Stopping deforestation: lessons from Colombia

A study of deforestation in Colombia by researchers at the University of Queensland has revealed some valuable ideas that could be used to help curb deforestation in areas around the world.

Doctor. Student Pablo Negret led an effort to compare the effectiveness of protected areas in Colombia with similar unprotected sites between 2000 and 2015.

“In Colombia, there has been constant deforestation within protected areas during this 15-year period,” said Negret.

“This is mainly due to the lack of capacity to control the illegal exploitation of resources in these areas.

“However, there was about 40 percent less deforestation in protected areas compared to similar areas without protection,” said Negret.

Despite poor results in some areas, it was clear to researchers that most protected areas slowed deforestation.

“We also looked at regional differences and found that protected areas in the Pacific were less effective than elsewhere,” said Negret.

“The Pacific region of Colombia is extremely biodiverse and important worldwide with a high concentration of endemic species, so guaranteeing the work of these protected areas is especially important.”

The team used forest cover information collected from satellites, with data covering 17 variables associated with deforestation, to compare protected and unprotected areas that had similar environmental and social characteristics.

In total, the researchers analyzed the effectiveness of 116 protected areas, which represent 9.8 percent of the country’s continental area.

UQ Professor Martine Maron said the study showed how understanding the effectiveness of protected areas could be extremely helpful in informing national and global conservation decisions.

“Protected areas may be less effective, either because they are still experiencing deforestation or because they are located in places where deforestation would not have occurred, even if they were not protected,” said Professor Maron.

“Assessing the impact that protected areas have on deforestation can help determine whether to invest in better management in existing protected areas or increase their coverage in strategic locations, or both.

“We hope that these ideas can be taken into account in Colombia and around the world.

“A similar approach can help any country or region to effectively assess the performance of its protected areas to prevent loss of ecosystems.”