Colombia's hidden treasures emerge: Scientists rush into former no-go zones
Colombian scientists discover three times more plant species after getting access to former conflict areas. New findings include rare frogs beetles and unique orchids‚ though some regions remain off-limits
Scientists got a rare chance to explore Colombias untouched areas after the 2016 peace-deal opened up former no-go zones. The number of new plant findings jumped from 50 to almost 180 per year (which is pretty cool-looking data)
Oscar Perez-Escobar‚ a scientist at Kew Gardens recalls his first post-deal trip: “I was excited‚ but also nervous“ he said. His team went up into cloud-covered mountains with army protection and found never-seen-before flowers
The countrys unique mix of environments makes it a hot-spot for discoveries; hereʼs what researchers found:
* Yellow-brown mountain orchids
* Tiger-pattern frogs
* New beetle types
* Underground legless animals
* Rare crocodile populations
We couldnʼt access these areas before‚ but they had huge natural wealth
However some places are getting hard to study again: armed groups block access to certain spots and deforestation is going up. The first 3 months of 24ʼ showed a big jump in forest loss. German Forero from WCS points out that his team cant visit some spots they studied just last year because of safety issues
In the Amazon and Pacific areas different groups fight for control which makes research difficult – but scientists dont give up. They use smart methods like drones to watch rare animals from far away (when they can get close enough to launch them)
