By Oliver Griffin
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Deforestation in Colombia fell 36% in 2023 from a year earlier to a 23-year low, driven by declining environmental destruction in the Amazon region, the environment ministry said on Monday.
Nationally, deforestation fell to just over 792 square kilometers (305 square miles) last year, down from around 1,235 square kilometers in 2022, the ministry said in a statement.
Colombia is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, and is home to thousands of plant and animal species. However, like elsewhere in the region, it loses swathes of forest to deforestation each year.
The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro says it is prioritizing protecting Colombia’s environment and has called on rich nations to cancel foreign debt in exchange for conserving areas like the Amazon, whose destruction scientists say could worsen global climate change.
Colombia will host the COP16 U.N. biodiversity summit in the city of Cali later this year.
(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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