Amazon region faces new environmental bills in Colombia and Brazil

Colombia's newly installed Congress will consider four key environmental bills: gradual regulation of small‑scale mining, a ban on fracking, increased river protection and the establishment of an Agrarian Jurisdiction. Environment minister Fabio Arjona warned that deforestation in national parks rose by 146.5% between 2023 and 2024, prompting calls for technical rigor. The region also saw an armed attack on the Sabaneta community of the Saracure Río Cada reserve in Cumaribo, leaving three people dead.

In Brazil, the Federal Senate approved a proposal that would cut the Jamanxim National Forest in Pará by about 40%, removing roughly 486,000 hectares and reclassifying the land as an Environmental Protection Area that permits agriculture and mining. The measure now moves to President Luiz Inácio Lula for signature. Critics say the change legalises illegal land grabs, encourages deforestation and repeats a 2017 effort to downsize the protected area.

Both sets of legislation have sparked concern among environmental groups about the future of Amazonian ecosystems and the pace of forest loss.