Webinar on April 4th | Unveiling Colombia’s Livestock Nexus: Political Power & its Ecological Fallout | EN/ES | Webinar

Webinar on April 4th | Unveiling Colombia’s Livestock Nexus: Political Power & its Ecological Fallout | EN/ES | Webinar

On April 4, 2024, Brighter Green convened a webinar entitled  ‘Unveiling Colombia’s Livestock Nexus: Political Power & Its Ecological Fallout’, which revealed the findings of two investigative reports on ‘Livestock Laundering’ in Colombia, supported by Brighter Green’s biodiversity and animal protection reporting fund, along with a research study on “sustainable” livestock intensification and financing.

The reports, by Enrique Gamboa of Revista Raya, expose the effects of livestock expansion on forests, biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples. The first article, set in Guaviare province in the Colombian Amazon, exposes how paramilitary groups spurred livestock expansion, leading to deforestation and biodiversity loss, impacting the Nukak—Colombia’s last nomadic indigenous group. The second piece delves into paramilitary influence in buffalo cattle ranching expansion in Santander province in the Colombian Andes. An English translation of the report by Isis Alvarez  is available here, and a short documentary film on the issue is available here.

In addition, the panel discussed a study on a livestock project financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in the department of Vichada, which promotes sustainable intensification; this project claims to be “carbon-negative” for thousands of head of cattle. There are concerns raised by the indigenous Sikuani people and its impacts on forests, communities and climate.

REPORTS