Understanding and overcoming policy (in)coherence to control deforestation in Colombia

The document assesses the gap between Colombia's robust policy frameworks for the 2030 Agenda and climate goals and their actual implementation, which is hindered by conflicting priorities and institutional weaknesses. It highlights that while most land-use policies are synergistic, specific conflicts—particularly within mining legislation—and the criminalization of peasant farmers through military operations like Operation Artemisa undermine conservation efforts. The authors argue that overcoming this incoherence requires better inter-agency coordination, community engagement, and regional cooperation within the Amazon biome.

• Colombia experienced significant forest loss between 2002 and 2023, losing 1.99 million hectares of primary forest and 5.3 million hectares of total forest cover.
• Deforestation in Colombia contributed 1.24 gigatons of CO2 between 2013 and 2020, making its reduction central to the country's nationally determined contribution (NDC) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• An analysis of 600 interactions between 25 deforestation and land-use policies found that 63% (378) were promoters and 29% (174) were neutral, while only 8% (48) resulted in trade-offs.
• Colombian mining laws (Law 685 of 2001) create specific policy conflicts, particularly regarding the avoidance of natural forest deforestation for community economic development and the ability of municipal entities to regulate land use and prohibit mining.
• Operation Artemisa, a military strategy launched in 2019 to stop deforestation, has fueled social inequality and territorial conflict by criminalizing peasant farmers and violating agreements intended to reconcile conservation with rural rights.
• Policy incoherence is driven by the influence of powerful interests in the mining and agricultural sectors, institutional weaknesses, and a lack of coordination between government agencies, evidenced by the low allocation of financial resources to environment and research sectors.
• Existing coordination mechanisms, such as the Intersectoral Commission for the Control of Deforestation (created by Decree 1257 of 2017 and CONPES 4021), have failed to effectively harmonize different sectors and agendas.

APA

Alva, I. L., & Cárdenas, M. (2024). Understanding and overcoming policy (in)coherence to control deforestation in Colombia. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/183682/understanding-and-overcoming-policy-incoherence-to-control-deforestation-in-colombia.pdf

Chicago

Alva, Ivonne Lobos, and Mario Cárdenas. Understanding and overcoming policy (in)coherence to control deforestation in Colombia. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2024. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/183682/understanding-and-overcoming-policy-incoherence-to-control-deforestation-in-colombia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alva |first1=Ivonne Lobos |last2=Cárdenas |first2=Mario |title=Understanding and overcoming policy (in)coherence to control deforestation in Colombia |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=December 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/183682/understanding-and-overcoming-policy-incoherence-to-control-deforestation-in-colombia.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alva2024understanding, author = {Alva, Ivonne Lobos and Cárdenas, Mario}, title = {{Understanding and overcoming policy (in)coherence to control deforestation in Colombia}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/183682/understanding-and-overcoming-policy-incoherence-to-control-deforestation-in-colombia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }