“Rafael Orjuela is a communal leader who lives in Remolinos del Caguan, a village located eight hours by river from the capital of Cartagena del Chaira, a municipality that, according to 2015 official figures, was first among in deforested areas of Colombia. Of the 23,812 hectares of forest cleared in Caqueta, 20% of the total deforested in Colombia, 10,822, were lost mainly due to the expansion of the agricultural frontier. He arrived at Remolinos del Caguan in the early eighties and recalls that the guerrillas who at the time ruled the forests that connect the eastern cordillera with the Amazonian savannas told everyone that coca crops were drastically decreasing, so they had to clear more land. Although deforestation in Caqueta has been a long-term problem, just late last year the Colombian government decided to prioritize deforestation control plans. Rafael Orjuela estimates 20,000 hectares of forest were cleared only in Cartagena del Chaira after FARC 's departure. Nicolas Velasquez, president of the Action Board of Paraisos del Yari, said that after FARC 's departure from the region, many people opted to invade a reserve area that was protected from deforestation for years. …show more content…
Alvaro Pacheco, the mayor of Caqueta, has been leading the "Bubble against deforestation" since December of last year, an inter-institutional strategy to assume authority in the region and face the deforestation after FARC