Reuters — Colombia will focus on combating deforestation, exerting greater control over the cattle industry and will also propose cancelling external debt in exchange for conserving the environment, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said recently.
Deforestation in Colombia rose 1.5 per cent in 2021 to 174,103 hectares (430,218 acres), of which 112,899 were in the country’s Amazon.
Preservation of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, is considered vital to curbing catastrophic climate change because of the vast amount of greenhouse gas it absorbs.
“The first challenge is to stop deforestation,” Muhamad said, adding full implementation of a peace deal between the government and the now-demobilized FARC guerrillas will be key.
Deforestation soared after guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia demobilized in 2016 as swathes of forest were suddenly opened to agriculture and criminal gangs who moved into the former rebels’ territory.
