Colombia: Illegal Deforestation Spikes in Colombia: How FARC Prevented Deforestation and the Government Cannot

Jan 9, 2019 | Ooda Loop
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Although FARC groups have been largely demobilized in the two years since the peace deal they signed with the Colombian government, the government has been unable to prevent escalation in illegal activities that impact the country’s forests, an escalation that is heavily driven by the fallout of a demobilized FARC. Leading causes of deforestation in the country come from land-grabbing, illegal mining, and drug trafficking, in addition to trafficking in the illegal felled timber. Surprisingly, FARC guerrilla’s largely limited deforestation in the areas they controlled, largely through extreme violence or its threat, as the forest was essential for their ability to conceal themselves and their activities from the government.