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In the first half of this year, estimated deforestation in the Amazon region increased by 223%
By early 2024, early warnings of deforestation were on a steep upward curve, according to Ideam.
In the first quarter of 2024 deforestation in the departments of the Colombian Amazon was estimated at around 40,219 hectares. This is what forest loss looks like in Chiribiquete. Foto: Ministerio de Defensa
Although last year Colombia achieved deforestation reduction figures that brought pride and relief to those calling for a halt to forest loss, all indications are that this year will not be the same. According to Ideam's early deforestation detection bulletin, in the first quarter of 2024 deforestation in the departments of the Colombian Amazon (Putumayo, Caquetá, Meta, Guaviare, Amazonas, Vaupés and Guainía) was estimated at around 40,219 hectares, while in the second quarter of this year it was estimated at 1,419 hectares; in other words, a significant increase in deforestation compared to the same semester in 2023 (when it was estimated at 12,869 hectares).
There are two key points in these figures: the first is that almost 60% of the deforestation that Colombia records in a year occurs in the first quarter of the year, which is decisive in determining how serious the situation will be at the end of the year, since it is the dry season when more deforestation and burning is recorded; while the second and third quarters usually record only 20% of the loss, since they are times of more rainfall, and finally the remaining 20% can be recorded in the last quarter. So the fact that the figures for January, February and March are so high suggests that the year has got off to a bad start.
However, this early warning (technically known as the DTD) is still an estimate, based on a model that monitors hotspots in different regions of the country, and in some cases it may not ultimately lead to forest loss, but in other situations it will. Nevertheless, it is an alarming warning of the forest loss situation in the Amazon. Specifically, in the first quarter of this year, deforestation increased in the departments of Meta (+12,598 hectares), Caquetá (+11,583 hectares) and Guaviare (+4,098 hectares). The largest reduction in deforestation was also recorded in the department of Putumayo (- 1,976 hectares).
During this period, 10,264 deforested areas larger than one hectare were reported in the Amazon region, of which 75% were smaller than 5 hectares and 16% were between 5 and 10 hectares. In addition, 262 areas larger than 20 hectares were identified, mainly concentrated in the departments of Meta (48%) with 73 areas, Caquetá (46%) with 68 areas and Guaviare (35%) with 51 areas.
Against this background, several voices have sounded the alarm about the seriousness of the situation and the urgency of addressing it. One of them is the mayor of Bogotá, Carlos Fernando Galán, who warned and denounced this fact and its consequences for the capital during COP16 as one of his first actions at the summit (see box). However, consulted by EL TIEMPO, the Ideam described Galán's information as "inaccurate", since the mayor stated that "deforestation in the Amazon has increased by 230% (comparing the first quarter of each year)", when technically what has increased are the estimated deforestation alarms.
"Ideam clarifies that these figures are only indicative or early warning to identify a trend in deforestation behaviour, since, as mentioned above, the official deforestation figures for 2024 will be published at the end of the first half of 2025. It is also important to note that deforestation early warning behaviour is influenced by La Niña (increased rainfall in the first quarter of 2023) and El Niño (low rainfall in the first quarter of 2024)," they said.
Extensive cattle ranching, land grabbing, construction of illegal roads and illegal crops are driving deforestation in the Amazon. Foto:Usaid
The impact of deforestation
Every hectare of forest lost in the Amazon means not only the disappearance of a (sometimes unknown) natural treasure, but also an impact on the daily lives of the people, the region and the world. This is because this forest is a global regulator of climate and rainfall, and its degradation is partly responsible for climatological scenarios of extreme drought in the rivers of the basin, which this year experienced the worst drought in more than a century; or the lack of rainfall in the cities of the Andes, where the so-called "flying rivers" come from the jungle, which are nothing more than the evapotranspiration of the trees transformed into clouds.
In this context, Carlos Nobre, one of the world's leading experts on the Amazon ecosystem, who is also attending COP16, told EL TIEMPO that although we still have a window of opportunity to act and save the planet, it is closing. "We are very close to the point of no return, where 50% to 70% of the Amazon will become a very degraded savannah," he said.
According to him, unprecedented action is needed not only to protect the remaining forest, but also to restore the degraded forest so that it can continue to regulate the climate.
EDWIN CAICEDO
Environment an Health Journalist
@CaicedoUcros
Editor's note: This text is an artificially intelligent English translation of the original Spanish version, which can be found here. Any comment, please write to [email protected]