The Muisca people, a group linguistically related to the Taironas, dominated the Bogotá savannah by the 7th century AD. At the time of the Spanish conquest, they had expanded over an area of 25,000 km2 and comprised more than a million inhabitants. They lived scattered over the slopes and valleys, subject to chiefs who governed from villages. Two principal chiefs, the Zipa and the Zaque, ruled over the south and north of the territory respectively.
Muiscas gathered together from time to time for rituals in which gold played a fundamental part. They deposited Idols or tunjos (figurines depicting humans, animals and scenes of political and social life)in temples, caves and sacred lakes as offerings.
"The Muisca Raft", famous depiction of the El Dorado ceremony.
photo credit: Gold Museum, Bogotá
Being
wise farmers, the Muisca cultived the La Conejera and its surroundings and
produced potato,
maize, and other Andean tubers, such as mashwa, hibia, and
chugua/ulluco (all similar to potato),
and cassava. There is evidence of use
of terraces, irrigation channels, and drainage in surrounding
wetlands, so
it is likely these agricultural techniques were used at La Conejera.
| Mashwa |
Hibia |
Ulluco |
Cassava |
 Photo credit" Ocali
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 Photo credfit: Ocali
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 Photo credit:
International potato center
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 Photo credit: Colombia Interna. Corp. |
While cultivating the marsh, they preserved its surrounding forests by planting trees,
mostly arboloco,alder and arrayan (click here for more info on these species).
Muiscas also raised
guinea pigs and ducks, and hunted deer. Besides molding
gold, pottery
and textiles were two major Muiscan industries.
| Muisca Figurine | Vessel
with Painted Handle |
 Photo credit: Gold Museum |
 Photo credit: Taller La Mauricia |
Beginning in 1538, the Muiscas suffered great oppression during the Spanish conquest. Jimenez the Quesada and his troop of conquistadores defeated the indigenous resistance, stealing their gold and taking it to the Royal Crown in Spain. Santafé de Bogotá, the political center of the colony, was later established on traditional Muisca land, displacing the natives. These events and future represive policies from the Spanish colony (and later the government of the Republic) lead to their near extinction.
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After the
Spanish conquest and during colonial times many haciendas were established in
the Bogota savannah, including the La Conejera Hacienda, which belonged to the
Jesuits. They continued the indigenous legacy of cultivation and tree
plantation. A combination of fertile soils and abundant precipitation led them
to build an irrigation and drainage system. The
Jesuits were expropriated by Spanish King Charles III in 1775, and the hacienda
was repossesed and auctioned. During the XVII, XVIII, and most of the XIX
century, La Conejera's fauna was so abundant that property owners started
issuing hunting permits. Every week, visitors and residents alike went looking
for deer, rabbits, gallinules, and other mammals and birds. Colombia claimed independence from Spain in 1810, declaring Bogota the capital of the country. At this time it was a small city.
|
 Photo credit: Harvard
University
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 Photo credit: Atkinson, NE Chamber of Commerce |
The beginning of the XX century marked an era of transformation for the marsh and its surroundings. Vast amounts of forest were cleared and converted to pastures to raise Indian cattle, increasing erosion in the watershed. Cows probably graized at La Conejera. |
| Aereal
pictures show the recent evolution of this marsh. In 1956 there virtually were no human settlements around it, and had an artificial dike that collected water for the irrigation of pastures. In the meantime, Bogota started a period of great expansion as large numbers of rural Colombians migrated there in search of greater economic opportunities. |
1956 photo credit: Bogota Dept of Environment. |
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Up until 1971, La
Conejera and its surroundings were healthy ecosystems. Mr. Eugenio
Sierra, owner of the Esperanza Hacienda
to the east of the marsh,
explains: "The area had mostly cattle haciendas, and sometimes
agricultural plots.
Water from thestreams
was clean, but
urbanization
contaminated it. The land owners could not keep up with high taxes,
which facilitated parceling" 1971 saw an
increase in
isolated houses.
|
 photo credit: Colombiaupdate.com |
During the early 1980s land use changed again, from cattle ranching to agriculture, mainly flower plantations. These industries used marsh waters for irrigation lowering the depth of standing water. Housing projects around La Conejera appeared in the late 80s and developed greatly in the 90s, noticeably affecting the dynamics of the ecosystem. By now Bogota is a cosmopolitan center, population 5 million.
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Single family dwellings disposed of their solid waste in illegal landfills, affecting 2 km of the South end of La Conejera,
from the origin of the Salitrosa stream in the Suba mountain to the Londres neighborhood.
Sewage from new neighborhoods discharged (and continue to dischage) their grey waters in the Salitrosa stream, which flows to the marsh. This increased the wetland's water volume and eutrophication rates, reducing water dissolved oxygen content.
|
 photo credit: Al verde Vivo Foundation |
housing developments and a landfill forced channelization of the river.
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1998
photo credit: Bogota Dept
of Environment.
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1956
photo credit: Bogota Dept
of Environment
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Some of this farming and urban development has reached into the actual marsh,
cutting its size in half (from 120 hectares to 60 hectares) since 1975.
Towards the end of that decade, however, the number of illegal landfills decreased considerably, thanks to the joint efforts of Bogota's Department of Environment (DAMA) and the La Conejera Foundation. They also built a seedbank and a tree nursery, fenced off a piece of the marsh, planted over 50,000 trees and shrubs, and recovered over 12 km2 of standing water by manual and mechanic extraction of invasive and floating vegetation.
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 photo credit: Jurgen Beckers |