BOGOTA, Feb 28 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — More than 800 hectares of forest in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, 3,500 meters above sea level, were consumed by a fire, Colombian authorities reported.
The disaster would have devastated the homes of the indigenous populations living in the area, belonging to the Kogui and Arhuaca ethnic groups.
Luz Elvira Angrita, director of Natural Parks in the Caribbean region of Colombia, commented that the affected area is very difficult to access for rescue units, so it would be necessary to request the collaboration of the Air Force in order to suffocate the flames.
Angrita even explained that even by air the work is difficult because of the cloudiness and smoke that prevails in the area.
Members of the Arhuaca ethnic group told Caracol Radio of Colombia that the villages of Seynimin and Waniyaka were razed to the ground by the fire.
The environmental losses between flora and fauna are considered to be of great magnitude.
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is the highest coastal mountain range in the world, with two peaks of 5,775 meters high, the peak Christopher Columbus and Simon Bolivar.
Due to its variety of ecosystems, thermal floors next to the sea, its singular beauty and its historical and cultural richness, it was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1979.
In the Sierra Nevada live the native Kogui, Arhuacos, Wiwas and Kankuamos ethnic groups, who preserve their culture almost intact. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
