Land Distribution and Natural Reserves in Colombia

Colombia is one of the world’s most water-rich and bio-diverse countries in the world. Likewise, with a total territory of 1.14 million square kilometers, Colombia is South America’s only country with both an Atlantic and a Pacific coastline. As such, Colombia has a total of approximately 59 national parks and protected areas, covering a total of some 142.541 square kilometers. Representing an aggregate territory larger than Greece, Colombia’s national parks and protected areas are divided into the following five categories: National Natural Parks, Fauna and Flora Sanctuaries, National Natural Reserves, one Unique Natural Area, and one Road Park. Moreover, Colombia’s Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development administers all these areas, which encompass more than 11% of the national territory.

Land Distribution and Natural Reserves in Colombia

The oldest amongst Colombia’s protected areas is the Oilbirds’ Cave National Natural Park, which was established in 1960 and is home to almost 300 registered species of birds. Meanwhile, the largest amongst them is the Chiribiquete National Natural Park, which was originally established in 1989 and encompasses an important part of the country’s Amazon region. Since its original creation, the park’s protected territory has been expanded to protect surrounding areas from potential oil exploration and exploitation in the future. Furthermore, in February 2018, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced plans to extend the Chiribiquete National Natural Park from its current 2.8 million hectares to a total of 4.3 million hectares. Similarly, the Colombian government is pushing to have the country added to the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Because of its size and remote location, only a small portion of the park has been surveyed and studied. However, in addition to its biodiversity, the Chiribiquete National Natural Park contains documented ancient paintings of sheer rock faces, which date back to the pre-Columbian era.

As a whole, Colombia is a geographically rich country that devotes about 38% of its national territory towards agriculture, while another 54% is forested. This distribution is facilitated by the fact that 77% of the 50 million citizens in Colombia live in an urban setting. In terms of natural resources, Colombia is rich in petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, and hydropower. Likewise, in terms of agriculture, the country’s main products include coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables, shrimp, and forestry products.

Unfortunately, in Colombia, approximately 3.4 million people suffer from undernourishment. Similarly, in recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin amongst the Colombian population has been some 33 grams daily. Simultaneously, land distribution and output in Colombia has evolved throughout the last half century. Back in 1961, arable land in the country covered 3.5 million hectares, while permanent pastures and meadows represented 35 million hectares and permanent crops accounted for 1.4 million hectares. More recently, by 2015, arable land had decreased to 1.7 million hectares, while permanent pastures and meadows represented 41 million hectares and permanent crops covered 1.9 million hectares.

(Read more about Business and the Agricultural Agenda in France)