Members of six fishing associations in Barrancabermeja and Puerto Parra, in Colombia’s Middle Magdalena region, are leading an effort to release Podocnemis lewyana, or Magdalena River turtles, that are accidentally caught during fishing activities. Throughout their fishing trips, every turtle caught in their nets is measured, tagged, and returned to the water. In the process, they are also gathering valuable information about the species. These fishermen have become sentinels for an emblematic species of the region, classified as Critically Endangered.

Residents of Colombia’s Middle Magdalena and Valle del Cauca regions are part of seven Energy Communities (ECs) that are beginning to see economic and environmental benefits from solar power. They are using this renewable energy to produce and sell ice, pump drinking water from underground, improve services at ecotourism lodges, reduce electricity costs, and even support small-scale fishing.