Stopping the Violence Devouring Colombia's Forests

Nov 4, 2021 | Bram Ebus
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Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world, but about 780,000 hectares of primary forest—a territory the size of Haiti—have been cleared since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) declared a unilateral ceasefire and began to withdraw from their traditional strongholds.

The rebels' demobilization provided an opportunity for other insurgents and organized crime groups. But armed groups are not the only ones driving rising deforestation—so are their victims.

Government leaders gathering at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to discuss climate change signed the "Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use," which commits them to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.In countries such as Colombia, where both the perpetrators and victims of conflict drive the razing of forests, it will be impossible to fulfill the promises of the declaration without addressing the root causes of violence.