecology lessons”, “The authorities ignore”, “The palms in that pasture are more a cemetery than a nature reserve” and “I went in February. The trails have no geological or biological education”, are some of the comments left by other netizens in the complaint.

So far, the national environmental authorities and the Department of Quindío have not commented on the complaints that citizens have made through social networks regarding the lack of tourist control in the Cocora Valley, nor on what would have caused the fall of the wax palm.

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