Colombia holds a privileged position in terms of global terrestrial and marine biodiversity. It is a member of the Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries(LMMC), the 17 countries that harbor the vast majority of the planet’s biodiversity in terms of species of flora and fauna, ecosystems and habitats. Infact, of the 70% of total global biodiversity found in the LMMC countries, 10% is attributed to Colombia, making it one of the five most megadiverse countries in the world. Although the country represents less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, it is among the countries with the highest number of endemic species. Therefore, Colombia is among the most biodiverse countries in the world per square kilometer and, additionally, it also has a vast marine territory in two oceans -the Atlantic and the Pacific- as well as around oceanic islands and in the open ocean. This implies a strategic role for Colombia in two distinct regions, stretching up and down the Pacific coast of the Americas and in the Caribbean basin. These ecosystems and their associated species provide essential ecosystem services to hundreds of thousands of people, particularly in coastal communities.

However, there are many problems that undermine this privileged position of Colombia, including the underutilization of the huge potential in goods and services that oceans can provide to the country, the lack of exploration of marine resources, the increasing destruction of coastal habitats caused by multiple factors, including the human component, and the loss of marine biodiversity. Against the backdrop of the global climate crisis, these problems, both individually and collectively, provoke undeniable and necessary concern and strengthen the need for a powerful and effective marine science strategy at the national, regional and international levels, and close collaboration among researchers and other stakeholders.

Facing this panorama, our priority at CEMarin is the promotion of marine sciences and the protection and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources. In order to integrate Colombian and international marine scientists across disciplines and organizations, and to build a solid and collaborative research network, we integrate a large group of Colombian marine science scientists in our research team.