Deforestation in Colombia fell to historic lows in 2023, environment minister says

BY STEVEN GRATTAN
Updated 12:36 PM CDT, July 8, 2024

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Deforestation in Colombia fell 36% in 2023 versus the previous year, the government said Monday, marking the lowest level since records began. The decline was driven by a drop in environmental destruction in the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, including about one-third of it in Colombia, the government of leftist President Gustavo Petro said.

Deforestation fell nationwide to about 792 square kilometers (about 305 square miles) in 2023, down from about 1,235 square kilometers (about 477 square miles) a year earlier. A little over half of the deforestation came in the Amazon.

The decrease “means that 44,262 hectares of forest stopped being cut down,” Environment Minister Susana Muhamad told journalists. “It is very good news, but we definitely cannot say that the battle is won. We continue to confront illicit economies.”

When elected in 2022, Petro vowed to halt record-high rates of deforestation in the Amazon by limiting agribusiness expansion into the forest and by creating reserves where Indigenous communities and others are allowed to harvest rubber, acai and other non-timber forest products.

More:
https://apnews.com/article/colombia-deforestation-amazon-petro-muhamad-e25c42cfb5607be9057382ac828d6568

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