Environmental Degradation Colombia’s nature is the 2nd most diverse in the world after Brazil. Its territory has coasts on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea of the Atlantic Ocean, and stretches to the snow-covered peaks of the Andes and to the Amazon jungle. Only 10% of Colombia’s nature is under some form of official protection and, like its neighbors, Colombia is facing increasing biodiversity loss due to deforestation caused by human activity. From agricultural activity, to logging and mining, to infrastructure development, the country is looking to develop its economy which is often but sadly happening at the expense of its natural wealth. One of the leading causes of forest cover loss is the ongoing expansion of coca and poppy cultivation. Colombia is the world’s biggest producer of coca (the main ingredient for the manufacture of cocaine) and the world’s third largest producer of the poppy plant (used for making opium). These crops are mostly produced to generate higher income than other crops. The farming communities typically process the plants and sell them to the Colombian paramilitaries and rebel groups, who refine it into cocaine or opium to export. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, drug trafficking accounts for 8% of world trade, with a gross annual profit of $35 billion, of which $900 million (roughly 2.5%) ends up in the hands of producers and exporters in the Andean countries, including Colombia, while the rest goes to dealers and traffickers mostly in the United States. In the face of such big business, the Colombian government-led drug eradication efforts, supported by the U.S. government and known as “Plan Colombia”, include the dropping of herbicides by crop-duster planes to destroy the coca plant, which harms surrounding forest areas, pollutes water reserves, and have proven to cause health problems such as respiratory diseases, infertility and malformations in children. Also, because of the illegality of coca and poppy growth, most farmers cultivate
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the crop in fields on the side of hills to avoid being reached by government agents or crop-dusters. However, the government does pursue an extremely active eradication campaign and consequently the local farmers do not use modern soil conservation techniques because they do not expect to use the same land for a long time. This results in soil erosion and further harms the environment. At the other end of the production chain, the refining and manufacturing of cocaine and opium requires the extensive use of chemicals such as acetone and kerosene, which further pollute soil and water.
The Political Argument With evidence that Plan Colombia has achieved limited results, it has become apparent that a new policy is required. At the Summit of the Americas in April 2012, held in Cartagena de Indias, President Santos proposed an overhaul of the drug policy because “Colombia has paid an enormous cost in economic terms and in human lives”. The environmental damage caused by production and attempts to eradicate the crops is also unsustainable. While options are being explored to change the policy, the result so far has been some serious debate about legalizing drug production. At Rio+20, however, President Santos made it clear that his aim is not to legalize drugs, but rather to promote a discussion regarding various scenarios which require the gathering of data and investigation of options by impartial experts. One option is the Asian-type policy – to be very harsh in punishing consumption and even harsher in penalizing production. The other extreme is the complete legalization of production and consumption. Santos’ belief is that “there is a half-way stage and we want the experts to discuss the various possibilities of policies that can be accepted.” While the debate is very sensitive in political terms, many South American leaders have announced their support for the idea, including President Calderón of Mexico, whose current drug-eradication policy has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths since 2006.
In an interview with Chatham House, President Santos stated: “sometimes we all feel that we have been pedalling on a stationary bicycle. We look to our right and our left and we still see the same landscape. […] My proposal is very simple: we need to start an in-depth discussion, led by scientists and experts, about the ‘war’ against drugs. We have to determine whether we are doing the best we can or whether there are better options.” He also added that the possible ‘de-criminalization’ of certain drugs will not be unilateral on behalf of Colombia because that would create a