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Colombia: Biodiversity, emeralds, and the greatest storyteller!

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Supreet Sahoo
Colombia: Biodiversity, emeralds, and the greatest storyteller!

Colombia: Biodiversity, emeralds, and the greatest storyteller!

With an estimated population of over 48 million people, this South American country is considered one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse countries. It is also the second-most bio-diverse country in the world, and it was dubbed the happiest country in the world in 2013 and 2014.  Colombia occupies a very privileged geographic position, as it is the only country in South America with coastlines touching both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. You can experience virtually every type of climate in Colombia — hot or cold and wet or dry — and ecosystems range from tundra, coastal, and desert to tropical rainforest and savanna.

Colombia produces between 70 and 90 percent of the world’s emeralds. Most are extracted from the eastern ridge of the Andes mountain range, which runs north/south through the country, and has some of the purest deposits found in the world. The gems range in color from a very light, yellowish-green, to a deep, dark, bluish-green. The darker green color is generally considered more desirable, and natural mineral inclusions — or “flaws” — only add to a stone’s character.

One of the most significant authors of the 20th century was Columbian Gabriel García Márquez, who captivated millions with his ability to use ordinary and realistic situations and humor in his work, opening the door to what became known as the “magical realism” literary movement. “Gabito” — as he was known among his friends — earned a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. His most-renowned works include “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” “The Autumn of the Patriarch,” “Love in the Time of Cholera,” and “Chronicle of a Death Foretold.”

Colombians enjoy a wide range of foods, with variations based on regional differences. But whether you are in the mountains, on the coast, or in the countryside, you will find plantains, rice, beans, potatoes, cassava, and some sort of meat/chicken/fish on your plate. The Bandeja Paisa — a traditional combination of white rice, red beans, plantain, chorizo, morcilla, chicharron, arepa, and avocado, topped off with a fried egg — is considered one of the national dishes.  

Governments tend to focus on social and economic growth after a war ends, while environmental protections fall by the wayside. In their paper, Ruiz-Carrascal and his colleagues from many institutions outline the threats to Colombia’s ecosystems, and suggest ways to avoid the worst of the damage.

“The decisions made at this crucial moment in time will likely reverberate through the lives of present and future Colombian generations,” they write, “and have ecological, climatic and biogeochemical consequences with global implications.”

Triple Threats to Colombia’s Biodiversity

Colombia is the world’s second most biodiverse country. Its terrain—which varies from Amazonian rainforests to cloud forests, open savannas, and mountainous terrain in the Andes—supports about 10 percent of all the planet’s species, including hundreds of animals that are found nowhere else on Earth.

In some areas, the conflict unintentionally preserved habitats for the 51,000 different types of plants and animals in Colombia that makes you Colombia Bird Photo Tour definitely amazing. Because FARC tended to inhabit rural and forested areas, it drove a mass migration to the cities. As a result, large forested areas remained unharmed during the armed conflict. The forests thrived, and even reconquered abandoned farmlands.

Now, somewhat paradoxically, the more stable socio-political conditions that could come along with peace are putting those untouched environments at risk. The threats could come in three forms.

 

 

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