Awareness about cocaine's ecocide in Colombia
Environmental repercussions
"2.2 million hectares of tropical forest, an area equal to the size of Slovenia, have been clear cut to grow coca in Colombia".
"In 2006, a new coca growing area was discovered in the Brazil-Colombian-Peru border triangle, also known as the Amazon".
"The slash and burn technique used to prepare the land for cultivation is what causes the most damage to cultivated zones".
"The first source of pollution in the Colombian jungle is caused by smoke created from the burning of trees cut to grow coca".
"Many of the chemicals used to process coca have high toxicity levels, and their effects on humans and on the environment are yet to be carefully studied. Furthermore, there is evidence to show that these chemicals are not handled with the appropriate caution".
"To prevent detection, illicit crops often shift, generally within hard-to-reach areas, causing damage to virgin forests. And, many of these crops are found in places with very high levels of biodiversity".
"Potassium permanganate can cause toxic and even reproductive side effects on humans. 90 tons of potassium permanganate were used in 2005 to cultivate coca in Colombia".
"150 kilograms of solid chemical precursors and 57 gallons of liquid chemical precursors are used to process one hectare of coca".
"To obtain one kilo of coca paste (stage prior to the processing of cocaine) 1.9 liters of sulfuric acid, 1.25 liters of ammonium, 193.75 liters of contaminated water and 625 kilograms of vegetable waste are thrown onto the ground or into nearby rivers".
"One hectare of coca produces and average 7.4 kilos, or 7,700 grams, of cocaine per year, one gram being the measure of a dose. Therefore, for each 7,400 doses of cocaine, up to 3 hectares of 30 thousand square meters of forest are cut down. In other words, for each gram of cocaine consumed, 2 square meters of tropical forest are clear cut".
"In terms of chemical waste, the consumption of each gram of cocaine implies the creation of 625 grams of vegetable waste and 200 milliliters of contaminated water".
"The cultivation of illicit crops has led to the destruction of 2.2 million hectares of tropical forest in Colombia, an area the size of Slovenia and equal to half the territory of The Netherlands and Switzerland".
"In 2006, over 8,000 hectares of Colombia’s national parks were clear cut to grow coca".
"More than 2 million barrels of crude oil, 7.6 times the amount that was spilled in the Exxon-Vales oil spill of 1989, have been spilt on Colombian soil as a result of terrorist attacks, carried out by illegal armed groups financed by trafficking cocaine, against the nation’s infrastructure".
"Glyphosate, one of the herbicides used by Anti-Narcotics forces to kill coca plants, is also commonly used by coca growers themselves to protect coca plants from weeds and pests".
