Arauca River 2016 Report card Berlin ARAUCA RIVER Arauca Arauquita Saravena CINARUCO RIVER 0 10 20 km N 0 10 20 mi Characteristics of the Arauca River basin The Arauca River is the northernmost tributary of the Orinoco River Basin. It originates in the Andes and much of its 1,001 km length forms the border between Colombia Human and Venezuela. While the Arauca River Basin is dominated nutrition by flooded savannas, it is also home to seasonal savannas, Mining in paramos, and Andean rainforest. Key threats within the sensitive basin include rising levels of deforestation, agriculture, ecosystems MAN & AG LE GOV E petroleum infrastructure, and chemical spills. The P RE ER M O TU N E E L A N Arauca River Basin Report Card covers the Colombian P U N A R C T C UC IV / A E E portion of the rivers which forms the headwaters for the R R B A Water Venezuelan Cinaruco and Capanaparo Rivers. Biodiversity I O quality index Knowledge D I R Gap Index V E E B C T R A H A Risks to S S T I I L W The river connects T N HEA water River Y quality EC S dolphins & OSY TEM L S S Water supply two nations and faces ANDSCAPE & demand River Ecosystem challenges dolphins Fire frequency services The Arauca River Basin received an overall C grade (51%). Of the nine indicators assessed, results varied widely, Natural land cover with generally better results for indicators representing Terrestrial the categories Ecosystems & Landscapes and Water. connectivity Lower scores were received by indicators representing Biodiversity, People & Culture, and Management/ Governance, with the indicator of most concern being What do the scores mean? mining in sensitive ecosystems. However, many of the lower scoring categories also had the fewest indicators a 80–100% c 40–60% f 0–20% due to data limitations. Also, no water quality sites in the basin are currently included in IDEAM’s National Network b 60–80% d 20–40% no data Monitoring Program, so this indicator could not be included due to insufficient data. Floods threaten the way of Arauca’s hydrocarbon life in the Arauca River resources are increasingly For the communities that inhabit the nearly 3,000 ha exploited of the Arauca River islands and adjacent lands, there is no worse threat than rainfall-induced flooding. The Arauca region is the most representative area These floods destroy crops, houses, roads, and other of oil exploitation in Colombia. The first exploration infrastructure. With population increases in this region, activities began in the Arauca and it now has one of the smaller streams are diverted to accommodate for new most important petroleum fields in the country, called infrastructure which also leads to greater impervious Caño Limón. This oil-field is located in the Arauquita surfaces. The combination of these factors result in municipality in close proximity to the Arauca River. Since reduced river connectivity, reducing flows for important coming on-line, it has produced more than 1,300 million wetlands, such as the Lipa Lagoon, and increased flood barrels of oil and was the catalyst for oil exports from risk. River connectivity is important for proper river flow, Colombia. Since the early 1980’s, oil production has animal migration, and movement of energy and matter replaced agricultural activities in the Arauca River Basin throughout the basin. In the Arauca municipality, local to become the dominant economic activity in the basin, communities are building infrastructure (such as dikes) producing big challenges. and working to restore streams back to a natural state which will help mitigate the flood risk. According to the National Government, 7,003 oil wells have been established in the Colombian portion of the Orinoco River Basin, making this region the most WF important for oil production in the entire country. While W o - this economic sector has greatly improved the economy, nc ra F it is important to consider the impacts from this activity la e c and associated increased development. Besides the r a M radical political and social transformations that resulted © from the oil boom in Arauca, the population has increased 2.8 times since 1985. This has caused additional pressure on the basin for food resources. © M ar A need to know more ce la F ra The extensive biological diversity found in the basin demands n c o significant investments in biodiversity assessments - W and monitoring to supplement important yet fragmented W biodiversity records. Additionally, information is needed on the F topics of wastewater, the state of river-related cultural values, impacts of hydrocarbon exploitation, and river connectivity in order to include related indicators in subsequent report cards. VALUES FUTURE INDICATORS DIVERSI AMMA LORA FISH BIO TY M L F CHNESS CHNES ICHNES RI RI S R S AGEME AN NT/ M ULTU VERNANC RIC RA GO E G ICAT L A TIF IO R N E S C The Arauca River is an important transportation route for local people, though flooding from the river is one of the biggest problems in the basin. IVER WATER RISK TO R WATER QU ECTIV ER AL NN IT LITY IND T IT O Y A E A Y C U X W Q PEOPLE & ULTURE IGENOU C ND S I AREAS.