To avoid environmental damage in the Cocora Valley, they ask to limit the number of tourists

In the Cocora Valley, located in the municipality of Salento (Quindío), about 65% of the water consumed by Quindians is produced, so local and environmental authorities warned that the large influx of tourists that occurs in this natural area could cause irreversible damage to this ecosystem , that's how Noticias Caracol knew him.

And it is that, according to the news, only at Easter week there were rows of up to 1,500 vehicles reported for hours at the entrance of the municipality of Salento to enter the Cocora Valley. Therefore, specialists warned that such uncontrolled tourism would affect the natural wealth of the area.

For her part, the mayor of Salento, Beatriz Díaz Salazar, told Noticias Caracol that the request being made to regulate tourism in the Cocora Valley is not a matter of persecution against tourism promoters in the department but, on the contrary, it is a way of seeking a balance between the environment and the tourism, in order to avoid irreversible environmental damage.

“I've always said it, it's a sanctuary, it's something we can't violate or continue to destroy,” Salazar told the news cameras.

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Given the panorama, the alternative proposed by local authorities to the environment is that the Regional Autonomous Corporation (CAR) of Quindío establish a management plan for the Quindío river basin, as well as a study of the carrying capacity that the Cocora Valley can receive, in order to determine the capacity of visitors allowed.

In this regard, the director of CAR Quindío, José Manuel Cortés, assured Noticias Caracol that the carrying capacity study will be launched while, for now, the Corporation will be responsible for structuring “the terms of reference to reformulate and adjust the Management Plan of the Regional Integrated Management District ( DRIM) of Salento”.

It is worth mentioning that the concern about the excess of tourists in the Cocora Valley and the environmental implications this may have, arose after last Friday, April 15, one of the wax palms of the nature reserve fell on a private vehicle that was parked in one of the area's parking lots.

Although the family to whom the vehicle belonged was luckily not found inside the KIA Picanto ION car with JEY-763 plates, the infrastructure of the vehicle was completely crushed “becoming practically useless”, according to the newspaper El Quindiano.

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After the incident, hundreds of users through social networks reported that the fall of wax palm is an indicator that shows the lack of environmental control and care in the area by local authorities.

In fact, in one of the complaints, they assured that the fall of the emblematic Colombian plant would apparently be related to the lack of health care to prevent pests or diseases from destroying these specimens.

At the moment, the authorities in Salento are waiting for the CAR Quindío to take action on the matter and ensure the conservation of the Cocora Valley by limiting the capacity of tourists.

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