Colombia: Colombia’s National Parks at a Crossroads as New Director Installed

Mar 3, 2021 | Aurora Solá, Mongabay
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It happened the way it so often does in Colombia: the government announced a new official appointment and outrage ensued. As the year 2020 drew to a close, the minister of environment, Carlos Correa, himself newly appointed, informed the country via a tweet that the national parks administration would be headed by one Orlando Molano. Molano, an architect with next to no experience in environmental affairs, now directs the government agency that safeguards a network of vital ecosystems across almost 20 million hectares (50 million acres) — around one-sixth of Colombia’s surface area.