DEFORESTATION IN THE AMAZON

According to the most recent data from IDEAM (Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales) for the year 2016, a total of 39,661,290 hectares of forest were deforested in the Colombian Amazon, corresponding to 66.9% of deforestation in the country being the region with the highest rate of deforestation threatening the home of 1.2 million people of diverse ethnic groups.

Deforestation in the Amazon is driven mainly by local actors who respond to social pressures and the underlying economic realities. Such agents have a small but catalytic effect on the large-scale expansion of extensive livestock farming, agro-business, and land occupation.