Colombia forest fires fall 70% in first 30 days of 2023 vs 2022 -NGO

By Oliver Griffin

BOGOTA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Incidents of forest fires inColombia fell by almost 70% during the first 30 days of 2023versus the year-earlier period, local advocacy group theFoundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development(FCDS)said on Friday.

Illegal loggers typically burn felled forest in Colombia atthe start of the year, during the drier months, as they clearland to make way for cattle rearing and illicit industries suchas illegal mining and cultivation of coca, the chief ingredientin cocaine.

The FCDS recorded 13,123 fire alerts in forests across thecountry in the first 30 days of the year, down sharply from over41,960 alerts in the year-earlier period, the organization saidin a statement.

"There has been a very significant reduction in clearingforest and undergrowth in many of the Amazonian regions wherethere was a lot of deforestation in the past," FCDS directorgeneral Rodrigo Botero told journalists in a voice message.

However, the good news should be taken with caution, theFCDS said. The La Nina weather phenomena, which caused coolerand wetter weather across the country last year, could havepushed loggers to wait for drier weather, which could come inthe next few weeks, the statement said.

Other reasons could include success of government andadvocacy-group efforts to promote sustainable practices, as wellas steps taken by dissident members of the now-demobilized FARCguerrillas to control logging, FCDS added.

As in neighboring Brazil, deforestation is a huge challengefor Colombia, one of the world's most biodiverse countries.

Last year, from January through Sept. 30, Colombia lost86,985 hectares (214,944 acres) of its Amazon rainforest, thepreservation of which scientists say is crucial for combatingclimate change, according to the government.

In 2021, national deforestation rose 1.5% versus 2020 levelsto 174,103 hectares.

A paper published on Friday in scientific journal Naturefound that cattle ranching, rather than coca cultivation, is thelargest driver of deforestation in the South American country.

The "vast majority" of deforestation is attributed to cattleranching, the report said, calling the expansion of cattle-leddeforestation since the signing of the 2016 peace deal with theRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) "unprecedented."(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by David Gregorio)

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