Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: State of the Environment

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BOGOTA, Aug 11 2002 (IPS) - The natural wealth of Colombia, which possesses 10 percent of the world's biological diversity, is undermined by habitat deterioration, says the governmental Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies. Colombia is among the richest countries in the world as far as water resources, but is losing potable water due to the gradual disappearance of marshes, which serve as filters, and the contamination of rivers, says the institute's latest report on the state of the country's environment.

The South American country also suffers from the effects of global warming, lack of adequate solid waste treatment and over-exploitation of its forests, says the study.