location: Colombia

location: Colombia

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Environmental crimes don’t stop at borders. Neither can the reporting
- Daniela Quintero is a Colombian journalist and sociologist who develops and edits cross-border investigations as investigations editor at Mongabay Latam.
- Her work combines field reporting with official records, environmental databases, satellite imagery, scientific literature, and legal documents.
- Quintero has reported on glass-eel fishing in the Dominican Republic and the smuggling and laundering of illegally mined Amazonian gold through Venezuela.
- Quintero spoke with Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler in the Colombian Amazon in July 2026 about her career, investigative methods, and interest in environmental journalism.

Dragonflies help protect water and ancestral Indigenous languages in Colombia
- Researchers investigating Colombia’s remote region of Guainía have identified nearly 120 dragonfly and damselfly species, uncovering a biodiversity hotspot for these insects.
- Dragonflies rely on pristine freshwater ecosystems, but their aquatic habitats face growing pressure from regional deforestation, unmanaged waste and exponential tourism.
- By naming in their ancestral languages and monitoring local dragonflies, communities are deepening their understanding of ecosystem health and connecting biodiversity and ancestral wisdom with water protection.

Indigenous fishers rethink shark hunting & protect species on Colombia’s coast
- In the Colombian department of La Guajira, at South America’s northernmost tip, Indigenous Wayuu fishers from the community of Punta Gallinas are working with marine biologists to conserve and document shark populations.
- Despite a 2021 law banning targeted shark and ray fishing in Colombia, the meat remains a vital protein source in one of the country’s most remote and food-insecure regions.
- Colombian shark conservation initiative Proyecto Puyuii is working with Wayuu fishers to record shark species in the understudied waters of La Guajira, implementing sustainability measures such as larger-mesh nets, safe release techniques and avoiding longlines.
- With sustainable tourism touted as a potential economic alternative to shark fishing, some fishers argue that compensation will need to be offered before they can afford to stop.

The king of the Andes: How a village learned to coexist with condors
PÁRAMO EL ALMORZADERO, Colombia — Doris Torres is a sheepherder who grew up seeing Andean condors as enemies. In this remote village high in the Colombian Andes, the birds were blamed for livestock losses and often killed through poisoning or shooting — persecution that helped push their population to the brink. But as Torres learned […]
Among the sacred hills of Colombia’s Guainía
I had been struck by photographs of the Cerros de Mavicure rising above the forest and the Inírida River in eastern Colombia. The dark rock, exposed against an almost unbroken expanse of green, seemed unlike anywhere else I had visited in the Amazon. Last month, ahead of Mongabay Latam’s PUMA FEST in Bogotá, I finally […]
PUMA FEST and the community Mongabay Latam has helped build
- Mongabay Latam marked its tenth anniversary with PUMA FEST, a Bogotá gathering that drew 400 participants for talks, workshops, and collaboration on environmental reporting.
- The newsroom is led by editors in Latin America and works with journalists across the region, developing coverage and editorial priorities in response to local conditions.
- Its wider contribution includes more than 90 media partnerships, the Puma Network, and training for Indigenous journalists from Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.
- During the Gabo Festival, the team also staged Los Vuelos de la Muerte, adapting its award-winning investigation into clandestine airstrips in the Peruvian Amazon for the theater.

The global gold rush consuming the Amazon (commentary)
- Record gold prices and rising global demand are increasing the incentives for illegal mining across the Amazon, including in protected areas and Indigenous territories.
- Illicit gold can be laundered into legal markets through false documentation, shell companies, traders, and refiners, while mining damages rivers, forests, and communities through deforestation, sediment, mercury contamination, and diesel emissions.
- Central banks and other major buyers should impose stronger sourcing, traceability, audit, and due-diligence requirements to make illegal gold harder to sell, argues Robert Muggah, co-founder and research director of the Igarapé Institute.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Scientists call on countries to act on ‘forgotten’ sawfish teeth trade
- Teeth of critically endangered sawfish species continue to be used as cockfighting spurs in Latin America despite bans from cockfighting organizations, a new study found.
- Researchers interviewed cockfighting practitioners in Peru, where the sport is widely prevalent, and leaders from cockfighting associations in Peru, Mexico, Ecuador and Puerto Rico to understand the dynamics of this illegal trade.
- The study found sawfish teeth are sold for anywhere between $25 and $400 per pair, making them some of the most valuable wildlife products. Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil and Colombia supply most of the teeth, while Peru tops the list of consumers.
- All commercial international trade in sawfish is prohibited under CITES, and the fish is a protected species across Latin America. Scientists call on countries to enforce their laws and on CITES to act against hidden illicit trade.

An Indigenous take on Colombia’s new gov’t: Interview with a Putumayo Indigenous leader
- Mongabay interviewed Marino Peña, a prominent Indigenous leader from Colombia’s Putumayo region, to hear his take on the incoming government’s plans and how it might affect Indigenous communities and forests in Colombia.
- Abelardo de la Espriella, from the far-right Defenders of the Homeland party, won Colombia’s runoff election on June 11 and will be inaugurated on Aug. 7.
- De la Espriella says he will expand fossil fuel production and mining across the country and has promised to tackle violence using greater force and militarization.
- In this interview with Mongabay, Peña explains that the atmosphere on the ground is tense, in part because de la Espriella’s policies might exacerbate existing conflicts linked to a controversial copper mine in the region.

Women Defenders of the Colombian Amazon
Colombia is among the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders. Yet here, women stand as frontline defenders of both nature and culture. Mongabay is documenting the women protecting forests, rivers and ancestral territories by strengthening traditional governance and reviving ancestral stewardship while confronting coca traffickers and illegal miners. In this Special Issue, meet the women […]
Santa Marta report by 57 nations defines rapid fossil fuel transition path
- The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, which took place in April 2026, in Colombia, released its final report on June 23 at the London Climate Action Week.
- The so-called Santa Marta Process, arising from a meeting between 57 nations, is not meant to replace the U.N. climate framework consensus process, but rather to complement it. The SMP explores the means for moving beyond decades of diplomatic deadlock.
- The new report offers five practical pathways to a just, orderly, and equitable fossil fuels transition, a process requiring stronger international cooperation and more effective and robust governance frameworks from what currently exist.
- The report’s key findings, including a shift of financing and subsides away from fossil fuels to green energy, was agreed to by 57 countries forming the so-called “Coalition of the Willing.” But Colombia and the Netherlands, which sponsored the April summit, already appear to be realigning their nations with fossil fuels.

Death and exile: A war plagues Indigenous Jiw and Nukak in the Colombian Amazon
- By late May, at least 48 people were killed in rural areas of Colombia following clashes between the FARC guerrilla dissident groups controlled by the aliases “Calarcá” and “Iván Mordisco.”
- Conflicts have displaced 10 Indigenous Jiw families from the municipality of Mapiripán, Meta department. They had to reach the urban area of San José del Guaviare for protection.
- The clashes occurred near the Tomachipán-Cumare road, an illegal trail used by dissident armed cells as a strategic corridor to mobilize and transport drug trafficking supplies in the Guaviare department.
- Experts warn that controlling this disputed area is important for armed groups, as it means dominating strategic zones in the department and also being closer to the Venezuelan border.

What’s at stake for the environment in Colombia’s upcoming election?
- Colombia will hold its runoff presidential elections on June 21, with left-wing Iván Cepeda from the current governing Historical Pact party facing Abelardo de la Espriella from the far-right Defenders of the Homeland party.
- The future of the Colombian Amazon, fossil fuel phaseout and the rights of traditional communities are all at stake, with both candidates proposing dramatically different approaches to tackle environmental issues.
- Cepeda’s program, analyzed by Mongabay, promises to halt oil and gas and protect territories and communities; de la Espriella has promised to expand fossil fuel production and mining.
- Both have very different approaches to ending violence, which is linked to deforestation and environmental degradation, with Cepeda focusing on total peace and large-scale land redistribution and de la Espriella on greater force and militarization.

Colombia passes landmark cattle traceability law to combat illegal deforestation
Colombia passed a landmark law June 4 aimed at improving traceability of its cattle supply chain to ensure beef isn’t sourced from deforested land. The law hopes to enhance existing traceability systems and make it easier to identify when cattle have grazed in protected areas and forests that were illegally cleared for pasture. “This is […]
Will my president save the Amazon? (commentary)
- Voters in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia will soon choose presidents whose policies could shape the future of roughly 82% of the Amazon rainforest.
- Environmental issues have been largely absent from recent presidential debates, even as droughts, floods, deforestation, illegal mining, and organized crime increasingly threaten public well-being and national economies.
- Protecting the Amazon should be treated as an economic, social, and public health priority, argues Peruvian American ecologist Enrique Ortiz, because the forest helps sustain water supplies, food production, energy systems, and climate stability across South America.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Fossil fuel transition summit seeks progress beyond stalled COP talks
- A recent climate conference in Colombia that was the first to focus on transitioning away from fossil fuels has been hailed as a historic achievement and a momentous step toward a phaseout.
- One of the most significant outcomes was the plan to develop national road maps to end fossil fuel dependency, as well as the launch of a new science panel to provide phaseout support to nations.
- While finance was discussed at the conference, such as alternative financing mechanisms and the impact of investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS), no commitments, figures or deadlines were made.
- Funding remains a major barrier for some countries to achieve the transition, with fossil fuel subsidies currently vastly higher than support for clean energy.

As global 30×30 goal lags, Colombia shows how progress can be made
- In 2022, nearly 200 nations pledged to protect and conserve 30% of terrestrial and marine areas by 2030 under Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
- Currently, 18% of land and inland waters, and 10% of marine and coastal areas are protected and conserved.
- Colombia, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, has exceeded the global average, protecting and conserving 47% of marine and 26% of terrestrial areas.
- This has been achieved through new and expanded public and private protected areas, other area-based effective conservation measures (OECMs), and other means, including Heritage Colombia, an innovative “project for finance permanence” initiative.

AI tool tracks spread of illegal gold mining in Amazon protected areas
- Gold mining presumed to be illegal caused 6,000 hectares (more than 14,800 acres) of deforestation in Amazonian protected areas and Indigenous territories during the last three months of 2025, according to a new quarterly report from the Amazon Mining Watch platform.
- New mining scars were identified in all nine Amazonian countries, with Brazil, Peru and Guyana suffering the highest levels of mining-linked deforestation.
- Soaring gold prices are driving this destruction, experts say, and call for more monitoring, law enforcement and coordinated action between countries to tackle the issue.
- Using an AI algorithm that’s constantly being improved, the Amazon Mining Watch platform aims to serve as an early-warning tool for authorities and civil society to identify and address new incidences of illegal gold mining, especially in border areas.

New treaty to end the fossil fuel era is needed more than ever (commentary)
- As oil prices rise along with the social and environmental tolls of both war and continuing fossil fuel use, delegates from 50 nations are about to gather in Colombia to frame a treaty that moves the world more quickly toward a renewable future.
- Policy breakthroughs can occur outside formal U.N. processes like this, and the Santa Marta conference beginning April 24 seeks to add momentum for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.
- “The end of fossil fuels is no longer a distant goal; it is an unfolding reality. The task now is to govern it,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Vaupés River contamination identified near rapidly expanding Amazonian town
- Indigenous people who live downstream from a rapidly expanding Amazonian town on the banks of the Vaupés River told Mongabay the river is contaminated by sewage and has made people sick.
- To verify this, Mongabay obtained water quality studies from the Corporation for Sustainable Development of the Northern and Eastern Amazon, which confirmed that sewage contamination and organic load are above safe limits and may impact public health and the quality of the aquatic ecosystem.
- Traditionally, the Macaquiño community downstream considers the Vaupés River to be a living being with whom they coexist and depend on it for bathing, fishing and human consumption.
- Public authorities in Mitú said the contamination stems in part from the municipality’s poorly constructed wastewater treatment plant, which was built on a flood zone and therefore frequently collapses, dumping untreated sewage into the river.

Colombia’s main river redraws the map of little-known night monkeys
- A new study looks at genetic evidence to suggest that Colombia’s Magdalena River, and not the Andean massif, may be the true boundary separating two near-identical species of nocturnal primates.
- Night monkeys from the genus Aotus, the only nocturnal primates in the Americas, have remained largely invisible to both the public and the scientific community, says the study’s main author.
- Experts in the field say this discovery could fundamentally reshape national conservation maps and protection strategies for night monkeys.

Working together, Indigenous peoples & researchers describe new Amazonian palm
- Although used for centuries by the Cacua Indigenous people in Colombia, the táam palm was, until recently, unknown to science. During fieldwork in the village of Wacará, two botanists were offered to eat a fruit they had never seen before, so they set out to discover what species it was.
- With help from the Indigenous community, they were able to find the palm and collect samples in line with the Cacua people’s approach to conserving the plant.
- Lab tests showed that táam was a palm species previously unknown to science that researchers named Attalea taam. After the discovery, the botanists returned to the community and started a participatory process to study the palm’s ecology and distribution.
- Several members of the Cacua community co-authored the scientific paper describing the new species. By relying on Indigenous knowledge and mapping, the researchers say they have obtained better results than through using just a Western scientific approach.

Disastrous floods in Colombia reignite debate over hydroelectric dam
- In early February, severe flooding across the Colombian department of Córdoba affected 24 municipalities and displaced tens of thousands of people across the region.
- The heavy rainfalls occurring during the dry season have been linked to increasing temperatures and stronger coastal winds, which have amplified the impacts of a cold front in the Caribbean region. As official efforts to clean up the flooded areas fall short, locals worry that mosquito-borne diseases like dengue might spread.
- The flooding has reopened debate over Urrá, a large hydroelectric dam on the Sinú River. The project has been the subject of Indigenous resistance for decades, and some locals, experts and politicians blame it for intensifying recent flooding.

Colombia’s coffee industry well placed but wary as EU deforestation rule looms
- About a quarter of coffee exports from Colombia, the world’s No. 3 producer, go to Europe, which means coffee companies need to prepare to comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which should enter into force at the end of this year.
- Colombia’s Coffee Information System (SICA), a georeferenced database managed by the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC), contains detailed records on around 1.8 million coffee lots and socioeconomic data on nearly 500,000 coffee-growing families, most of them smallholders.
- This long-established system could help Colombian coffee growers demonstrate compliance with EUDR, placing them ahead of competitors in Africa and parts of Asia.
- Nevertheless, while many large companies say they’re prepared for the EUDR, small-scale farmers, including Indigenous coffee growers, often have limited knowledge about the requirements and are less prepared to comply.

Photos: In the Colombian Amazon, fishing binds a community to river and forest
- For members of the Macaquiño community in the southeastern Colombian department of Vaupés, fishing forms part of the deep cultural and spiritual connection they have with their waters and the species that inhabit it.
- The introduction of more intensive modern fishing gear, such as using longlines and mesh nets, has had an impact fish populations and has contributed to a decline in the use of some ancestral fishing practices, they said.
- Community elders told Mongabay that while some traditional fishing tools are still used today, few people know how to make them, raising concerns that fishers may eventually turn to other techniques that can damage habitats and reduce fish species.

Big cats get the press, but small wildcats are being poached and trafficked in silence
- While black market sale of jaguars, tigers and other big cats has been carefully tracked for decades, trade in small and medium-sized felines has gone largely undocumented. Many are threatened or endangered species.
- Researchers in Colombia discovered that a substantial number of smaller wild cats were seized by or surrendered to wildlife officials from 2015 to 2021.
- The cats are mostly sold alive as pets, though some skins, teeth and other parts were also confiscated.
- Seizures of illegally traded wildlife represent just a small percentage of those that are poached and trafficked. The smaller cats are, the more they seem to be traded, researchers say, and globally, there needs to be greater monitoring of international trade in small and mid-sized felines.

Indigenous leader assassinated in Colombia’s Caldas department
Indigenous leader José Albino Cañas Ramírez was recently shot and killed by two unknown individuals in Colombia’s Caldas department. Indigenous authorities suspect it was a targeted attack linked to his work in defense of one of the oldest Indigenous reserves in Colombia, the Resguardo of Colonial Origin Cañamomo Lomaprieta (RCMLP). It’s a 37.6-square-kilometer (14.5-square-mile) reserve […]
José Albino Cañas Ramírez, a defender of Indigenous territories, aged 44
- José Albino Cañas Ramírez, a prominent Indigenous leader and member of the governing council for the Resguardo Cañamomo Lomaprieta, was shot and killed at his home in Caldas, Colombia.
- His death highlights the “double victimization” faced by the Emberá Chamí people, who navigate pressure from both illegal armed groups and extractive development projects.
- As a dedicated community figure, Cañas Ramírez spent his life strengthening local institutions and managing essential services in a region where state support is often absent.
- The killing is part of a broader, persistent pattern of violence against territorial defenders in Colombia, with at least 21 social leaders killed already this year.

In Ecuador’s Chocó, roads shape the fate of the rainforest
- The Chocó rainforest in northwestern Ecuador has experienced some of the worst deforestation in the world, with only around 3% tree cover remaining in the western lowlands.
- A lot of the deforestation can be traced to an influx of loggers in the 1990s and the many roads and trails that they created in the process, which are now being used by new settlers.
- In an effort to save a part of the Chocó, the Jocotoco Conservation Foundation has been building a reserve by buying up parcels of land, one at a time. Its Canandé Reserve has grown to roughly 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) but still faces pressure from roads and trails built by expanding communities.
- Residents respect the need to conserve the forest but also express a desire to improve connectivity, with the ability to travel within the area and to nearby cities.

Colombia poised for another drop in deforestation in 2025, data show
- Deforestation in Colombia appears to have declined in 2025, with notable reductions in several departments like Meta, Caquetá and Guaviare.
- The main drivers of deforestation include the spread of cattle ranching and agriculture, as well as illicit crops like coca, the primary ingredient in cocaine.
- Officials attributed the declining trend to collaboration with Indigenous communities and environmental zoning in rural areas, as well as ecotourism and a program providing financial incentives for communities involved in forest conservation.

Three Andean condor chicks hatch in Colombia as species nears local extinction
Since July 2024, three Andean condor chicks have hatched at an artificial incubation program located near Bogotá, Colombia’s capital city, contributor Christina Noriega reported for Mongabay. The artificial incubation program is run by the Jaime Duque Park Foundation, a Colombian conservation nonprofit that has worked since 2015 to counter the birds’ population decline. Globally, the […]
Urban sprawl and illegal mining reshape a fragile Amazon frontier
- Ever since Mitú was first established as a settlement in 1935, it has rapidly transformed into an expanding urban town in one of Colombia’s most isolated departments.
- The Amazonian forests, rivers and Indigenous communities who surround Mitú are impacted by urbanization, the overexploitation of natural resources, cattle ranching, illegal mining and timber extraction which have caused deforestation, soil degradation and water pollution.
- Researchers say the construction of a highway from Mitú to Monfort has attracted settlers who cleared land around the road to expand the urban center and develop agricultural production and cattle ranching.
- Mongabay found 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of tree cover loss in Mitú since 2014.

Cultural changes shift an Indigenous community’s relationship with the Amazon forest
- In the southeastern Colombian department of Vaupés, members of the Indigenous Macaquiño community have maintained a healthy territory through rituals and prayers that govern the use of natural resources and their deep respect for the spirits that guard sacred sites.
- A series of cultural transformations that began with the arrival of rubber tappers, missionaries and other non-Indigenous outsiders since the 19th century has led to a decline in many spiritual and cultural traditions, undermining the area’s sacred sites and the communities’ relationship with their territory.
- More recent changes, such as government education policies and laws that hand more power to Indigenous peoples to manage their territories, have also impacted the generational transfer of spiritual and cultural knowledge.
- Members Mongabay spoke to said they welcome some of the changes that have come with these cultural transformations, such as the opportunity to obtain a formal education and return with knowledge that can complement their Indigenous knowledge.

The year in rainforests 2025: Deforestation fell; the risks did not
- This analysis explores key storylines, examining the political, environmental, and economic dynamics shaping tropical rainforests in 2025, with attention to how policy, markets, and climate stress increasingly interact rather than operate in isolation.
- Across major forest regions, deforestation slowed in some places but degradation, fire, conflict, and legacy damage continued to erode forest health, often in ways that standard metrics fail to capture.
- Global responses remained uneven: conservation finance shifted toward fiscal and market-based tools, climate diplomacy deferred hard decisions, and enforcement outcomes depended heavily on institutional capacity and credibility rather than formal commitments alone.
- Taken together, the year showed that forest outcomes now hinge less on single interventions than on whether governments and institutions can sustain continuity—of funding, governance, science, and oversight—under mounting environmental and political strain.

Agroforestry grows in popularity among central Colombia’s coffee farmers (analysis)
- As the world’s third-largest coffee producer and a nation that has been growing the popular Arabica variety since 1870, there’s not much that Colombia doesn’t know about growing the crop.
- In some areas of the country, though, growing coffee via diverse agroforestry systems is now gaining popularity, thanks to its sustainability and benefits for local biodiversity.
- However, a new analysis also shares that in some areas, there still exists a low level of technical understanding among small-scale growers as to how to grow coffee well while reducing pests and diseases with agroecological methods.
- This post is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

The Amazon in 2026: A challenging year ahead, now off the center stage
- As Belém’s COP30 ended in compromise, political forces moved swiftly to accelerate destruction far from the global spotlight.
- New infrastructure projects, critical minerals, fires and novel threats to the Amazon remain looming for 2026 after a year in the spotlight preparing for COP30.
- In 2025, the rainforest saw illegal miners finding new smuggling routes and an increasing backlog of families waiting for settlement in Brazil.
- As carbon credit schemes and violence against environmental defenders continue to loom, products made from Amazon raw materials renew hope for the value of a standing forest.

‘It’s not safe to live here.’ Colombia is deadliest country for environmental defenders
PUERTO ASIS, Colombia (AP) — Jani Silva is a renowned environmental activist in Colombia’s Amazon, but she has been unable to live in her house for nearly a decade. She has lived under threat from armed groups who forced her out and require her to have a permanent security detail. Living with fear can come […]
In Chocó, river defenders say race for energy transition threatens lifelines
- Colombia is looking to accelerate its energy transition amid growing international demand for strategic minerals. But activists from El Carmen de Atrato in Chocó, western Colombia, allege that El Roble, the country’s only active copper mine, is harming the environment and local community.
- The Atrato River, which flows beneath El Roble, was granted constitutional rights in 2016, yet activists raise long-standing concerns over water pollution, tailings dam risks and alleged failures to meet conservation commitments in the area surrounding the mine.
- Critics say the mine has been allowed to operate under antiquated environmental regulation, with a modern environmental licence still under review.
- El Roble rejects all allegations, stating it is a responsible business that complies with environmental regulations. The company says it is the primary source of employment in El Carmen and points to its track record of local investment and community projects.

The Indigenous women changing the course of their communities
- Indigenous women leaders play a key role as defenders of their territories, biodiversity and ancestral knowledge.
- From their communities, they lead environmental restoration, collective health care, political participation and economic autonomy.
- Three women leaders from Peru, Mexico and Colombia share their stories of resilience and leadership in territories beset by violence as well as social, economic and environmental challenges.
- They do it by caring for bees, water, and the lives of Amazonian peoples, not only for the present but for future generations.

Artificial incubation gives Colombia’s threatened Andean condor a new lifeline
- A scavenger species, the Andean condor plays a vital role in ecosystems by preventing the spread of diseases found in carcasses.
- But human communities overlapping with their habitat have often mistakenly blamed the condors for livestock deaths and poisoned them, contributing to the species’ decline.
- About 6,700 Andean condors remain in the wild, with those in Colombia and Ecuador considered critically endangered.
- In Colombia, where an estimated 130 individuals remain, a captive-breeding program is working to save the species from extinction, and since 2024 has produced three chicks for eventual release into the wild.

Indigenous guardians protecting the Amazon Trapeze continue to face challenges
- Defending the Amazon Rainforest is something that Indigenous communities have been doing for centuries, and the practice has gained renewed interest with the “Indigenous guard” program that launched two decades ago in Colombia.
- According to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), there are around 1,200 guards across the three Indigenous councils in the Amazon Trapeze region, Colombia’s tri-border area with Peru and Brazil.
- However, the lack of income for the guardians in particular, and of economic opportunities for communities here in general, have driven many Indigenous people, including some guards, to get involved in illicit activities such as coca cultivation in Peru or drug trafficking.
- To continue protecting the environment, Indigenous guards are calling for greater government support and say they hope to receive fair compensation for the work they do.

Afro-descendant territories slash deforestation, lock in carbon, study shows
- New research documents the positive impacts that Afro-descendant populations have had on tropical ecosystems in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname.
- The study found that deforestation rates are between 29% and 55% lower in Afro-descendant lands than in protected areas.
- This is the first scientific study to employ statistical, geographical and historical data to assess the contribution of Afro-descendant communities in conservation.
- According to the researchers, Afro-descendant populations and their good practices are at risk due to a lack of legal recognition, invisibility of their contributions, and extractive activities in their territories.

Brazil aims for alternative route to fossil fuel road map after COP30 failure
- Brazil will collaborate with the Colombian and Dutch delegations to develop the road map outside the formal U.N. process, with the goal of bringing it back for discussion at COP31.
- Experts say the Belém summit showed disappointing deals after ambitious promises, failing to address the environmental and economic needs of climate change.
- The turbulent final plenary exposed deeper diplomatic rifts, with one delegate accusing Colombian counterparts of behaving “like children” amid high tensions.

Colombia slams international trade rules that punish states for climate action
Colombian Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres has called for reform of international arbitration tribunals, saying they’re “one of the greatest obstacles” to the energy transition and favor corporate interests over sovereignty. The investor–state dispute settlement system (ISDS), also called a “corporate court,” is an international trade mechanism that allows foreign investors, usually corporations, to sue […]
Colombia bans all new oil and mining projects in its Amazon
Colombia will no longer approve new oil or large-scale mining projects in its Amazon biome, which covers 42% of the nation’s territory, according to a Nov. 13 statement by its environment ministry. Acting Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres said the entire Colombian Amazon will be made a reserve for renewable natural resources. She made the […]
Top ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin’s COP30 reflections on Amazon conservation (analysis)
- The global battle to mitigate climate change cannot be won in the Amazon, but it can certainly be lost there, writes top ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin in a new analysis for Mongabay. Though he’s well-known for investigating traditional uses of plants in the region, he’s also a keen observer of and advocate for Indigenous communities and conservation there.
- Compared to the 1970s, he writes, the Amazon enjoys far greater formal protection, understanding and attention, while advances in technology and ethnobotany have revealed new insights into tropical biodiversity, and Indigenous communities — long the guardians and stewards of this ecosystem — are increasingly recognized as central partners in conservation, and their shamans employ hallucinogens like biological scalpels to diagnose, treat and sometimes cure ailments, a technology that is increasingly and ever more widely appreciated.
- “The challenge now is to ensure that the forces of protection outpace the forces of destruction, which, of course, is one of the ultimate goals of the COP30 meeting in Belém,” he writes.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Sloth selfies are feeding a booming wildlife trafficking trade
- The apparent docility and friendliness of “smiling” sloths have made them tourist darlings, but have also put a target on their backs.
- The rise in trafficking of these animals led the governments of Brazil, Costa Rica and Panama to propose stricter rules for the international trade of two sloth species; the goal is to prevent them from becoming threatened with extinction.
- Cruel practices used by traders condemn most animals to death, with sloth babies separated from their mothers and subjected to unbearable levels of stress.
- In the Brazilian Amazon, tourism companies encourage customers to take photos with sloths, and the government fears the smuggling of animals to neighboring countries.

Indigenous communities protect Colombia’s uncontacted peoples
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For more than a decade, two Indigenous communities deep in Colombia’s Amazon have been safeguarding those who wish to remain unseen, reports contributor Pilar Puentes for Mongabay. The residents of the Curare-Los Ingleses Indigenous Reserve and the neighboring […]
Brazil dismantles hundreds of illegal dredges in major Amazon mining crackdown
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Brazilian police backed by Interpol have destroyed hundreds of dredges used in illegal gold mining along the Madeira River, in one of the biggest coordinated crackdowns yet on criminal networks operating across the Amazon Basin. The international police agency said officers dismantled 277 floating mining rafts worth an estimated $6.8 million. […]
Report urges full protection of world’s 196 uncontacted Indigenous peoples
- A comprehensive global report on uncontacted Indigenous peoples, published Oct. 27 by Survival International, estimates that the world still holds at least 196 uncontacted peoples living in 10 countries in South America, Asia and the Pacific region.
- About 95% of uncontacted peoples and groups live in the Amazon — especially in Brazil, home to 124 groups. Survival International says that, unless governments and private companies act, half of the groups could be wiped out within 10 years.
- Nine out of 10 of these Indigenous groups face the threat of unsolicited contact by extractive industries, including logging, mining and oil and gas drilling. It’s estimated that a quarter are threatened by agribusiness, with a third terrorized by criminal gangs. Intrusions by missionaries are a problem for one in six groups.
- After contact, Indigenous groups are often decimated by illnesses, mainly influenza, for which they have little immunity. Survival International says that, if these peoples are to survive, they must be fully protected, requiring serious noncontact commitments by governments, companies and missionaries.

Indigenous monitoring project helps protect isolated peoples in Colombia’s Amazon
- Indigenous communities neighboring the peoples living in isolation in Colombian Amazon have spent more than a decade helping the latter remain separate from the outside world.
- Members of the Curare-Los Ingleses Indigenous Reserve and of the community of Manacaro use traditional knowledge and technology alike to monitor threats to their territory and to protect nearby communities living in isolation.
- In Manacaro, women take on traditionally masculine roles by patrolling the rivers, collecting data, and safeguarding their neighbors’ lives amid the advance of armed actors and illegal mining.
- Surveillance work has provided evidence of uncontacted peoples, such as the Yuri and Passé ethnic groups, which was fundamental in the federal government’s decision to formally recognize them.

Putumayo’s women guardians defend land and culture amid Colombia’s deforestation
- In Colombia southwest, Kamëntšá and Inga Indigenous women are at the forefront of the struggle to defend their territory, which provides water to the rest of the Putumayo. Through transmitting their language, cultivating traditional farms, sharing ayahuasca, and traveling the Sibundoy Valley, they keep their knowledge system alive: this is the basis of their defense of the territory.
- Although less than 30% of land in the region is suitable for cattle ranching, approximately 8,000 hectares (84%, 19,700 acres) are dedicated to this activity, impacting key ecosystems and water sources.
- At least 45 women have organized to resist the advance of monocultures and deforestation. They achieve this through their chagras, traditional growing spaces that contain hundreds of edible and medicinal plant species.
- Their knowledge and deep connection with the territory have enabled them to participate in the creation of Indigenous reserves and to oppose large-scale road-building projects on their land.

Voices from the Land
Indigenous peoples are experiencing firsthand the impacts of the environmental and climate crises on their lands and communities. This commentary series, produced by the collective Passu Creativa with the support of Earth Alliance, is written by Indigenous leaders from around the world, including Goldman Prize winners, political officials, and representatives of grassroots movements. These leaders […]
As the Andes’ glaciers melt, our values can help: Voices from the land (commentary)
- The snow-capped mountains in Colombia’s Andes range are rapidly melting due to climate change, says Yesid Achicue, an Indigenous mountain guide for local and international trekkers.
- He says this is extremely alarming, considering the role that snow-capped mountains play in various ecosystems and water sources, as well as the cultural and spiritual value nearby Indigenous communities have given them since time immemorial.
- “It is, in my opinion, our values, and how these belief systems manifest themselves in our societies and cultures, that help determine whether we can slow or cushion the impacts of these melting glaciers,” Achicue writes in this opinion piece. “Currently, treating the world and life as resources to be plundered is creating the climate crisis, and different values can change it.”
- This commentary is part of the Voices from the Land series, a compilation of Indigenous-led opinion pieces. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Biodiversity loss due to land use change could be highly underestimated: Study
- New research carried out in Colombia by the University of Cambridge suggests that local surveys assessing the effect of land clearances on biodiversity may be underestimating the impact by as much as 60%.
- To fully understand the effects of clearing forests for pastureland, much surveys of a much larger scale are required to reflect the different levels of biodiversity in regions and habitats and their resilience to change.
- More accurate species surveys, the authors say, could also support future programs such as biodiversity offsetting schemes as well as influencing farming policies.

MPs across Latin America unite to stop fossil fuels in the Amazon
- On Oct. 7, a network of more than 900 lawmakers presented the results of a parliamentary investigation into the phaseout of fossil fuels in the Amazon at the Brazilian National Congress in Brasília.
- The report by Parliamentarians for a Fossil-Free Future links fossil fuel extraction in the Amazon to deforestation, ecosystem fragmentation, pollution from spills and toxic waste, community displacement, health problems and violence from armed groups.
- MPs from five Amazonian countries — Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia — have presented law proposals in their national parliaments to halt the expansion of fossil fuel extraction in the Amazon region of their countries. But the level of ambition varies across nations, with countries still relying heavily on extractive industries.

Indigenous fishers lead science-backed conservation of Colombia’s wetlands
- A community-based monitoring project is helping protect the rich diversity of freshwater fish species in the Ramsar-listed wetlands in the Colombian Amazon.
- By combining ancestral knowledge with scientific tools, Indigenous Amazonian leaders say their communities are strengthening their connection to their territory.
- Community monitoring and training efforts have helped inform fishing regulations to better protect ecosystems and ensure the sustainability of local populations’ livelihoods.

In the Andean Amazon, countries struggle to fight deforestation
- Goals to reduce deforestation by 2030 set by Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia have been undermined by policies that drive deforestation.
- In Colombia, the Petro administration aims to reduce land inequality by redistributing confiscated land, while investing in rural infrastructure with the hope of motivating individuals to stay in previously deforested landscapes.
- In Ecuador, although illegal deforestation is subject to criminal prosecution, infringers are seldom prosecuted and the permitting system is largely used to manage the timber trade.
- Despite its conservation policies, Peru has no coherent, integrated policy to fight illegal deforestation, while many local public officials are compromised by their participation in the illegal land market.

Protecting Indigenous Amazon lands may also protect public health, study says
- Healthy forests in protected Indigenous territories could help reduce the risk of certain illnesses for humans, a new study shows.
- Different factors influence how effective Indigenous territories are at protecting health, including whether a territory has legal protected status and the type of landscape surrounding it.
- Researchers found that Indigenous territories can effectively reduce the risk of vector-borne or zoonotic diseases if they’re located in municipalities with at least 40% forest cover.
- The study used a data set of respiratory, cardiovascular, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases recorded across the Amazon region between 2001 and 2019 to understand how pollution from forest fires, forest cover and fragmentation, and Indigenous territories impacted the risk from 21 different diseases.

Landmines and violence in Colombian Amazon confine Indigenous Siona families
Siona Indigenous guards in southern Colombia are raising alarm that landmines and armed groups are cutting off their families from natural resources and trapping them in small portions of their territory. It’s been an ongoing problem for decades, Mongabay contributor Jose Guarnizo reported. In August 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expanded its […]

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