Peace Paves the Way for Environmental Gains in Colombia

Aug 18, 2016 | Arnaud Peral
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The armed conflict has left an immense ecological footprint and has limited the extent to which Colombia can achieve development through biodiversity.

There are many examples of the conflict's direct impact on goods and services that derive from nature: the planting of landmines (Colombia has the second largest number of victims after Afghanistan); violent incidents in protected areas; deforestation caused by the expansion of illicit crops (42 percent of national parks have been affected by illegal coca crops); the growth of illegal mining (86 percent of gold production in the country comes from illegal sources); deforestation and soil degradation (erosion related to deforestation in municipalities affected by the conflict is around 430,000 hectares), among others. Peace can bring several environmental opportunities.