Is Banning Extractive Activities the Right Tool to Protect the Colombian Amazon?

Environmental attorney Daniela Hernández authored an article for Lexir on the risks of banning new extractive activities in the Colombian Amazon. Ms. Hernández analyzes the draft Resolution by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development that would declare the Amazon biome a Renewable Natural Resources Reserve, and warns that, while protecting the Amazon is an undeniable priority, restricting legal extractive activities could favor the expansion of illegal economies that operate without oversight and that have historically been associated with the highest levels of deforestation and ecosystem degradation. She concludes that effective protection of the Amazon depends not on expanding prohibitions, but on strengthening the institutional presence, improving the state's control capabilities, and combating the illegal activities that today represent one of the main threats to the region.

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