In Colombia, end of war meant start of runaway deforestation, study finds
▻https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/in-colombia-end-of-war-meant-start-of-runaway-deforestation-study-fin
The signing of a peace deal in 2016 between the Colombian government and armed rebels was one of the most anticipated moments in decades for millions of Colombians. But the end of one of the world’s longest-running civil wars marked the start of a severe setback for Colombia’s forests.
Since the signing of the peace accords, which ended a 57-year conflict, the longest in the Western Hemisphere, deforestation has increased by 40% compared to the previous 24 years, when the war between government forces and the leftist FARC rebels was in its most critical phase, with the insurgents staking their presence across a significant portion of the country.
This is one of the main conclusions of a new study about “rapid, widespread land changes in the Andes-Amazon region following the Colombian civil war.” It was published in the July edition of the journal Global Environmental Change.
