Más allá de la cuenca hidrográfica: teleconexiones del agua en la cuenca del río Campoalegre en Colombia

This case study by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the Campoalegre river basin in Colombia to demonstrate the limitations of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) when based solely on geographic watershed boundaries. Using coffee production and hydroelectric power as examples, the document argues for a 'Water without Borders' approach that accounts for multiscalar tele-connections, such as global agricultural markets and cumulative downstream impacts, which operate beyond local basin limits.

• The traditional Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach, which uses the watershed as a defined geographic limit, can be too restrictive. It may treat basins as "closed" spaces, potentially ignoring regional or global drivers—such as agricultural markets for coffee, cocoa, or soy—that influence local water consumption but where the consumers are located outside the management unit.
• In the Campoalegre river basin, coffee is the most significant agricultural activity, with 15,400 hectares planted (24% of the basin area) producing approximately 15,000 tons of dry parchment coffee (CPS). Water requirements vary drastically by method: ecological processing requires 1 liter or less per kg of CPS, while traditional processing requires 40 liters per kg. Traditional processing also generates significant pollution, contributing approximately 1,725 tons of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) annually to the basin.
• Hydroelectric power provides approximately 70% of Colombia's energy demand. In the Campoalegre basin, the development of small hydroelectric plants (PCH) is being evaluated. The document notes that the impacts of these plants, such as flow alterations affecting nutrient deposition and riparian plant colonization, are cumulative and can extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the basin, affecting the Cauca River.
• The Campoalegre basin's coffee production illustrates a disconnect between local water use and global consumption: only 5.3% of coffee produced in Risaralda is consumed within Colombia, while 40.9% is exported to countries including the USA (19.9%), Germany (7.8%), and Belgium.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2021). Más allá de la cuenca hidrográfica: teleconexiones del agua en la cuenca del río Campoalegre en Colombia. https://www.sei.org/featured/mas-alla-de-la-cuenca-hidrografica-teleconexiones-del-agua-en-la-cuenca-del-rio-campoalegre-en-colombia/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Más allá de la cuenca hidrográfica: teleconexiones del agua en la cuenca del río Campoalegre en Colombia. 2021. https://www.sei.org/featured/mas-alla-de-la-cuenca-hidrografica-teleconexiones-del-agua-en-la-cuenca-del-rio-campoalegre-en-colombia/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Más allá de la cuenca hidrográfica: teleconexiones del agua en la cuenca del río Campoalegre en Colombia |date=22 March 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/featured/mas-alla-de-la-cuenca-hidrografica-teleconexiones-del-agua-en-la-cuenca-del-rio-campoalegre-en-colombia/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2021all, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Más allá de la cuenca hidrográfica: teleconexiones del agua en la cuenca del río Campoalegre en Colombia}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/featured/mas-alla-de-la-cuenca-hidrografica-teleconexiones-del-agua-en-la-cuenca-del-rio-campoalegre-en-colombia/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }