Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Fire Devastate Nature Reserve

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BOGOTA, Jul 15 2006 (IPS) - Colombia's environmental authorities have declared an ecological disaster as a result of the fires in the central-western nature park of Los Nevados that destroyed some 5,000 of the park's 58,000 hectares. Former environment minister Juan Mayr told Tierramérica that the case is worrisome because the park acts as a big water plant in the central Andes mountains, where rivers are formed that are essential to the main coffee-growing areas of Colombia.

“We will look at all formulas of access to the international community — economic and scientific — to accelerate the recovery of these areas,” said the current minister of environment, Juan Lozano.

Lozano noted that it could take at least 50 years to fully recuperate the areas destroyed by the fire.