- This paper offers evidence on the relationship between armed conflicts and their environmental impacts. For the case of Colombia, using a unique yearly municipality panel dataset (from 2004 to 2012) and an instrumental variable approach to control for possible endogeneity between forest cover and forced displacement, there is evidence that the armed conflict is a force of forest protection and growth.
In particular, the alignment between rural underdevelopment and the rural–urban migration as a result of the violence, along with the presence and control of the illegal-armed groups of some zones contributed to protect forests. However, this effect is negligible. For example, the estimated effect suggests that one person displaced per 1,000 inhabitants increase the share of the municipality covered by forest by 0.013 percentage points at the municipality level.Forest cover changes are also likely to be driven by other factors difficult to measure such as illegal mining, the conversion of forest areas into pastures, illegal logging and forest fires.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) began engaging in discussions with the national government in 2012 to attempt to end Latin America’s longest-running internal conflict, which endured for more than half a century Forest degradation often increases in post-war situations.
In conclusion, this paper advocates for an appropriate conservation strategy when peace arrives in Colombia. The government will need to be ready to deploy conservation policies in those areas that are currently under control of the guerrilla. In the past, the protected zones by the state helped in reducing settlements and illegal drug activity. However, this might not be enough in the future.
Enforcement of conservation of currently protected regions and areas previously under a “gunpoint conservation” regime by the guerrillas will be fundamental. Rain forests and their watersheds support the lives of humankind, therefore, their protection and conservation is indispensable.
These findings spotlight a need for increased protection of Colombia's forests.
