National parks have lost 125,745 hectares in just over a decade; that's almost three times the size of the city of Cali

Colombia's theoretically protected areas have lost a total of 125,745 hectares to deforestation in the last eleven years. Although there has been a downward trend in recent years, problems such as extensive cattle ranching, illegal land grabbing, unplanned road infrastructure and illegal economies have led to the destruction of an area of forest equivalent to 2.5 times the size of the city of Cali, where these days COP16 is discussing actions and commitments to protect global nature.

This is just one of the data included in the 2024 Report of Parques Nacionales Cómo Vamos (PNCV), an alliance created in 2018 that brings together nine civil society organizations: the Santo Domingo Foundation, the Corona Foundation, the Natura Foundation, Alisos, WWF Colombia, WCS Colombia, Dejusticia, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and the Universidad de los Andes.

According to the document, which EL TIEMPO learned about for the first time on Tuesday, although it is true that these protected areas managed by Colombia's National Natural Parks are fundamental in mitigating climate change and providing ecosystem services (such as generating humidity in the Amazon that later becomes rain when it reaches the Andes and Bogotá), today the country's 61 parks are failing due to a lack of resources and difficulties in managing the vast areas.

The report, based on contributions from governmental organizations such as Ideam, the Humboldt Institute, Invemar and the National Natural Parks themselves, points out that the region most affected by deforestation is the Amazon, where the parks that have lost the most area between 2013 and 2023 are: Tinigua (which lost 42,478 ha), Sierra de La Macarena (25,736 ha), Serranía de Chiribiquete (9,610 ha) and La Paya (8,759 ha). Outside this zone, in Córdoba and Antioquia, another area that has also suffered from this serious scourge in the last eleven years is Paramillo (which has lost 10,505 ha).

According to Omar Franco Torres, director of the PNCV, the loss of just one hectare in a national park should be the biggest wake-up call for civil society and the country's leaders, because it is in these areas that not only is most of Colombia's natural wealth protected, but in some cases many of these resources and species are still unknown to science.

"The mere loss of 9,600 hectares in Chiribiquete is something we have to be concerned about. I firmly believe that this National Natural Park, with its 4.2 million hectares, is the most representative of the Amazon and the fundamental axis of life in Colombia and northern South America. Because all the ecosystem connections are there, the flying rivers, and what has been said about the entry of humidity into the interior of the country comes from there. So when we add the loss in Tinigua and Chiribiquete, we are losing that ecosystem connectivity, and I believe we are jeopardizing the possibility of recharging our páramo ecosystems and the possibility of losing the capacity to provide enough water for 70% of the Colombian population," Franco said.

In this sense, the expert emphasized that for PNCV, the goal for 2030 should be zero deforestation in Colombia's National Natural Parks. A goal that, in the eyes of some experts, should not be so complex to achieve, because since 2018, when the highest annual figure ever recorded was reached, this figure has been decreasing, from 21,064 ha in that year to 4,682 ha in 2023.

Stopping the extinction of species should be another priority, according to the document. These areas protect 32% of the country's biodiversity, and it is the Serranía de Chiribiquete (Amazon) and Tayrona (Caribbean) parks where the most species have been recorded. However, exotic species have also been identified, i.e. individuals that have been intentionally or accidentally introduced into the habitats of the parks, affecting terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. A total of 342 exotic species have been recorded, of which 9 are already invasive, such as the tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and the yellowtail mojarra (Caquetaia kraussii).

PNCV's 2024 report also highlights the critical role of NNPs in mitigating climate change, particularly through carbon sequestration in key ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrasses, which act as blue carbon sinks that are fundamental to global climate regulation. However, deforestation has led to a lack of ecological connectivity between parks, limiting species migration and their ability to adapt to climate change. Only 54% of Colombia's protected areas have effective ecological connectivity.

Experts say that in order to achieve zero deforestation in these ecosystems, it is necessary to work with communities and improve management. This is because it is not possible to conserve without those who live in or near the protected areas, but there must be means and activities for these people to make a living. In other words, according to the researchers, economies should be promoted near national parks that promote the protection of the forest and not its destruction.

In this regard, according to Carlos Mauricio Herrera, Director of Conservation and Governance of WWF Colombia, it is through management agreements with indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant communities that can help promote better conservation strategies based on inclusive conservation.

"The goal of zero deforestation should be adopted for the national park system, since these ecosystems are fundamental elements of the entire biodiversity conservation apparatus, one of the main mechanisms for adapting to climate change, and also a very important provider of services for all citizens. The fight against deforestation and the transformation of natural ecosystems must be one of the main commitments of the national government in of conservation," assured Herrera.

One of the key points highlighted in the report, which is also being discussed these days at COP16, is the lack of resources for management. The PNCV uses a contribution developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and its Biodiversity Financing Initiative Biofin Colombia, which highlights that although the budget for the Environment and Sustainable Development Sector has increased in recent years, allocating to Colombia's National Natural Parks about 10.4% of the resources available to the sector, this is still insufficient.

According to the analysis, today the budget available for the management of the parks is US$1.15 per hectare, while in reality between US$5 and US$8 per hectare is needed. "Due to the importance of the contributions of nature in the park areas and their contribution to national economic development, it is necessary to increase the mobilization of financial resources between $205 million and $373 million for their adequate management," the report states.

In this regard, Catalina Gutiérrez, Director of WCS Colombia, emphasized that national parks are bastions of the country's biodiversity and also key to the provision of ecosystem services such as rainfall and climate. "As such, they are essential for addressing the climate crisis and consolidating peace with nature. However, the report also shows that situations that undermine the health of the parks, such as deforestation and other illegal activities, persist, and that their funding needs to be significantly increased to achieve their effectiveness," the expert said.

This year, thanks to the contribution of the Institute of Marine and Coastal Research (Invemar), the report also includes a section on the threats to the parks located in marine areas (38 of the 61 that Colombia has), whose species are also under serious threat.

Coral reefs, for example, suffer not only from the effects of climate change associated with bleaching events, which have increased in frequency and intensity in recent years, but also from other stressors such as the presence of diseases, competition with sponges and macroalgae, and the presence of invasive species.

In fact, in the case of invasive species, the presence of lionfish has become a serious threat to the local marine fauna. In Colombia, the first record of lionfish was made in December 2008 on the island of Providencia. Five months later, the species was recorded in Tayrona NP. Since then, sightings of the species have increased in all reefs of the country, from the Chocó to the upper Guajira, including in mangrove areas, seagrass beds, mesophotic environments and at densities several times higher than those of its natural range. This predator can consume 410 to 2409 tons of biomass per year in the Colombian Caribbean, considering that there are estimated to be between 1 and 6 million lionfish in the region's waters.

EDWIN CAICEDO

Environment and Health Journalist

@CaicedoUcros