By Oliver Griffin
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Deforestation in Colombia’s Amazon is forecast to have fallen 70% in the first nine months of 2023 from the year-ago period, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said on Tuesday, though she warned drought could reverse the trend.
The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro, who took power in August last year, says it is prioritizing protecting the environment.
Deforestation across the country fell 29.1% in 2022 from 2021, reversing growth trends during the government of ex-President Ivan Duque.
Environmental policies including paying locals to care for forests and targeting criminals financing environmental crimes like illegal logging are paying dividends, Muhamad said, but drier weather brought by the El Nino phenomenon could cause a deforestation spike in the last months of 2023.
“This trend may be in danger of reversing in the last quarter of the year,” Muhamad told journalists.
The forecasts are based on early alerts compiled by the Colombian Institute of Meteorology (IDEAM) and are not the same as concrete figures compiled annually, Muhamad said.
According to the estimates, 179 square kilometers (69 square miles) were deforested in Colombia’s Amazon from January to September.
The first quarter had the biggest decrease, with deforestation falling some 76% to 120 square kilometers, Muhamad said, before declining by 60% to 8.3 square kilometers in the second quarter and falling 26% to 50.4 square kilometers in the third quarter.
“In some way, this year’s figure, at least the trend, is riding on the success of the first quarter of the year,” Muhamad added.
The majority of Colombia’s deforestation occurs in the Amazon.
As well as El Nino, the minister expressed concern that a suspension in peace talks between Colombia’s government and armed group the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) could also cause an increase in deforestation.
The group, which controls territory in the Amazon, suspended peace talks over the weekend but maintained a six-month ceasefire with the government.
(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Richard Chang)
