Sustainable river mobility in Guainía: strategic visit to Inírida
We conducted a field visit to the municipality of Inírida in Colombia’s Guainía department as part of a project assessing the feasibility of implementing an electric riverboat pilot program in the region.
The main objectives of the visit were to conduct territorial reconnaissance and establish direct dialogue with key stakeholders, including indigenous communities, local authorities, and commercial sector representatives. To this end, our team traveled along the Inírida, Guaviare, and Orinoco rivers and visited various indigenous communities settled along their banks. These meetings enabled us to identify the communities’ actual river transportation needs and understand the area’s social, cultural, and economic dynamics.
This information will be essential to ensure the project design addresses the territory’s particularities, guaranteeing its technical, legal, financial, environmental, and governance relevance.
This step represents a significant advance toward more sustainable and inclusive river mobility in a region of great cultural and environmental richness. The warm reception from the local population and interaction with indigenous communities enriched the work of our colleagues, José Luis Royero Ávila, Melissa Andrea Marín Gallego, Vanesa Botero Blandón, and Alba Rodríguez Sayrol.
This project is a clear example of how sustainable river mobility can transform and improve the quality of life in these communities.
