The Environmental Effects of Peace in Colombia

Colombia is at a critical moment in finalizing a peace process to end a decades-long internal armed conflict and preparing for the post-conflict era. The government is creating a new rural economic development plan to provide economic opportunities for thousands of former guerrillas and displaced populations and to open new areas to land development that have been inaccessible due to security concerns.

The possible impacts of the post-conflict process on the environment remain unclear. The government has claimed that there will be “peace dividends,” such as reductions in oil spills from attacks on infrastructure, illegal mining and coca cultivation. However, peace could also bring about unexpected environmental consequences as new industries such as cattle ranching, agribusiness and mining expand into regions that were formerly off limits. Some former militants will also seek agricultural work, and displaced populations will move back to rural areas as part of the land restitution process, putting pressure on land resources. The potential for increased deforestation has important implications for climate change, as land use changes account for more than half of Colombia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. As the post-conflict agenda is being developed, it is critical that policymakers consider and prepare for the potential impacts on the environment, particularly in the Amazon region, the world’s most biodiverse rainforest and one of the largest reservoirs of carbon, the fertile Eastern Plains region and the Pacific region.

On August 18, the Inter-American Dialogue will hold a meeting of experts and other stakeholders with diverging viewpoints to examine the environmental impacts of the post-conflict process and propose policy solutions for environmentally sustainable rural economic development, reintegration and land restitution policies. Attendees will include public officials and advocates focused on the environment, as well as representatives of ministries, such as post-conflict, agriculture and the National Planning Department, international experts and industry. The meeting will inform a report that will be published in January 2017. This project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. 

Rafael Pardo, Colombia’s Minister of Post-Conflict; Joshua Mitrotti, General Director of Colombia’s Agency for Reintegration; and Alejandro Gamboa, General Director of Colombia’s Presidential Agency for International Cooperation will deliver keynote remarks.