Project Overview
The Teusacá Sub-basin (356 km2) is located in the southern sector of the Eastern Cordillera, close to Bogotá (9 million people), Teusacá River (43 miles - 67 km - length) rises in Laguna del Verjón inside a protected Ecological Park and flows into the Bogotá River, one of the most polleted rivers inthe country. | Water regulation by reduction of peak-flows when heavy storms and maintain baseflow when dry seasons within the whole system. Water quality improvement with biofiltration. The river crosses 6 municipalities and recieves sewage from different economic activities including: cattle, agriculture, industry, houses and schools | The proposed demosite includes the entire watershed in order to analyze the impacts to the implementation of a series of ecohydrology solutions that will be incorporated over time to solve different problems related to the multiple land uses.
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning
- Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
- Fresh water: Ecosystems play a vital role in the global hydrological cycle, as they regulate the flow and purification of water. Vegetation and forests influence the quantity of water available locally.
Regulating
- Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
- Moderation of extreme events: Extreme weather events or natural hazards include floods, storms, tsunamis, avalanches and landslides. Ecosystems and living organisms create buffers against natural disasters, thereby preventing possible damage. For example, wetlands can soak up flood water whilst trees can stabilize slopes. Coral reefs and mangroves help protect coastlines from storm damage.
- Waste-water treatment: Ecosystems such as wetlands filter both human and animal waste and act as a natural buffer to the surrounding environment. Through the biological activity of microorganisms in the soil, most waste is broken down. Thereby pathogens (disease causing microbes) are eliminated, and the level of nutrients and pollution is reduced.
Habitat / Supporting
- Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
Cultural
- Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
- Recreation and mental and physical health: Walking and playing sports in green space is not only a good form of physical exercise but also lets people relax. The role that green space plays in maintaining mental and physical health is increasingly being recognized, despite difficulties of measurement.
- Aesthetic appreciation and inspiration for culture, art and design: Language, knowledge and the natural environment have been intimately related throughout human history. Biodiversity, ecosystems and natural landscapes have been the source of inspiration for much of our art, culture and increasingly for science.
- Spiritual experience and sense of place: In many parts of the world natural features such as specific forests, caves or mountains are considered sacred or have a religious meaning. Nature is a common element of all major religions and traditional knowledge, and associated custos are important for creating a sense of belonging.
Major Issues
Flower crops, urbanization and cattle have modified
Flower crops, urbanization and cattle have modified the landscape
Nowadays are few native forest patches, but
Nowadays are few native forest patches, but grasslands are predominant which affects the natural capacity of regulation in the watershed
Land use changes generating diffuse pollution by
Land use changes generating diffuse pollution by agrochemicals and non-treated residuals affecting basin´s water quality.
EH Engineering Solutions
Constructed Wetland
Constructed Wetland
Vegetation buffer zone, regulation pond, etc.
Vegetation buffer zone, regulation pond, etc.
Project Activities
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Sequential Biofilter System Construction
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Constructed Wetland for Wastewater Treatment
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Community-based water quality and biodiversity monitoring networks (citizen science)
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Implementation of an environmental education program on Ecohydrology
Expected Outcomes
To generate spaces of collective contribution to approach water management from the natural spectrum | To Adapt a model to improve water quality that can be replicated under different scenarios and which contributes to integrated basin management.