Nature And Peace In Colombia
The environmental consequences of peace with the FARC
The dissolution of the FARC guerrilla in Colombia has made it safe to work in the rainforest again. Now, the region’s biodiversity is vulnerable to development and exploitation of natural resources.
“Many of the forests in the Andean region were preserved because the peasants and ranchers did not dare to visit their property”, says herpetologist John Lynch. He discovered a new frog species here in the 1980s, controversially naming it ‘Atelopus farci’ after the FARC rebels. Now, this and many other species are under threat from deforestation, mining and oil extraction. “Peace for man means war on nature”, contemplates biologist Francisco Castro.
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