While diplomatic tensions grow with Peru, experts warn that the river deviates and the city could lose its river access.
News Colombia.
Less than five years from 2030, a silent but devastating threat looms Leticiathe capital of the Colombian Amazon: the possible total loss of its direct connection with the Amazon river.
What seems like a border dispute over the Santa Rosa Island It is, in reality, the tip of an iceberg that combines diplomatic tensions, geographical transformations and decades of state omission.
The President Gustavo Petro He denounced this week that the Peruvian government would have Invaded Colombian territory When creating the Santa Rosa district through an internal law, without consulting Colombia.
According to Bogotá, this violates the 1929 limits treaty. Peru responded by stating that the island has always been under its jurisdiction and rejected the accusations.
However, the real conflict is not political, but geographical and hydrological. The teacher Santiago Duquecoordinator of the Wetland Management Laboratory of the National University Amazonhe explained in Blu mornings than the Amazonas river is moving to the Peruvian side by natural sedimentation processes.
“By 2030, Leticia could completely lose access to the river. In 1993, 30 % of the flow passed through Colombia. Today, only 19 %, ”said Duke.
This phenomenon is because When the river loses speed, it deposits sedimentswhich form islands that block the passage of water in Colombian channels. At the moment, Leticia only has access to the river between April and June (Time of growing). The rest of the year, the inhabitants must cross Brazil or Peru To get to the Amazon.
What is at stake
- Leticia depends 100 % of the Amazonas river For transport, trade, fishing, tourism and supply.
- No land routes that connect Leticia with the rest of the country.
- If the river is lost, The city will be isolated during most of the year.
- As Duke said: “Leticia without a river is a city without a soul.”
An ignored solution since 2007
For more than fifteen years, the National Way Institute (Invías) Know a technical solution: Dragar the Nazareth channellocated 20 km upstream, to redirect part of the flow towards Colombian arms. However, No government has executed the project.
“Since 2007 there is a solution on the table. It was not done then and today it will cost more, but you can still act,” Duke insisted.
Beyond an island: a new geography
The treaty of limits between Colombia and Peru was signed when the river had a different configuration. Today, The Amazon has changed its coursehas created new islands and transformed regional geography. According to experts, the current conflict demands a technical and scientific look, not only politics.
“It’s not about fighting for an island. It is about understanding that the river has changed, and on that basis, build agreements that benefit both countries.“
What is proposed?
- Reactivate the Permanent Border Mixed Commission (Comperif) Between Colombia and Peru.
- Apply technical criteria such as Thalweg (Line of greater depth) to redefine river sovereignty.
- Convene a binational work table with Brazil as guarantor.
- Execute urgent dredging works To recover Colombian flow.
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