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Narco activity takes heavy toll on Colombia’s protected forests, satellite data show

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In the middle of Colombia, where the country’s Eastern Plains and Andean ecoregions meet the Amazon Basin, a vast complex of parks, reserves and other protected areas safeguards ancient habitat and the biodiversity contained within. Or at least it’s supposed to. However, human activity has been chipping away at the region’s forests for years ­— and not even its protected areas are immune. Satellite data collated by the University of Maryland and visualized on the Global Forest Watch (GFW) monitoring platform shows a surge of deforestation in protected areas in central Colombia so far in 2024. The most affected areas include Llanos del Yarí Yaguara II Indigenous Reserve, two national natural parks — Sierra de la Macarena and Tinigua — and the surrounding Macarena Special Management Area. Satellite data show ongoing forest loss within a complex of protected areas in central Colombia. (Note: the data used to show location and extent of Llanos del Yarí Yaguara II Indigenous Reserve for this map differs from the data used for analysis referenced in the story.) In Llanos del Yarí, the data (which extend back to the turn of the century) show forest loss rising in earnest between 2014 and 2015, peaking in 2022. In total, between 2014 and 2023, the Indigenous reserve lost 11% of its primary tree cover, according to GFW. The reserve experienced a bit of a reprieve in 2023, with GFW showing deforestation dropping by more than 60%. However, preliminary data for 2024 and satellite imagery from Planet Labs…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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