Colombia’s San Andres archipelago is in serious danger of losing its precious beaches to the sea, claimed researchers from the University of the North.
The beaches of the San Andres archipelago, located off the Colombian coast in the Caribbean, are a tourist honey pot and attract some 380,000 visitors every year. However, according to Manuel Alvardado, director of the Environmental Institute at the University of the North, the islands stunning white sands are rapidly being swallowed up by the sea.
Alvarado claimed in a report by newspaper El Espectador that the list of reasons for the disappearing beaches is long. These include hurricane destruction, coral reef deterioration and the fact that the main island tilts geologically to the east. As a result “the waves penetrate with increasing force and cause the displacement and erosion of sand bars and beaches,” asserted Alvarado.
The researchers have devised various counter-strategies which include replacing lost beaches with sand dredged from the port and waterway and reinforcing the coastal barriers with coral fossil. These strategies are designed to dissipate the impact of the waves against the San Andres shoreline.