National Park System, Columbia

National parks are part of the Colombian nature protection system and natural park system. The 55 national natural parks include 27 nature reserves. The Purace National Park, which is located in the central part of Columbia, namely, the Andean region, was established in 1968 and was the first national park in Colombia. Chiribiquete National Park in the Amazon Basin was established in 1989, covers an area of 12,800 km² and is the largest national park in Colombia. Situated in the tropics, many national parks protect typical tropical rainforests. However, the development and planting of tropical economic crops have posed serious challenges to the protection of natural resources and the ecological environment. In 1994, Los Katios National Park was added to the World Heritage List as a natural heritage site.