Colombian Amazon deforestation climbs in three protected parks

deforestation Amazon cattle ranching Sierra de La Macarena Chiribiquete

Satellite monitoring by Greenpeace Colombia showed that in 2025 a total of 8,896 hectares of forest were lost across three Amazonian protected areas: Sierra de La Macarena (4,973 ha), Serranía de Chiribiquete (2,060 ha) and Tinigua (1,863 ha). The cumulative loss in these parks since 2013 reaches 95,867 hectares, with Tinigua alone losing 48,025 hectares – about 23 % of its surface.

Greenpeace links the deforestation to the expansion of cattle ranching. The Colombian Institute for Agricultural Research (ICA) reported in 2024 the presence of 9,392 cattle in Tinigua and 7,510 cattle in Sierra de La Macarena, activities incompatible with the parks' protection regimes. The organization also highlighted that across Colombia’s national park system, 137,289 hectares were cleared between 2013 and 2024, with roughly 77 % of that loss concentrated in five parks, including the three cited above. Greenpeace called for urgent measures, a traceability system for livestock and stronger enforcement to halt further forest loss.

Entities: Greenpeace Colombia · Laura Caicedo · Serranía de Chiribiquete National Natural Park · Sierra de La Macarena National Natural Park · Tinigua National Natural Park

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 7 SOURCES] Serranía de Chiribiquete lost 2,060 hectares of forest in 2025. (Greenpeace satellite monitoring)
[● 7 SOURCES] Tinigua lost 1,863 hectares of forest in 2025. (Greenpeace satellite monitoring)
[● 7 SOURCES] Sierra de La Macarena lost 4,973 hectares of forest in 2025. (Greenpeace satellite monitoring)
[● 7 SOURCES] The three parks have lost a combined 95,867 hectares of forest between 2013 and 2025. (Greenpeace report)
[● 7 SOURCES] Tinigua lost 48,025 hectares between 2013 and 2025, representing 23 % of its area. (Greenpeace report)
[● 7 SOURCES] The Colombian Institute for Agricultural Research reported 9,392 cattle in Tinigua and 7,510 cattle in Sierra de La Macarena in 2024. (ICA data cited by Greenpeace)
[● 7 SOURCES] In 2025, 8,896 hectares of forest were deforested across three Colombian Amazon parks. (Greenpeace satellite monitoring)
[● 7 SOURCES] Between 2013 and 2024, Colombia’s national park system lost 137,289 hectares of forest, with about 77 % of that loss concentrated in five parks including the three Amazon parks. (Greenpeace analysis)