Environmental issues in Colombia

agriculture in the Colombian Amazon Colombia loses 2,000 km2 of forest annually to deforestation, according to the United Nations in 2003. Deforestation results mainly from logging for timber, small-scale agricultural ranching, mining, development of energy resources such as hydro-electricity, infrastructure, cocaine production, and farming. The concurrent forested areas predominately exist on less fertile soil and are distant from roads. A major threat to this region is deforestation, and deforestation is a critical menace to biodiversity. From 2007–2010, 340,842 Ha of forest were lost, while 633 Ha of illicit crops and 225,279 Ha of pastures were added. However, low lands in this region experience deforestation at higher rates than mountain lands because the population is mainly concentrated in mountain top areas. In 2000 the remaining natural cover in Los Andes was 39%, that means that over 60% of its natural coverage has been lost and today this region continues to through natural resource extraction including exploitation, settlement and deforestation. == Biodiversity loss ==

Birds loss in Los Andes Colombia holds 18% of the world's bird species. The Andes alone is one of the most diverse areas in the world. Colombia has a seventy-year history of animal smuggling, in some cases impoverished families from the country side amplify their income by selling mafia groups lizards, monkey, and parrots. Sloths The biggest threat to sloth's survival in Colombia is the destruction and fragmentation of their habitat. Three types of sloths' species are distinguished in Colombia: the brown-throated three-toed sloth, Bradypus variegatus which inhabits the Pacific and Amazonian lowland rainforest and the Caribbean, the Hoffman's two-toed sloth, Choloepus hoffmanni prevails in the north along with the B. variegatus, in the Pacific rainforest and the Caribbean savanna dry forest, but it is also found in Andean montane forest, and the southern two-toed sloth, Choloepus didactylus who is native in the south with B. variegatus, sharing the lowland Amazonian rainforest, but this specific species has been studied little in Colombia. Habitat for these species is limited primarily by the ongoing deforestation with in natural forest. The continuous expansion of agriculture, ranching, and urbanization are a direct threat to sloths' survival. Frequently, sloths die in large numbers in accidents related to the destruction of natural forests that go underreported by the media and lack attention from wildlife agencies and police. All three-different species have a different rate and specific threat to their survival but collectively habitat loss – deforestation is pivotal. Deforestation facilitates the illegal trade of sloths as they are usually caught by young children who take them from deforested areas and sell them to traffickers. Poachers also take hundreds of young two-and three-toed sloths from their mothers. The Colombian Ministry does not recognize the three-sloth species as being in threat of extinction mainly because there is no long-term study that represents the estimate of the total sloth population to demonstrate cause of concern. == Air pollution ==

In 2019, 37% of greenhouse gases generated in Colombia came from transportation, and only 1.2% of the quarter-million new vehicles registered that year were electric or hybrids. Bogotá Colombia's capital city, Bogotá, is the country's largest population center. With over 7 million people, it is also one of the biggest cities in Latin America. Bogotá also has the highest rate of air pollution in Colombia and it has surged most recently as a result of the expansion of cars in the city. Air pollution has been monitored in Bogotá since 1967, but it was not until 1990 that monitors were widely spread through the city. Low quality gasoline and diesel are considered a main source of air pollutants. City authorities launched the "Clean Air for Cali Program" to reduce atmospheric contamination; the program deals with emissions and their health impacts, improving air quality monitoring, implementation of measures to reduce contamination, and the cost-benefit evaluation those measures. Air quality reports are publicly available. == Water pollution ==

(2005). Colombia is well endowed with rich water resources with a national average fresh water supply of more than 2,100 cubic kilometers. This is several times larger when compared to other Latin American countries like Argentina and Mexico. These contaminants may result in cumulative and persistent consequences. Mining sector process. Colombia is one of the largest producers of gold in Latin America. It has recently increased its production, especially in the Departments of Antioquia, Chocó, Bolívar, and Córdoba, which in 2014 produced 90% of Colombia's gold. The impact of gold mining on the environment mainly depends on the location of the metal and the methods used to extract it. Gold mining activities require high volumes of water to obtain the metal and this leads to an alteration in surface and underground water bodies. The major health risk from artisanal mining is mercury exposure. Among the emissions from artisanal mining, two thirds are released locally into soil and water near mining operations, and a third is released into the atmosphere, where it can potentially attack people far from mining sites too. This risks the health of workers but also those in the communities surrounding the processing centers. Few other studies show mercury contamination in plants, fish and sediments in some water bodies in the region of Mojana. In the region of Ayapel, significant concentrations of mercury in water, plants, fish and sediments swamp was found. Sources suggest that all the metal contaminations can be attributed to the mining activities on the main gold zone of Colombia and San Jorge River basin. Early life exposures are the most harmful as they can damage the whole brain. Prevention Colombian government has been putting effort to reduce mercury usage levels. The adoption in July 2013 of Law 1658 to reduce and eliminate mercury use is an important step. It aims to phase out the use of mercury in all production processes within ten years and in mining within five years. Awareness has to be brought in miners regarding the risks involved in using mercury. The economic interests of the miners should also be safeguarded while protecting health and environment. Currently, the Government of Antioquia, Corantioquia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia and BioRedd are developing programs to help informal miners to improve their mining circuit and are introducing technologies that avoid mercury use in their process. == Government response ==

New environmental protection legislation was enacted in 1991, including the creation of specially protected zones, This 4-3 ruling has also recognized the Amazon as an "entity subject of rights", which means the Amazon Rainforest has the same legal rights as a human being. The court ordered the local and national government, the environment and agriculture ministries and environmental authorities to come up with action plans within four months to combat deforestation in the Amazon. In 2019, however, the government spent 21% less on environmental protection than it had the previous year. This was one of the conclusions of a 333-page report, "Estado de los recursos naturales y del ambiente," released by the government's Contraloría General in 2020. The government of Colombia has launched the Amazon Vision Project. The Project, with the financial backing of Norway, Germany, and the United Kingdom, aims to completely eradicate deforestation of Colombia's Amazon by 2020. In the Climate Summit of 2015, Colombia, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom signed a Joint Declaration to strengthen collaboration on the climate and forests in Colombia. Norway has committed to a total of 1.8 billion Norwegian crones to Colombia within 2020. The project has been adopted as a national policy and priority in the new National Development Plan 2014-2018. The inclusion of the Program in this PND meant that for the first time in the country there is a framework for development policy that promotes green growth strategies with concrete goals of education of consequences of deforestation and goals of conservation and sustainable use for the Amazon region, offering the opportunity to influence national policies by inserting specificities of the Amazon region that help the region reduce deforestation. The project aims to improve forest governance, plan a sustainable sector development, begin environmental governance with indigenous people and enable conditions for the environment to thrive. ==See also==