Colombia: ‘Panic’ Sets in as Armed Groups Occupy, Deforest Colombian National Park

Dec 12, 2022 | Astrid Arellano, Mongabay
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Once covering an expanse of more than 2,140 square kilometers (826 square miles) of the Colombian Amazon Rainforest, Tinigua National Natural Park has lost 29% of its forests over the past 20 years. Much of this loss has occurred only since 2018, when the park lost nearly 6% of its tree cover in a single year. Deforestation in Tinigua shows no sign of stopping, with 2022 marking the fifth consecutive year in which the park has topped the list of Colombian protected areas most severely affected by forest loss. Satellite data and imagery from Global Forest Watch show ever-growing clearings eating away at the increasingly fragmented rainforest, the bulk happening during the first half of the year.