Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [35]
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Conservación Internacional is one of Colombia’s most influential environmental advocacy groups. To learn more about their positive work, check out http://conservation.org.co
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Anti-drug efforts by the Colombian government (and, in large part, funded by the United States’ war on drugs) have also taken their toll on the environment, though to a lesser extent. The most common method of eradication has been aerial fumigation of coca fields; these hazardous herbicides destroy not just the coca plants, but surrounding vegetation as well, and no doubt seep into the watershed.
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Conservation Efforts
After decades of ignoring the issue, Colombia is finally making major efforts to save its precariously sensitive environment. Colombia is a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol and other international environmental agreements. Environmental activism is a growing movement among young Colombians, and many environmental NGOs have launched in recent years including groups such as Conservación Internacional and ProAves.
International governments have also lent a helping hand. One major success story is the unprecedented ‘debt for nature’ Tropical Forest Conversation Act of 2004. Under the 12-year agreement, the US government’s USAID organization and NGOs World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy and Conservación Internacional will contribute $10 million toward canceling part of Colombia’s debt to the US. In return, Colombia will invest $10 million to protect tropical forests in key areas of the Andes, the Caribbean coast and Los Llanos plains in the Orinoco River basin.
Environmentalists now wield more clout in government policy. In 2006 Colombian president Álvaro Uribe signed the controversial General Forestry Law that opened up the country’s forests to logging. Colombian and international environmental groups sued the government – and won. The Colombia Constitutional Court in 2008 ruled that the Forestry Law was unconstitutional because indigenous communities were never consulted. Score one for the greens.
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Colombia Outdoors
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KITESURFING & WINDSURFING
PARAGLIDING
DIVING & SNORKELING
BIRD-WATCHING
CANOPYING
HIKING & TREKKING
MOUNTAIN BIKING
WHITE-WATER RAFTING, CANOEING & KAYAKING
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Colombia is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Exploring the dramatic variety of landscapes is a highlight of any visit – from the páramo (high-mountain plains) to the jungles of the Pacific coast, the stunning green lushness of the Zona Cafetera to the dry, Hades-like heat of the Caribbean coast, both the outdoor dabbler and the hard-core trekking guru will find something to fascinate them.
There’s high-mountain trekking and mountaineering in Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) El Cocuy and Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Los Nevados, white-water rafting and paragliding in San Gil, kitesurfing and windsurfing at Lago Calima and the Caribbean coast, world-class scuba diving near San Andrés, Capurganá and Isla Malpelo, whale-watching up and down the Pacific coast, sportfishing for marlin and sailfish on the coast of the Chocó, and bird-watching pretty much everywhere.
For decades the countryside held great danger, and Colombians were trapped in their cities. No longer. Now that peace has come to Colombia, locals and foreigners alike are taking advantage of the chance to get out and see what this amazing country has to offer.
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The most comprehensive guide to kitesurfing in Colombia can be found at www.colombiakite.com.
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KITESURFING & WINDSURFING
Colombia is one of the cheapest places in the world to go kitesurfing and windsurfing. The star spot is not where you might think. Lago Calima (1800m, Click here), a man-made reservoir 86km north of Cali, boasts year-round 18 to 25 knot winds, and attracts world champions to its competitions held every August and September. There’s no beach here; it’s a man-made reservoir, after all, and access