Sixty-three thousand new hectares of protection now safeguard the coral reefs of Capurganá and Cabo Tiburón, proving how local leadership can turn a Hope Spot into lasting policy.
Since 2008, local leadership and sustained advocacy have protected the Coral Reefs in northern Chocó in the Caribbean Sea, in the Capurganá and Cabo Tiburón Hope Spot. In May 2026, Colombia expanded the Acandí, Playón and Playona Wildlife Sanctuary by almost 63,000 hectares, bringing the protected area to more than 89,000 hectares and extending protection to the Hope Spot’s coral reefs for the first time.
Mission Blue, in collaboration and coordination with the local NGO Foundation ICRI Colombia, designated Capurganá and Cabo Tiburón as a Hope Spot in recognition of their remarkably resilient reefs and their importance to threatened marine life. The area supports healthy coral ecosystems and critical habitat for four species of sea turtle, including leatherbacks, hawksbills, green turtles, and loggerheads. Long-term citizen science monitoring, underway since 2008, has also documented reef health, recovering artisanal fisheries, and positive trends for leatherback turtles.
Hope Spot Champion Nohora Galvis, director of the International Coral Reef Observatory, has spent nearly two decades connecting fishers, divers, scientists, and government partners to build the evidence and momentum that ultimately secured lasting policy protection for one of Colombia’s most resilient reef systems. Photo by International Coral Reef Observatory, courtesy of Mission Blue.
At the heart of this progress is Mission Blue Hope Spot Champion Nohora Galvis, who is the current director of the International Coral Reef Observatory (ICRO), working with fishers, divers, scientists, community organisations, and government partners to build the evidence and momentum needed for greater protection. The expansion answers a longstanding call to safeguard not only the beaches where sea turtles nest, but also the coral reefs and connected marine ecosystems offshore.
In 2024, the Program of the Man and Biosphere declared the Darien North of Cho as a Marine Biosphere Reserve, and in 2026 the triple protection was completed with the expansion of the Sanctuary in the National Parks System.
Mission Blue celebrates this achievement as a powerful example of what Hope Spots can catalyse: elevating local conservation leaders, connecting science and community action, and helping transform a shared vision for ocean protection into lasting policy.
Acting locally can, indeed, create global impact.
