Forty thousand square kilometres of the Colombian rainforest were lost between 2002 and 2007, according to a study by the Amazonian Institute of Scientific Investigation.

Lots of Rainforest

Over 35% of the country is covered by Amazonian rainforest, totalling around 480,000 square kilometres.

Raid Acceleration

The study involved analysis of detailed satellite images to measure the rate of deforestation that found gradual deforestation throughout most of the 20^th century that accelerated rapidly through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

Some Protection

Even though a figure such as 40,000 square kilometres being lost is concerning, Columbia’s record for deforestation is better than many in South America.

One of the chief causes of deforestation in Columbia is livestock farming, which is not as damaging as some other reasons for clearing rainforest. There are also many parts of the Columbian rainforest designated as indigenous reserves that are protected by law and because of this logging activity has not been allowed to spread as unilaterally as seen in other regions.

In Brazil for instance, a cut in logging by 7,000 square kilometres per year, has failed to prevent the country from having one of the highest rates of deforestation in South American.

Later this Year

The same team that collected the data for this report hopes to provide similar information for the years 2007 to 2009 by the end of this year.