Security around the nature summit has been further tightened after the bomb attack. It happened around 150 kilometers from the big city of Cali in Colombia. The largest ever UN summit on nature conservation takes place there. Over 23,000 people and several heads of state participate. The host country’s slogan is “Peace with nature”. Critics say it stands in stark contrast to the reality on the ground. Preparedness is high in large areas around Cali in connection with the UN nature summit. Photo: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP One of the country’s largest guerrilla groups, EMC, is accused of being behind the attack. The group has previously warned foreign delegates about attending the meeting. EMC is a breakaway group from the Farc guerrillas. It entered into a peace agreement with the authorities in 2016. Guerillas and other armed groups control large areas of the country. They are accused of being deeply involved in several types of illegal activities. The consequences are increased violence and major natural destruction. – Illegal gold mining is one of the most important causes of deforestation in Colombia and several countries in the Amazon region. The gold finances the armed groups. That’s what Rodrigo Botero says to news. He is one of Colombia’s foremost experts on deforestation and director of the environmental organization FCDS. She is trying to earn income by illegal gold mining in the north-east of the country. Photo: Ivan Valencia / AP The gold is sold on to high-purchasing customers in the USA, Europe and Asia. The criminal gangs behind the gold mining are also closely linked to cocaine production. – They have found that gold is best for laundering cocaine money, says Botero. Colombia is the world’s largest producer of coca leaves – the raw material for cocaine. The EMC guerrilla guards a coca plantation. Photo: Fernando Vergara / AP Geriljaland The hillsides are covered with evergreen plants. A white stone church stands on the square. El Plateado in the rugged mountains of southwest Colombia looks like any other small mountain town. Until you hear the sound of machine guns and grenade launchers. The green plants are coca leaves. Uniformed men from the EMC guerrillas stop cars with rifles in hand. They demand to see an identity card. The guerrilla group EMC checks identity papers in an area they control. Photo: Fernando Vergara / AP This is guerrilla land. One of the core areas for the EMC guerrillas and other armed groups. They rake in huge amounts of cocaine, marijuana and other illegal goods. – The area provides access to the Pacific coast for drug smuggling. It is an important transport route for bringing drugs out and, among other things, weapons in. That’s what Andres Cajiao of the organization “Ideas for Peace” says, which deals with peace building for AP. The news agency visited the area earlier this autumn. Chemicals are sprinkled over coca leaves in the process of making cocaine. It takes place in a laboratory in Micay Canyon, one of the core areas for the EMC guerrillas. Photo: Fernando Vergara / AP Cocaine record In recent weeks, the military has moved in with armored vehicles. They are trying to take back control in the area. There have been several skirmishes with the guerrillas. – It is painful that my children become part of this war, says Edilma Acuechantre. Her work is picking coca leaves. Almost everyone working in the area is in the cocaine business, which the guerrillas control. Cocaine production in Colombia reached record highs last year. It increased by 53 percent from the previous year. This is shown by recent figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC. The biggest increase was among the Cauca region, where the EMC guerrillas control large areas. To grow coca leaves, a lot of forest is cut down. Children play near a metal rod full of bullet holes. There are regular skirmishes between the guerrillas and the authorities. Photo: RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP Gold rush Further north in the country, along the banks of the Atrato river, petrol cans and equipment are loaded for one of the many illegal gold mines. It happens openly. Despite the fact that the river has been given its own conservation status due to its richness in species. – Illegal mines destroy the ecosystem. They dry up water sources and pollute the river with mercury, says Bernardino Mosquera to the Reuters news agency. Bernardino Mosquera is a so-called river guard who patrols the Atrato River in the north-east of the country where there are many illegal gold mines. Photo: Ivan Valencia / AP He is a so-called river guardian. It’s a dangerous job. They regularly receive threats from criminal groups. At the nature summit in Cali, Colombia will ask for the tracking of gold, among other things, to try to stop the illegal trade. When gold is remelted, it is impossible to know where it came from. Gold mining is the criminal activity that is increasing the most in Colombia and in several of the countries around the Amazon, according to several sources. An illegal drilling rig for gold mining in the Choco province in the north-east of the country. Photo: Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP Success in stopping deforestation Colombia has received a high international star following its successful fight against deforestation in recent years. Despite illegal gold mines and cocaine. It happened after the left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, came to power in 2022. Climate and rainforest conservation are high on his agenda in a country that ranks as one of the world’s most important countries for natural diversity. Deforestation dropped startlingly by over 70 percent after Petro took over the presidential palace. Several experts believe the peace negotiations the president started with the EMC guerrillas and other armed groups were crucial. Petro’s second goal is “total peace” after more than 60 years of armed conflict in the country. – I believe the success had a clear connection with the EMC guerrillas’ control in central areas of the Amazon and the orders they gave to stop deforestation, says Botero. Rodrigo Botero is one of the foremost experts on deforestation in the Amazon. Photo: Environmental organization FCDS / Environmental organization FCDS – Peace with militias essential for conservation Botero believes the guerrillas would trade conservation of nature for peace. But after the peace negotiations broke down this spring, deforestation has increased again. The EMC guerrillas have issued new permits for logging. – We are in their power, because they have control over large areas, says Botero. Deforestation is used as a political weapon to pressure the authorities in negotiations, several experts believe. – Is it possible to achieve the goals at the UN summit to preserve 30 percent of nature without peace agreements with the armed groups? – No, no, no, says Botero several times. – In order to achieve the goals, we clearly have to get agreements with the armed groups, says Botero. Published 26.10.2024, at 22.09
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– Can’t save the Amazon without peace with armed groups. – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
