Colombia: In Colombia, Deforestation Gangs Run Rampant

Aug 8, 2017 | Antonio José Paz Cardona, Mongabay
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In Colombia, there are eight major areas of deforestation. Chief among them is the department of Guaviare, where three of the eight deforested areas are located, according to Colombia’s Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies (IDEAM). All of Guaviare’s municipalities are affected. Unlike the country’s other deforestation hotspots, which have been reduced by up to four percent, the problem in Guaviare continues and even increases in comparison to IDEAM’s measurements in 2016. The increase in deforestation is due to road construction, the growth of the agricultural frontier, the practice of clearing of the forest and sowing the pastures for land speculation, and the cultivation of crops for illicit use.