Barranquilla, a Generation Restoration pilot city, implemented a project to restore the León Creek, tackling pollution and flood risk in vulnerable communities. The project included robust community engagement, with restoration expected to deliver major social and environmental benefits locally and for the fragile waterbodies downstream.

About the city

Located on Colombia’s Caribbean coast at the mouth of the Magdalena River, Barranquilla is known as the "Golden Gate of Colombia", connecting Colombia with the world. With over 1.2 million residents, Barranquilla has a tropical savannah climate, with high temperatures year-round and distinct wet and dry seasons. It is a key logistics and export hub with emerging tech and service industries, and has become a prime destination for event and business tourism. Barranquilla is known for its rich cultural heritage, and its annual Carnival is a designated UNESCO World Heritage event.

Local challenges

Barranquilla’s location within the Caribbean basin endows the city with valuable ecosystems such as mangroves, wetlands, and tropical dry forests, all of which are essential for climate change adaptation. At the same time, Barranquilla has experienced rapid urbanization and the historical presence of informal settlements in vulnerable areas, which places additional pressure on these ecosystems and on the city’s capacity to respond to climate-related threats, including flooding, hurricanes, tropical cyclones, and rising temperatures. In parallel, Barranquilla faces challenges associated with pollution from multiple sources, which can undermine the effectiveness and resilience of its ecosystems and pose risks to human health and territorial development.

In western Barranquilla is León Creek, the specific focus of the Generation Restoration pilot project. León Creek extends 24.7 kilometers through rural, peri-urban, and densely populated neighborhoods before reaching the Mallorquín Swamp and ultimately the Caribbean Sea. The creek is contaminated from various sources, including partially treated wastewater from a nearby wastewater treatment plant, as well as dumping of solid waste from the surrounding industries and areas. This poses environmental risks, including accelerated eutrophication, biodiversity loss, and deterioration of marine and coastal ecosystems in León Creek and the interconnected waterbodies downstream. Pollution also poses severe human health consequences, particularly among the inhabitants of the informal settlements along the creek’s banks. These include health risks from exposure to contaminated water, and increased flood risks during the rainy season, due to the accumulation of trash within the creek. While a waste trap was installed in the creek to capture solid waste, and plans are already underway to expand the capacity of the nearby wastewater treatment plant, further interventions are needed to improve the water quality in the creek and promote a cultural shift in residents’ stewardship of León Creek. 

Action through Generation Restoration

The Generation Restoration pilot project in Barranquilla aimed to implement nature-based solutions to sustainably preserve and restore León Creek, safeguarding natural resources and improving wellbeing. To do this, the project primarily focused on planning and diagnostic analysis, community engagement, project design, and identification of opportunities for scale-up.

The initial diagnostic phase included robust analysis of León Creek’s ecological and social context. This involved multiple site visits to the adjacent communities, meetings with community leaders, and participatory workshops with local residents. Workshops integrated community perspectives, facilitated dialogue on needs, and validated findings from fieldwork and literature reviews. To complement this component, a total of 117 surveys were conducted within the communities to gather information on the social and economic conditions of the residents.

The project also included a comprehensive review of local environmental conditions, hydrological and hydraulic analysis, and risk assessment of the León Creek study area. Fieldwork included a topographic survey, a bathymetric survey to assess the creek’s underwater topography, and hydrological modeling of rainfall to assess flood risks. Analyses to characterize the environment included a survey of flora and fauna in the area of influence, review of existing water quality studies, a flood risk and threat study incorporating community insights, and a bibliographic review of the use of phytoremediation (the use of plants to extract pollutants from contaminated water) in waterbodies similar to León Creek.

Furthermore, to assess the project’s progress, a comprehensive array of indicators was selected, including social (community participation, educational impact, and public perception of the environment), environmental (vegetation cover, biodiversity, environmental risks, and evaluation of ecological restoration actions), and governance indicators (fulfillment of institutional commitments, the generation of alliances and policies, and the equitable and inclusive participation of the community). These indicators will be used to guide subsequent phases of the project.

Following this extensive diagnostic phase, detailed project design began, integrating environmental, hydrological, and social components. Ultimately, the project developed a Guide for Implementing Nature-Based Solutions in León Creek, outlining 16 nature-based solutions suitable for the creek, restoration approaches for degraded riparian areas, phytoremediation possibilities, guidance on ecological buffers and community green spaces, information on flood mitigation through vegetation and permeable systems, and a conservation strategy for the remaining natural forest edges. The guide was designed to ensure the project’s continuity and scalability.

Another key activity of the pilot project was the creation of a Community Action Plan, based on inputs from the communities. This plan detailed activities that directly engage local residents, through workshops, guidance, and trainings focused on waste management, environmental education, and circular economy and recycling initiatives. From these detailed plans, findings and lessons learned were documented and shared, to identify additional funding opportunities to scale up the work of the pilot project. 

Main outcomes

The pilot project in Barranquilla laid the necessary foundation for restoration in León Creek, acting as a catalyst for a new, nature-positive urban model for Barranquilla.

The project centered the generation of robust baseline data, including detailed socio-economic and environmental analysis through more than 117 household surveys and 30 technical field visits, to ensure context-appropriate solutions for the restoration of León Creek. The project also advanced understanding around the topographical, bathymetric, and hydrological conditions of León Creek. Documentation of flora and fauna also generated enhanced knowledge of local biodiversity, including the identification of a 3-hectare secondary forest patch dominated by pioneer species, evidence of mature ecosystems, identification of eight critical hotspots along the creek, strengthened ecological knowledge among community members, and the generation of recommendations for planting native species tailored to soil and hydrological conditions.

The project also generated key documentation and strategies to advance ecosystem restoration, including the development of a practical, user-friendly guidebook with clear steps and recommended nature-based solutions for the creek’s restoration, ensuring continuity and scalability beyond the pilot project. Furthermore, a protection and conservation strategy was developed for the remaining natural creek edges, particularly the sections not yet urbanized, aiming to preserve ecological functions and prevent future encroachments.

The project showcased robust collaboration and co-design of solutions with local communities, with 20 meetings with community leaders. This not only ensured that local knowledge was integrated into project design, but also that the project results will be well-tailored to the local context, with residents serving key roles supporting the project’s implementation and its long-term viability. Among its six educational workshops, gender diversity was intentionally incorporated into community workshop design, with a 65% female participation rate. This ensured that diverse perspectives were represented in the proposal and design of restoration solutions for León Creek, and women proved to be central environmental stewards.

The project also showcased strong partnerships with universities, NGOs, and local agencies, and has resulted in significant capacity building among local residents related to restoration and environmental awareness.