Colombia: Key Environmental Issues
While Colombia has been recognized worldwide for being one of the first countries in Latin America to write up environmental laws and policy, it still faces many serious environmental and natural resource challenges. Foremost among these are: massive deforestation, air pollution in the cities, toxic waste dumping, animal trafficking, erosion, siltation, and soil degradation through overuse. The UN estimates that 200,000 hectares of forest are being cleared annually, with an additional 100,000 cleared illegally. Most of this is old-growth forest, resulting in a loss of biodiversity, habitats, and an increased threat to species survival. Oil exploration in some areas of the country has led to spills and pollution as pipelines are targeted by terrorists.
One of the biggest issues in the country is that environmental protection is not a priority. The government spends forty percent of the national budget paying back international debt and another forty percent fighting the various armed rebel groups. In exchange for military aid from the U.S. beginning in 2000, the Colombian government agreed to aggressively fight the production of drugs under “Plan Colombia.” Colombia is the leading producer and refiner of cocaine. Eradication has mainly occurred through the aerial fumigation of illicit crops by spraying a Monsanto mix of Roundup and glyphosate. These herbicides are non-selective, having toxic effects on invertebrates, fish, amphibians, soil microorganisms, bacteria, humans, and polluting groundwater. Farmers usually replant the area after it has been sprayed or move to new areas, destroying new ecosystems as they clear the land. Many plantations were moved into natural reserves in the hopes that the government would refrain from spraying. However, fumigation began in 2005 in these areas. This is a big problem as Colombia’s Natural Parks supply drinking water to thirty-one percent of the population. In addition, chemicals used to refine cocaine often get dumped into local streams and rivers.
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