Environmentally, Colombia is a mega-diverse country from its natural land terrain to its biological wildlife.[1] Its biodiversity is a result of its geographical location and elevation.[2] It is the fourth largest South American country and only country in South America to have coasts on the Pacific and Caribbean Sea.[3] Colombia's terrain can be divided into six main natural zones: The Caribbean, the Pacific (including Choco's Biogeographic rainforest), The Orinoco region, The Amazonia region, the Andean region, and the Insular region.[3] 52.2% of the environment is predominately the Andes, Amazon, and Pacific Basins, followed by the Orinoco basin 13.9%, the Andes and the Caribbean.[3] The Tropical Andes, Choco, and the Caribbean are considered biodiversity hotspots which puts these areas at high risk of concentration of colonizing activities.[2] Colombia host over 1800 bird species and at least one new species are detected every year.[2] Decades of civil war and political unrest have impeded biological and environmental research in Colombia.[2] The political unrest in Colombia catalyzes the alteration of land patterns through the cultivation of coca and opium crops, the redirection of extractive activities, and land abandonment in some areas.[1]
Contaminated water after the gold extraction process.Trash in the bay of Cartagena, Colombia (2005).Pollution on the streets of Barranquilla.
There are many environmental issues in Colombia. Issues include deforestation, soil erosion, illicit drug crops grown in national natural reserves by mafias (not peasants), pollution on major bodies of water by corporations (backed up by unregulated / unsupervised policies and by the corruption of local and federal authorities) among others.
There is soil and water quality damage from contamination by the use of chemicals in the coca-refining process, spillage of crude oil into the local rivers as a result of guerrilla sabotage of pipelines, overuse of pesticides, and air pollution (especially in Bogotá) from vehicle emissions.[4] Natural hazards include highlands subject to volcanic eruptions, occasional earthquakes, and periodic droughts.
^ abEtter, Andrés; McAlpine, Clive; Wilson, Kerrie; Phinn, Stuart; Possingham, Hugh (June 2006). "Regional patterns of agricultural land use and deforestation in Colombia". Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 114 (2–4): 369–386. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2005.11.013.
^ abcdOcampo-Peñuela, Natalia; Pimm, Stuart L. (7 December 2015). "Elevational Ranges of Montane Birds and Deforestation in the Western Andes of Colombia". PLOS ONE. 10 (12): e0143311. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1043311O. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143311. PMC 4671720. PMID 26641477.
^ abcArmenteras, Dolors; Cabrera, Edersson; Rodríguez, Nelly; Retana, Javier (1 December 2013). "National and regional determinants of tropical deforestation in Colombia". Regional Environmental Change. 13 (6): 1181–1193. doi:10.1007/s10113-013-0433-7. S2CID 155033791.
^"Country Profile: Colombia" (PDF). Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. February 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
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