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[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE]

2 clusters · 10 sources · 8 days · First seen 9 days ago · Last updated 2 days ago

Colombia Amazon park deforestation surge

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

Overview

In July 2026 Colombia’s incoming environment minister Fabio Arjona warned that forest loss in the nation’s National Natural Parks had more than doubled, rising from 4,682 ha in 2023 to 11,544 ha in 2024. He blamed expanding cattle ranching, illegal road construction and mining, especially in Amazon parks such as Tinigua, Sierra de La Macarena, Paramillo, Puinawai, Río Puré and Chiribiquete, and pledged a review of conservation policy and stronger state presence.

Greenpeace Colombia’s satellite analysis for 2025 confirmed a continued upward trend, reporting 8,896 ha cleared across three key Amazon parks – Sierra de La Macarena (4,973 ha), Serranía de Chiribiquete (≈2,060 ha) and Tinigua (1,863 ha). Since 2013 the three parks have lost about 95,867 ha, roughly 14‑15 % of each area. The NGO linked the loss to uncontrolled cattle ranching and highlighted gaps in a cattle‑traceability system approved in 2024, urging stricter enforcement of the new protection law.

A follow‑up briefing in late July added that Tinigua alone had lost 48,025 ha (about 23 % of its surface) since 2013. The Colombian Institute for Agricultural Research recorded 9,392 cattle in Tinigua and 7,510 in Sierra de La Macarena in 2024, activities deemed incompatible with park protection. Across the entire national‑park system, 137,289 ha were cleared between 2013 and 2024, with roughly 77 % of that loss concentrated in five parks, including the three cited above. Greenpeace reiterated calls for urgent measures, a functional livestock traceability system, and stronger law enforcement to halt further deforestation.

Claims

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

[● 7 SOURCES] In 2025, 8,896 hectares of forest were deforested across three Colombian Amazon parks. (Greenpeace satellite monitoring)
[● 7 SOURCES] Sierra de La Macarena lost 4,973 hectares of forest in 2025. (Greenpeace satellite monitoring)
[● 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] 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] 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)

Timeline

2 days ago

[INTERNATIONAL] 9 sources
Colombian Amazon deforestation climbs in three protected parks
Greenpeace reports 8,896 ha deforested in 2025 across three Colombian Amazon parks, totaling 95,867 ha lost since 2013, driven by cattle expansion.
9 days ago

[POLITICS] 2 sources
Colombia's Environment Minister Fabio Arjona warns of surge in deforestation in national parks
Colombia’s incoming environment minister Fabio Arjona warned that deforestation in national parks jumped 146% in 2024, urging a policy review and stronger state presence amid illegal cattle, road and mining on‑

Sources

brokerage-insurance.com · diariodelsur.com.co · ecoticias.com · elespectador.com · elnuevodiario.com.do · extra.com.co · hsbnoticias.com · lasillavacia.com · noticiasambientales.com.ar · seguimiento.co

This summary has been updated 1 time: see revision history