Conservation in Conflict Zones: Protecting Peace and Biodiversity in Colombia

Aug 25, 2015 | Brittany Ajroud
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With a new peace process underway between the Colombian government and leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Cuba, the spotlight is back on this long-troubled South American country. But decades of civil conflict have overshadowed an incredible fact: Colombia is among the four most biologically diverse countries on Earth.

With an area almost twice the size of Texas, Colombia boasts the world record for largest number of bird species and possesses 314 different ecosystems ranging from snow-capped peaks to large swaths of tropical forests to miles of coastline touched by two oceans.

Many of the world’s conflict zones are located in places where biodiversity is at its highest. This is why Conservation International (CI), an organization focused on the connections between nature’s well-being and our own, is increasingly looking at the positive role that abundant natural resources and stable environmental conditions can play in promoting peace and cooperation.