In 2009 the River Ñambí suffered a severe environment blow as a result of the illegal exploitation of oil that took place in the pipeline that runs through the grounds of the El Pangan Reserve. Today, thanks to our complaint, working together with Ecopetrol, the identification of critical areas and the provision of two forest rangers, the recovery of the river and the return of associated species are evident.
El Pangan Bird Reserve is located in the village of Junin, municipal of Barbacoas, Nariño. It was established in 2002 in the interests of conserving the forests in the south of the country, in the foothills of the Nudo de Pastos in Nambi river basin, a tributary of the River Telembí.
In 2009, the foundation ProAves made a serious complaint about the irresponsible behavior of unscrupulous people who punctured the pipeline that crosses the reserve. The extraction of crude oil was made through illegal valves installed on the Empresa de Petróleos de Colombia, Ecopetrol’s pipeline. The situation was catastrophic for the ecosystem as waste from the extracted products was thrown into the water sources, at the time it was estimated that over one hundred thousand gallons of oil had flowed through the ravines into the Ñambi river causing enormous damage and death to the flora and fauna of the region.
Today, thanks to the vigilance through patrols made by two guards at critical points of the pipeline, and timely reporting to state authorities with jurisdiction in the area, we have managed to prevent further spills. Therefore, water sources largely have recovered and hence the Nambi River, where it is again possible to observe some of the species that were displaced during the time when the river was in bad shape.
For more than 12 years the foundation also has held ProAves socialization activities with neighboring communities to avoid other scourges such as logging, hunting and other activities that jeopardize the spectacular nature reserve, home to such important species as The Harlequin Poison frog (Dendrobates histrionicus), the Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatos) ) and the Plumbeous Forest Falcon (Micrastur plumbeus).
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