of Colombia, but many islanders were recruited to work for traffickers due to their seafaring skills and knowledge of the waters of the area and to the scarcity of other employment opportunities on the island. It was estimated that about 800 young men out of the island's small population were in jails abroad, or had simply disappeared. Environment The 995-hectare national park Old Providence McBean Lagoon is located on the island's northeast side, between Maracaibo and Rocky Point. This National Park consists of coral reefs, small cays, mangroves, lagoons and tropical dry forest. The National Park has a tiny visitor center on Crab cay, from where there are views towards the barrier reef and the waters that surround the cay. A local population of black land crabs is noteworthy for its breeding migration, which occurs every April/May. These crabs live in the hills of the island and descend en-masse to the sea once a year to lay their eggs. Providencia is the center point of the UNESCO Marine Protected Area the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, which forms 10% of the entire Caribbean Sea. This ecologically important reserve contains some of the world's greatest marine biodiversity, and incorporates the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, in addition to the remote uninhabited cays at Roncador Bank, Serrana Bank, as well as distant reefs that include Quita Sueño Bank, Rosalind Bank and Alice Shoal. References Further reading External links Providencia Island travel guide Providencia y Santa Catalina islas Official Tourism Promotion Office in Colombia (Proexport) La Divina Providencia y Santa Catalina Islas - Local government tourism website Providencia Es Pasion - Tourism website Underwater diving sites in the Caribbean Underwater diving sites in Colombia