The Samaná River is an extraordinary river in Colombia, not only because it holds immense ecological value but also because it holds a lot of social and environmental complexity. This is reflected in the relationships that tell its story. We are days away from embarking on our Students for Rivers Camp- Samaná 2026. The participants are preparing for the camp by developing their projects that will hopefully contribute to the River´s protection. In this blog, we share our general overview of the main themes surrounding the river, share a sneak peek of what our participants are planning for their projects, and what some of our hopes are for the future of the Samaná.
Its past
Located in the central mountain range of the country, the river is born in the Páramos and cloud forests in the Andean mountains. It travels through 5 different ecosystems before merging with the Magdalena River, the most important fluvial system in Colombia. The Samaná River hosts a wide variety of species, including some endemic rheophytes unique to this basin. Unlike all the other rivers in this region, the Samaná remains free of dams. Therefore, it is very well preserved in terms of natural processes such as sediment transport, fish migration and hydrological connectivity between mountain and tropical ecosystems.
Part of the reason why the Samaná remains so well preserved is linked to Colombia´s civil war period, where violence and displacements were prevalent in different regions, including this one. The Samaná witnessed a lot of conflict for decades, especially due to its connectivity between Antioquia and the Magdalena basin. Even though this means that the river remained relatively untouched from an ecological perspective, the chaos brought by war had a significant impact on the social fabric and communities that inhabited the Samaná basin. Over the last decades with the peace process, the social tension has settled down significantly and affected communities have been able to focus on repairing and building social bonds.
As a result of this shift, corporations started setting their eyes on the Samaná basin to explore its hydropower potential. This is not unexpected, as Antioquia (the region) concentrates over 40% of hydroelectric projects of the country. Additionally, this basin has been historically valued and used for mining, where this is practised in the majority of cases illegally.
The communities of this basin have had a significant role in voicing their concerns on the hydroelectric dams, and in different cases, preventing their construction. However, to this day, its current main threats involve both the large Porvenir II dam (which has a licence but has been halted for the last 6 years) and new smaller dams on its tributaries.
Its present
This watershed has become a spot to celebrate and build kinship with the river. The fishing and sport communities shape the culture of the Samaná, where these forms of living initiate discussions around its conservation. 11 years ago, river enthusiasts organised the Samaná Fest for the first time, a yearly international kayaking competition to showcase the majesty of the Samaná River in action.
This watershed is diverse but understudied. With the Students for Rivers Camp, we are
bringing a group of participants from a wide range of disciplines, which allows us to dive into diverse perspectives that then weave together into one story. Helping us understand the depth of what communities have spent decades protecting.
On the biodiversity side, Alejandra, a PhD student, looks into macroinvertebrates to understand the impact of dams on the river. She has already been focusing on other parts of the Magdalena watershed and speaks of how run-of-the-river dams can increase favourable habitats for mosquitoes, therefore contributing to the spread of dengue.
Zooming out from these small creatures, all the way to a satellite overview of the area, Ana Lucía will use satellite imagery to map land use change over the last 30 years. Deforestation, urbanisation and monoculture all change how fast, and in which quality, rainwater reaches the river. Seeing the change allows us to identify socio-ecological challenges.
To relate these land-use data to the functioning of the river, Barbara, PhD student at the University of Innsbruck, will dive into the river’s metabolism. By measuring oxygen and methane concentrations, she will build a first picture of how the river processes organic matter. This data helps us understand Samaná´s ecological value and have comparable data on what a healthy and well-conserved river reveals.
A potential future with no dams?
Natural science is one lens through which we can view the Samaná´s complexity; it´s one piece of our big puzzle. The communities that inhabit this rivershed are also a key element in the landscape. This brings the story from an ecologically valuable river to a river in the context of economic development, leading to pressures both from hydropower and from gold mining. Ivanna, Dahiana, and Sebastian team up to look at the social movement, both historically and how it may look in the future. Sebastian is a community leader who has already written several articles on the role of the communities of Puerto Garza and San Carlos in the fight for the free-flowing Samaná, while Dahiana, member of the Latin-American Youth Parliament, has worked with communities in other watersheds on mapping the future of these territories and how governance can be redefined. Ivanna brings in her experience with Bestias del Sur Salvaje, and research that has been done in Chile on water security.
The conversations with the community and people who have built relationships with the river are our window into what the potential future might look like. The hydroelectric industry is complex and brings a lot of debate. In a lot of cases, it is sold as this idea of development through building infrastructure, but it has also sparked resistance from its communities, as many people have heard or been affected directly by severe land use change. Some are aware of the impact it would bring to their livelihoods and economics to severely disturb the natural river flow and have it controlled by a third party. Others associate hydroelectric power as a more ´green´ on ´cleaner´alternative.
This ‘green’ narrative exists and has its reasons. A demand for energy exists, and hydropower is a known form of energy production. In the Samaná watershed, the demand is currently growing due to cement production in nearby energy. Where this leads, and how energy infrastructure works in Colombia, now and in the future, is a focus of Kim’s research, who works on the electricity grid in France.
How such a group with diverse perspectives can contribute to protecting ecosystems is the focus of Carlos, who studies scientific tourism. Together with the group, he will see how citizen science initiatives, both with riverside communities as well as with tourists, can enhance the understanding of the place and further connect the community of river defenders. Offering alternatives to the concept of economic development in the area, attempting to answer the question, if not through a dam, how can this place grow economically? In a way where conservation is a key element of developing and enhancing new industries.
With the guidance of the organising team, including Jules Domine and Maël Nguyen, who have spent years exploring and defending the Samaná, we cannot wait to bring all these projects together and share a collective story of why the Samaná must continue to run free.
