Deforestation soars in Colombia after Farc rebels’ demobilization
COLOMBIA - Colombia has seen an alarming surge in deforestation after the leftwing rebels relinquished control over vast areas of the country as a part of a historic peace deal.
The area of deforestation jumped 44% in 2016 to 178,597 hectares (690 square miles) compared with the year before, according to official figures released this month and most of the destruction was in remote rainforest areas once controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Farc. The rebel army was a violent illegal armed group, but for decades, the guerrillas enforced strict limits on logging by civilians in part to protect their cover from air raids by government warplanes. But last year, as the Farc began to move towards demobilization, criminal groups moved in, taking advantage of the vacuum left behind to promote illegal logging and mining and cattle ranching. Civilians who had been ordered by the Farc to maintain 20% of their land with forest cover began expanding their farms. “The Farc would limit logging to two hectares a year in the municipality,” said Jaime Pacheco, mayor of the town of Uribe, in eastern Meta province. “In one week , 100 hectares were cleared and there is little we can do about it.”
Over their 53-year existence, the Farc were far from environmental angels. While in some areas the guerrilla presence helped maintain the forests, in others, the rebels promoted clear-cuts to make way for the planning of coca, the raw material used in cocaine, or illegal gold mining, both a source of income for the group. Bombings of oil pipelines dumped million gallons of oil in waterways and jungles. Between 1991 and 2013, 58% of the deforestation in Colombia was seen in conflict areas, according to a 2016 report by Colombia’s planning ministry. (Theguardian.com)