Article author:
Associated Press
Fabiano Maisonnave
Rio de Janeiro (AP) — Ambitious Colombia's first left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, to take office in August and stop recording Proposals-High rates of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Petro has promised to limit the expansion of agribusiness into the forest and create a reserve where indigenous communities and others can harvest rubber, acai and other non-timber forest products. He also promised income from carbon credits to raise money for tree planting.
"From Colombia, we provide humanity with rewards, remedies and solutions. We will not burn the Amazon rainforest anymore, restore it to its natural frontier, Petro, wearing an indigenous headdress that gives humanity potential, told the crowds of the Amazon city of Leticia during the campaign.
But to do that, he was first vast. The challenge of stopping deforestation seems more difficult than ever. In 2021, the Amazon in Colombia will reach 98,000 hectares (28,000 hectares) due to deforestation. Lost more than 240,000 acres of pristine forest and another 9,000 hectares (22,000 acres) of forest, both down compared to 2020, but the Andean Amazon Project (an initiative of the non-profit Amazon Conservation Association). According to MAAP) surveillance, 2021 was the fourth worst year on record.
More than 40% of Colombia is the Amazon, which is about the same size as Spain. The country has the largest bird biodiversity in the world, primarily because it contains a transition zone between the Andean Mountains and the Amazon Lowlands. Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development (FCDS) According to the report, 15% of Colombia's Amazon has already been deforested.
Deforestation has been on the rise since 2016. This year, Colombia suffered decades of bloody armed conflict. Signed a peace agreement with the Colombian Revolutionary Army (FARC) that ended the event.
"The peace process has allowed people to return to rural areas that were once suffering from conflict. Journal" According to a new paper in the Environmental Sciences and Policy, as the returning population increasingly uses natural resources, it has contributed to increased deforestation and forest fire, especially in the Amazon and Andean-Amazon transition areas.
In the Amazon of Colombia, the existence of the state is hardly felt. "When the armed groups were demobilized, they freed the forest for cattle grazing, illegal mining and drug trafficking," Ruth Consuelo Chaparro, director of the Roads to Identity Foundation, said in a telephone interview. "The nation is not filling the gap."
The main cause of deforestation is the expansion of cattle grazing. Since 2016, the number of Amazon cattle has doubled to 2.2 million. According to FCDS, about 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of forest were lost at the same time, according to official data.
This cattle expansion is closely linked to the illegally seized land, said Rodrigobotero, director of FCDS. "Large business deals are land. Cows are just a way to get these territories," he told AP in a telephone interview.
Experts often resell illegally seized land to ranchers, who raise cattle without land-use restrictions such as proper size. I am affirming that.
Most of the destruction occurs in the Amazon's "deforestation arc" in northwestern Colombia, which is not spared even in protected areas. According to MAAP, Chile Bikete, the world's largest national park for rainforest protection, has lost about 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) since 2018.
During the campaign, Botero took Peter and other presidential candidates to Amazon on separate day trips. They jumped over cattle ranches, national parks and indigenous territories.
"The very interesting thing that Peter and the other candidates said was that they had never imagined the magnitude of the destruction." According to Botero, the sense of non-dominance is It is said that they gave a deep impression to each.
According to the World Resources Institute, nearly 60% of Colombia's greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, deforestation and other land use. In 2020, under the Paris Agreement, the government of Colombian President Ivan Duque promised to reduce emissions by 51% by 2030. To that end, we promised to reach zero net deforestation by 2030.
Amazon is the world's largest rainforest and huge carbon sink. Not only does the destruction release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, but it not only complicates the hope of stopping climate change, but also pushes it beyond the turning point, after which much of the forest goes to the tropics. There is widespread concern about initiating an irreversible degradation process. Savannah.
The Amazon occupies almost half of the country's territory, but it has historically been ignored in the presidential election because it is the least populated region of Colombia. ..
This year's campaign was not a complete departure from it. But for the first time this year, before the first round of the election, there was a television presidential debate dedicated solely to environmental issues. Petro, who was leading the poll at the time, refused to participate.
In his government program, Petro also promises to prioritize collective land ownership, such as indigenous settlements and zones for landless farmers. He also manages migration to the Amazon and promises to combat illegal activities such as land seizure, drug trafficking, and money laundering through land purchases.
Peter's press manager did not respond to requests for comment.
"Petro studies and understands deforestation," said Consuelochaparo, an organization that works with the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. But she said the president alone couldn't do anything. Her hope is for him to listen and move things forward. "We don't expect him to be the Messiah."
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