Magdalena River Basin (Colombia)

Water management institutions in the Magdalena Basin

The main authority responsible for integrated management in the catchment area is Cormagdalena. It is a government-appointed institution which works under the supervision of the Transport Ministry, however with administrative and financial independence. Cormagdalena takes responsibility for the full utilization of the catchment area regarding navigation, port activity and hydropower generation as well as for the hydrological administration and environmental preservation within the basin.

On the regional level, sub-basin committees develop and implement own sub-basin Management Plans. Cormagdalena acts as a coordinating institution between the development plans of the national government and needs and requirements of the local water users in the sub-basins. (Cardona-Almeida, et al., 2015).