Overview

• Colombia lost 113,608 hectares of forest in 2024, marking a 43% rise from 2023’s historic low.
• Over 65% of the deforestation took place in the Amazon region, with about 75,000 hectares cleared.
• Officials cite wildfires from a climate-change-fueled drought as a major driver of the uptick.
• Land-grabbing for pastures, illegal road construction and illicit coca cultivation accelerated forest clearing.
• Losses mounted inside protected areas including Tinigua, La Macarena and UNESCO-listed Chiribiquete even as overall deforestation remained below 2021 levels.