Colombia’s environmental authorities plan to take new steps this year to restore an important national park hit hard by deforestation and pollution, most of it from illegal gold mining. Farallones de Cali National Park, located on the Pacific coast, will begin a long-term habitat restoration project to reverse the damage done by illegal gold mining, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development said in an announcement late last month. It follows a year of joint law enforcement operations to remove criminal groups responsible for the mining. “The message is clear: together, we can control the territory and dismantle these criminal gangs,” said Susana Muhamad, Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development. The Ministry plans to invest around $3.7 million into the park’s restoration, which will involve reforestation and analysis of mercury levels in local waterbodies. Mercury is used to extract gold particles from the soil but is often dumped back into rivers and streams, poisoning flora and fauna as well as residents. Officials said it could take up to 20 years for the forest to grow back and 50 years for the park’s ecosystems to be fully restored. Mining has had a “disastrous” impact on the soil, they said during the announcement. They didn’t provide further details on how reforestation would be carried out. Officials announce progress and plans for Farallones de Cali National Park. (Photo courtesy of Minambiente) The 196,364-hectare (485,226-acre) national park is an important biological corridor along Colombia’s Pacific coast. It has over a thousand species of…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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