Colombia last more than 3 million hectares (12,000 square miles) of forest between 2001 and 2021, according to Environment Minister Susana Muhamad.
The deforestation has been particularly devastating in the southern Amazon region, which lost almost 1.9 million hectares (7,174 square miles) in the country, the minister said.
Muhamad raised the alarm about an alleged acceleration of deforestation in the Amazon in the first half of the year when an estimated 52,460 hectares (203 square miles) of rain forest were destroyed.
This is considerably higher than the 88,490 hectares (342 square miles) the rain forest lost on average per year in the two decades before.
The minister warned that deforestation has become a threat to the water supply in Colombia on top of the threat it poses to the global climate.
Environment Minister Susana Muhamad
According to Muhamad, environmental authorities are working on a “contingency plan to see if we can curb deforestation and the last three months of the year.”
The minister did not reveal any details on her alleged contingency plan.
Civilization’s scorched earth: the colonization of Colombia’s Amazon forest
Authorities fail to keep up with destruction
Authorities have failed to keep up with the destruction caused by cattle ranchers colonizing the rainforest, mining projects and the expansion of Colombia’s road infrastructure network.
According to the Environment Ministry, authorities have only been able to replant one hectare of forest for every six that were destroyed in the past 20 years.
Fire departments and environmental authorities in the Amazon region are chronically understaffed and guerrilla groups have historically made any form of law enforcement impossible.
Why Colombia’s deforestation spiked after the FARC’s demobilization
Evidence of destruction
Forest fire in Guaviare (Image: House Representative Katherine Miranda)
Satellite images reveal the extent of destruction caused by the deforestation, specifically in Caqueta and Guaviare, two provinces that lie on the edge of the Amazon forest.
Deforestation in Caqueta between 2001 and 2020
Environmental authorities and fire departments from the south of Colombia have issued multiple alerts so far this year about the recurring forest fires that are destroying the Amazon.
Petro seeking US military support
President Gustavo Petro and US Army General Laura Richardson. (Image: US Ministry of Defense)
President Gustavo Petro asked the commander of the US’ Southern Command, General Laura Richardson, for American military support last week.
For decades, the Southern Command has provided military support to fight the guerrilla groups.
Right now, however, “our adversary is in the flames that can burn down the jungle,” said Petro, who is seeking peace talks with the guerrillas that control the Amazon region.
Consequently, the president asked the US military commander for helicopters that are equipped to put out forest fire.