Embedding climate change resilience in coastal city planning: Early lessons from Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

The document details the creation of the 'Guidelines for Adaptation to Climate Change in Cartagena de Indias', the first of its kind for a South American coastal city. It highlights the city's vulnerabilities to sea level rise, flooding, and ecosystem degradation, while outlining a participatory process involving 64 stakeholder groups to mainstream adaptation into zoning and land-use policies. The brief emphasizes that while the guidelines provide a framework, the process requires sustained capacity building and political commitment to overcome the opportunity costs of adaptation and the skepticism of investors.

• Cartagena de Indias is the first coastal city in South America to establish 'Guidelines for Adaptation to Climate Change', which are intended to support socioeconomic development by identifying vulnerabilities and adaptation options.
• The city faces significant climate risks, including increased frequency and intensity of large storms and flooding in low-lying areas caused by sea level rise and inadequate urban drainage systems.
• Climate change threatens critical ecosystems and livelihoods; specifically, coral reefs are susceptible to bleaching and ocean acidification, while mangroves—which protect against hurricanes and erosion—are threatened by sea level rise and development.
• Land-use and zoning policies are identified as the most effective and cost-efficient entry points for integrating climate adaptation into municipal planning, particularly through 'soft' measures like mangrove rehabilitation.
• A primary challenge in implementing adaptation is the resistance from investors and real estate developers who may view new climate-risk restrictions as hurdles or costs.
• The process in Cartagena is intended to serve as a transferable framework for other coastal cities in Colombia and globally, though stakeholders note that specific lessons are difficult to transfer because climate impacts are local.

APA

Adams, P., & Castro, J. (2013). Embedding climate change resilience in coastal city planning: Early lessons from Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Cartagena-inside-story-final.pdf

Chicago

Adams, Peter, and Jose Castro. Embedding climate change resilience in coastal city planning: Early lessons from Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2013. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Cartagena-inside-story-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Adams |first1=Peter |last2=Castro |first2=Jose |title=Embedding climate change resilience in coastal city planning: Early lessons from Cartagena de Indias, Colombia |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=February 2013 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Cartagena-inside-story-final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{adams2013embedding, author = {Adams, Peter and Castro, Jose}, title = {{Embedding climate change resilience in coastal city planning: Early lessons from Cartagena de Indias, Colombia}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = feb, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Cartagena-inside-story-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }