Deforestation of the Colombian Amazon:
Everyone’s problem
Brayan Ivan España Burbano -Cc: 1122786146 // Jose David Velásquez Arteaga -Cc: 1037650447.
Index Terms—Deforestation, Amazon, isssue, conflict.
I n this paper, we will address the different reasons why
such an excessive deforestation is seen in the Amazon
rainforest; In addition to the causes of such deforestation,
it will also propose a possible solution.
As a source of life, wealth and being home to several
communities. With an extension of more than 6 million
km2, this jungle stands as the lung of the world. But his
majesty is threatened by indiscriminate deforestation.
Driven by the immense wealth of the area, deforestation
has caused the disappearance of forest mass for road
construction, mining, timber extraction and agricultural
and livestock production.
Thanks to the above, the home of many species of animals
and plants is being destroyed; In addition to the imminent
effects on climate change. These factors can lead to long
periods of drought and loss of the various species of the
forest and its hábitat.
Another consequence of deforestation in the Amazon is
that it is destroying a carbon sink. This jungle
accumulates approximately 200,000 million tons of
carbon, which due to the felling and burning of trees,
could be released into the atmosphere, also contributing
to climate change and global warming.
In all this the indigenous tribes that inhabit the jungle are
also affected, since they are dependent on activities such
as hunting and fishing; The degradation of the forest has
meant food loss, malnutrition, impoverishment, as well as
problems of a psychological and social level. There are
also cases of forced displacement, murder and death due
to illness.
Despite observing the above, there is still hope for the
future of the jungle, after the end of the peace process, in
Colombia deforestation has fallen by 10% compared to
previous years, since several of the coca crops, Road
construction and mining activities have decreased.
The impact of this destruction includes the loss of species
– vital in the second most biodiverse country in the world.
Clearing forests of trees that absorb greenhouse gases and
keep soil fertile also exacerbates the effects of extreme
weather scenarios such as El Niño or La Niña.
The Amazon rainforest contains 10% of all the worlds
plants and animals; 40,000 species of plants and over 400
mammals, 1,300 birds, and almost one million insects!
The deforestation of this rainforest threatens all those
plants and species existence. In addition to the lack of
habitats, without the refreshing shade provided by trees,
the moisture in the soil is dried up making it hard to yield
beneficial crops. Specifically, in Colombia, the
deforestation is giving an opportunity for people to have
a place for drug trafficking, illegal logging and mining.
This environmental disaster is the result of attempted
peace but has now left the residents in the affected areas
nervous for the people who are bringing in illegal activity.
Critical areas of the forest are crucial for the cycle of
water evaporation, a key element in Colombia’s climate.
Although the water cycle normally creates rain and snow,
with climate change it can also cause extreme drought and
heavy rains.
Over the past three decades, surging global demand for
commodities like beef, sugar, soy, palm oil and coffee
have led to spikes in deforestation across Amazonia, as
virgin forest was converted to farmland.
In order to improve management of these areas,
government officials and local community members must
be trained in enforcement measures, such as the use
of monitoring drones. Communities must have access to
income-generating activities that depend on standing
forest, such as ecotourism and trust funds. And perhaps
most important, different groups that use the forest —
such as mining companies and indigenous communities
— must talk to each other to minimize conflict-
Promoting sustainable agriculture — especially palm oil
and soy production — in already degraded areas can
lessen deforestation pressure on critical standing forests, SOURCES OF INFORMATION:
as will limiting mining impacts by avoiding critical
natural areas and minimizing and offsetting impacts that [1] Deforestation in Colombia finally dips three years
cannot be avoided. In addition, expanding “zero after Farc peace deal [ONLINE]
deforestation” commitments within the private sector will https://psmag.com/environment/deforestation-in-
help bring the zero net deforestation dream closer to colombia-finally-dips-three-years-after-farc-peace-deal
reality.
[2] Colombia register fist drop in deforestation since 2016
In efforts to combat the deforestation, Norway has Farc peace deal 1[ONLINE]
donated $3.5 million to create a program that reaches out https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/colombia-registers-first-
to former FARC members and hire them to protect the drop-in-deforestation-since-2016-farc-peace-deal/
forest and to report any illegal logging, farming, or
mining. This solution is still in progress and is hoped to at [3] Smith, N. J., & Schultes, R. E. (1990). Deforestation
least provide some stability in preserving the trees. There
and shrinking crop gene-pools in
are also some organizations that have dedicated their
Amazonia. Environmental Conservation, 17(3), 227-234.
resources to raising money and promote the issue. An
example of one of these organizations is called Google Scholar. [ONLINE]
Greenpeace. Greenpeace has committed to raising money Link:
to support research for a permanent solution, while also https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/environmental-
conservation/article/deforestation-and-shrinking-crop-
focusing on educating the world of the severity of
genepools-in-
deforestation and the lingering impacts that it will amazonia/56DD03936E4420DC2930821CE1421E72
produce. Another solution has been the Colombia
Environmental Protection Agency (CORNARE) which [4] Ochoa‐Quintero, J. M., Gardner, T. A., Rosa, I., de
pays roughly 3,000 families a very small amount that Barros Ferraz, S. F., & Sutherland, W. J. (2015).
equals to $200 American dollars to living and farm more Thresholds of species loss in Amazonian deforestation
organically and preserve the impacts on the environment.
frontier landscapes. Conservation Biology, 29(2), 440-
451. [ONLINE]. Link:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cobi.12446

[5] Kalamandeen, M., Gloor, E., Mitchard, E., Quincey,

D., Ziv, G., Spracklen, D., ... & Galbraith, D. (2018).
Pervasive rise of small-scale deforestation in
Amazonia. Scientific reports, 8(1), 1600. Google
Scholar. [ONLINE].
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-19358-2

In 2017, deforestation in the country's Amazon lost more

than 144,000 hectares of forest, representing an increase
of 65 percent.
Source: https://sostenibilidad.semana.com/medio-
ambiente/articulo/polemica-por-cifra-de-deforestacion-en-la-
amazonia-colombiana/42975