Drivers of deforestation in the Colombian Amazon: Illegal logging

In the Colombian Amazon, the illegal extraction and trafficking of timber has been a persistent driver of deforestation. The global demand for timber became a threat to the forest even before cattle ranching and growing illicit crops. Throughout the Amazon region, logging causes drastic changes in land use: dense forests become deserted areas. In this fifth article of our series on drivers of deforestation, we analyse the actors and dynamics of illegal logging.

Text: María Molina
Header photo: © Britta Jaschinski / IUCN NL

Other articles in the series ‘Drivers of deforestation in the Colombian Amazon’:

• land grabbing
• cattle ranching
• industrial agriculture
• crops for illicit use
• minerals, oil and gas

Illegal logging in the Colombian forests

More than 52% of Colombia is covered by forests, of which more than 100,000 hectares on average are deforested every year^[1]Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales – IDEAM (2021). Resultados del Monitoreo de la deforestación: 1. Año 2020. 2. Primer trimestres del año 2021.. Currently, 10% of this figure is caused by illegal logging^[2]Environmental Investigation Agency – EIA. (2019). Condenando el bosque. Ilegalidad y falta de gobernanza en la Amazonía colombiana.. The destruction of the rainforest causes a great loss of biodiversity and is one of the main sources of C02 released into the atmosphere. Between 2000 and 2015, deforestation was responsible for up to 57% of the country’s total emissions.

Constructing (illegal) roads in the rainforest enables other high-impact extractive activities, creating the perfect circumstances for illegal occupation and transformation of remote, dense forest areas. These roads thus foster the expansion of illegal sectors^[3]FCDS. (2022). Arco de deforestación amazónica. Pérdida de bosque entre abril 2021 –  marzo 2022.. In 2022, FCDS identified 26,915 km of open roads in forest areas parallel to rivers, some of them leading to protected areas^[4]FCDS. (2022). Seguimiento de la pérdida de bosque y cambio de cobertura en el arco de deforestación en la Amazonía Colombiana..

Around 80% of the timber sold in the country is extracted from natural forests, threatening species in one of the most biodiverse areas in the world.

Timber from natural forests: a threat to biodiversity

It is estimated that 47% of the wood sold in Colombia is of illegal origin^[5]Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible Colombia y WWF Colombia. (2022). Pacto Intersectorial por la madera legal en Colombia.. The timber sector in Colombia is considered ‘unproductive and uncompetitive’, because the areas suitable for commercial forest plantations are not being used as such. Despite the fact that Colombia has a potential of 17 million hectares suitable for timber production^[6]Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible & ONF Andina. (2015). Uso y legalidad de la madera en Colombia. Análisis parcial., only 540,430 hectares of legal forest plantations are registered^[7]WWF Colombia. (2015). Causas de la ilegalidad de la madera en Colombia.. So where does the wood for the global timber market come from?

Around 80% of the timber sold in the country is extracted from natural forests, threatening species in one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. The Amazon is among the Colombian regions most affected. The rainforest is an important source of timber, due to its richness in tree species of high economic value. Due to its density, it has almost inaccessible areas with little or no state presence and few economic opportunities for local communities.

In the departments of Caquetá, Putumayo and Amazonas alone, more than 359,000 m3 of wood was extracted between 2012 and 2017^[8]José Yunis – Amazonia Soy. (2018). El arco de la deforestación hacia el Amazonas es profundo.. In the extreme northwest of this region one finds the so-called ‘deforestation arc’: the strategic area located between the Andean region, the plains of Orinoquía and the ‘deep Amazon’. In this arc, 56% of the national deforestation takes place^[9]MADS IDEAM. (2021). Actualización de cifras oficiales de monitoreo de bosque natural y deforestación..

Illegal logging, lack of transparency and corruption

The country’s logging sector is permeated by informality and illegality. Between 2008 and 2019, 40% of the Colombian timber was reported fraudulent on the international market. Global Financial Integrity analysed the financial data of the sector^[10]Global Financial Integrity – GFI. (2021). Out of the Woods: Trade Misinvoicing and Exports of Tropical Timber from Colombia.. They found the Colombian export figures to be lower than those reported by other countries: a difference of 65.6 million dollars. China and India are the main export countries for Colombia’s timber.

Corruption and a lack of transparency are present in all aspects of the chain. Institutional weaknesses, in terms of control, exacerbate illegal practices. This includes obtaining permits in an irregular manner, unauthorised extraction, felling protected tree species, logging more trees than authorised, tax evasion and fraudulent export billing. It is estimated that Illegal logging and timber trade involves USD 750 million per year. Criminal and armed groups profit from laundering money, obtained through other illegal activities, through the logging sector^[11]WWF-Colombia. (2015). Causas de la ilegalidad de la madera en Colombia..

Three stages of illegal timber production

A study by the Environmental Investigation Agency identified three stages of logging in the Amazon region: extraction, processing and transportation. Extraction is carried out in private and public areas, including the forests on Indigenous territories and national parks. The Putumayo River, bordering Colombia with Peru, and the Amazon River, entering from Brazil, are being used to transport timber upstream, passing only few control points. Some of the logs are sawn into strips to make them easier to transport by truck, while others are transported uncut. Subsequently, the wood arrives at Puerto Asís in the department of Putumayo, where it is taken to processing and commercialisation points in Caquetá^[12]Environmental Investigation Agency – EIA. (2019). Condenando el bosque. Ilegalidad y falta de gobernanza en la Amazonía colombiana..

Amazon rights in focus: peoples and forests protection

Illegal logging severely affects local communities and indigenous territories, as they often depend on the resources the forest has provided them for generations. As a result, socio-economic inequality increases and rural communities are exposed to dynamics of illegal practices, corruption and extortion.

IUCN NL has joined forces with La Fundación para la Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible (FCDS), Ambiente y Sociedad and news platform Mongabay to protect the rights of the Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the Colombian Amazon. Because these people are the forest’s best guardians.