In the first 30 days of 2023, forest fires in Colombia fell nearly 70% compared to the same month a year earlier. This is what data from the local advocacy group of the Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development (FCDS) show. In January 2023, there were 13,123 fire alerts, while in the same period of 2022 41,960 were recorded.

According to the NGO, the beginning of the year in the Latin American country is marked by the driest months, a time when illegal loggers typically burn the felled forest, while clearing the land to make way for cattle raising and illicit industries such as illegal mining and coca cultivation - the main ingredient in cocaine.

As in Brazil, deforestation is a major challenge for Colombia, one of the countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. "There has been a very significant reduction in deforestation and undergrowth in many of the Amazonregions where there was a lot of devastation in the past year," FCDS Director General Rodrigo Botero told Reuters, explaining a possible cause of the fall.

In 2022, from January to September 30, Colombia lost 86,985 hectares (214,944 acres) of its Amazon rainforest. Report shows that livestock is the biggest culprit for the loss of green areas, so crucial in combating climate change.

Despite the fall being positive, the NGO FCDS said in a statement that the news should be viewed with caution. That's because the La Nina weather phenomenon, which caused colder and wetter weather across the country last year, may have led loggers to wait for a drier climate that could still occur in the coming weeks.

According to the FCDS, other reasons may be the success of government and advocacy efforts to promote sustainable practices, as well as measures taken by dissenting members of the now demobilized FARC guerrillas to control logging.

Source: Um só Planeta