Drug traffickers became one of the main threats to wildlife in protected areas of the country and Central America.
The organized crime is appropriating land that facilitates drug trafficking and conceal drug fields is causing massive deforestation in the countries of the region.
This is shown by the study Impacts of narco-deforestation in protected areas of Central America, presented on Wednesday by the Neotropical Foundation and the School of Biology of the University of Costa Rica.
This analysis focused on five hot spots in the region where the damage caused by drug trafficking was assessed: the Osa Conservation Area in Costa Rica , the Xiriualtique-Jilisco Reserve in El Salvador and the Darien-Camarca Reserve Emberá in Panama. The Mesoamerican Biological Heart and the Maya reserve in Guatemala were also included.
Between 30 and 60% of the deforestation losses in the region’s protected areas are attributable to the narco activity, which means losses for environmental services,”
concluded the study.
Bernardo Aguilar, representative of the Neotropical Foundation, explained that the study includes the changes between 2001 and 2010, since it is established that 2006 was the time when drug trafficking changed traffic routes.
Aguilar said that economic losses would be around $88 million annually in Central American territory.
In the specific case of Costa Rica, Aguilar explained that deforestation is not so severe, but the narco presence is obvious.
Gustavo Gutiérrez, professor at the UCR, said that a call should be made to the authorities to improve security systems in protected wilderness areas, since the national budget allocates only 0.22% for this purpose.