Playa Viva: Community resilience in the face of climatic challenges

By Ballantyne Puin Castaño (CSF 2023)

Community and scientific tourism are becoming an alternative for income generation and conservation in the community of Punta Soldado, Colombia, while fostering the dialogue of ancestral knowledge, and the co-creation of solutions and territorial planning.

Playa Viva, recognized by UN Tourism as a benchmark for innovation in community-based tourism in Colombia, is an agency led by young people from the Community Council of the Afro-Colombian Black Community of Punta Soldado, Buenaventura. Their work is an example of how local communities can become agents of change, promoting coastal conservation and climate change adaptation while preserving their identity, livelihoods and natural environment.

Through its three tourism experiences – The Ancestral Beach, The Beach that Flies and The Beach that Walks – visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture, biodiversity and resilience of a community that has faced decades of coastal erosion and displacement caused by the loss of more than 500 meters of beach. Despite these challenges, the community has consistently sought solutions to maintain their territory.

The Beach that Walks is an experience that integrates local and scientific knowledge, designed to attract researchers, students, scientists, businesses and tourists interested in learning and co-creating solutions in a participatory manner. In the framework of COP16, held in October 2024 in Colombia, more than 25 people from around the world participated in the immersive experience “Roots challenge: Mangroves and People for Coastal Conservation Strategies”.

and seeders of the island, young community leaders, and the young researcher Natalia Zapata, had the opportunity to build floating mangrove nurseries with their own hands, learn about community-based restoration processes combining local wisdom and scientific insights, and engage in an exchange of knowledge between the community and visitors to propose comprehensive solutions to the challenges these territories face. All this, from a perspective rooted in the local context as an experience designed and developed with the people of the community.

The mangroves, considered home to essential species for fishing and shellfish harvesting, a refuge for migratory birds and generators of clean air, have also proven to be natural barriers against the action of extreme events and coastal erosion, becoming indispensable allies for the community. For this reason, their restoration, led especially by the piangüeras women, has been integrated as a key part of a comprehensive sustainability strategy that combines awareness, education and collective action.

Experiences such as The Beach that Walks, are part of the integral sustainability strategy of the territory, and is demonstrating how local knowledge can be integrated with science, tourism, and participative design to find innovative solutions. This approach has made it possible to identify threats, plan conservation strategies, and promote a new narrative: communities are not only victims of climate change, but also essential actors in building resilience and solutions.

The experience of Punta Soldado, in collaboration with organizations such as the Coastal Solutions Fellows Program, NGOs, government agencies, and the private sector, demonstrates that the co-creation processes can be a replicable model in other territories.

One of the most significant achievements has been that, just as the Coastal Solutions Program empower young leaders to implement innovative solutions to the challenges facing coastal ecosystems and their communities, we, the fellows, have also begun to replicate this model in our territories. As a result, young people from the Punta Soldado community are now taking center stage by telling their own stories, sharing their learnings, and being selected for grants and capacity building opportunities.

Young people like Michel Sinisterra, who is leading the development of the Environmental Management Plan for the collective territory, has taken on key roles in the community. Michel was invited to participate in the conversation La Playa que Camina al Ritmo del Mar (The Beach that Walks to the Rhythm of the Sea) during COP16 in Colombia. Together with Cristina Arbeláez, from USAID’s Destination Nature Program, they addressed topics such as community resilience, biodiversity and the role of tourism in climate change adaptation. Michel highlighted the importance of young people in these processes, recognizing that the wisdom and knowledge of the elders is the foundation, while the energy of young people is the engine that drives change and the creation of better alternatives.

Likewise, Edwin Alomia, a young leader dedicated to bird monitoring at Punta Soldado, was selected to participate in the XXI Piedemonte Andino Costero Bird Festival, held in Ricaurte, Nariño, Colombia. Edwin is training as a local guide for The Beach that Flies, where he accompanies birding groups visiting the island, promoting a meaningful connection between the community and visitors through bird watching.

On the other hand, Breynner Obregón, leader of the community tourism agency, represented Playa Viva in the final phase of the Colombia Community Tourism Innovation Challenge, a competition organized by UN Tourism, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, and Fontur – National Tourism Fund, to promote new ideas in community tourism and promote the sustainable growth of the tourism sector in Colombia.  

The Playa Viva Travel Agency stood out among the 22 initiatives selected from a total of 570 organizations, becoming a finalist in the category of ethnic communities. Its proposal was recognized for its viability, growth potential, social and environmental impact, as well as its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, consolidating itself as an example of community innovation in Colombia.

Finally, the process continues. The Punta Soldado Community Council is moving forward with the development of the Environmental Management Plan for the collective territory, with the goal that these efforts will contribute to long-term sustainable planning. For its part, the Playa Viva Travel Agency continues to grow stronger through alliances with various organizations and the community’s youth, who are seeking to position the site as an important tourist destination, implement a comprehensive community bird monitoring program, and establish a community science network.

For more information about Playa Viva you can visit the website www.playaviva.co or follow us on Instagram @playaviva.ps.