ABSTRACT
In 2016, after years of negotiation between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a peace agreement was officially signed and ratified. While there is hope for positive social and economic changes, there are increasing concerns that the post-agreement period will lead to the exploitation of Colombia’s vast natural resources, previously protected by the lack of security and the violence, which prevailed in many rural areas. Large-scale land use changes and an increase in deforestation have been anticipated before signing the peace agreement and since its implementation deforestation has indeed soared. Despite the government of Colombia being rhetorically at the forefront of environmental protection with a goal of no net deforestation by 2020, its economic policy is increasingly based on mining and natural resources exploitation. The contradictions in governmental objectives present an increasing risk for new conflicts over land and resources, particularly in frontier areas such as the Colombian Amazon. This chapter problematises the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC in the context of post-agreement forest governance, focusing on associated challenges for forest governance and sustainable development in the Colombian Amazon.
