Enlisting the dairy industry to end Colombia’s deforestation crisis

Colombia has seen rapidly increasing deforestation, especially in areas of the Amazon rainforest. This deforestation has had a profound ecological impact on this, the world’s second most biologically diverse country, which has forest covering more than half of its territory and provides a home for 10% of the world’s species. However, a big step against this trend has been facilitated by the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), who have persuaded two giants of Colombia’s dairy industry to join the country’s zero-deforestation movement.

The dairy company Alpina and the national association of milk processors Asoleche have signed the landmark “zero-deforestation dairy value chain agreement” after an outreach blitz by WLE/Alliance staff…

Photo credit: Pedro Szekely