Title: Illicit Crops in Tropical America: Deforestation, Landslides, and the Terrestrial Carbon Stocks.
Author: Lopez-Rodriguez, Sara R.; Blanco-Libreros, Juan F.
Date: 2008
Source: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Ambio Vol. 37, No. 2, :141-143
Description: The 250 landslides that simultaneously occurred in the Río Tarazá basin, Antioquia Department, in Colombia after the torrential rains of 19 and 20 May 2007 (Fig. 1) rank among the major rainfalltriggered disasters in this country (1). According to an official report, about 3000 ha, mostly covered by illegal cash crops, were wasted, thus reviving the discussion on the ecological impacts of illicit crops in Tropical America. These landslides and debris flow killed 13 peasants associated with coca bush (Erythroxylum coca) crops, forced evacuation of 67 people from indigenous reservations, and caused the temporary relocation of 600 families from the partially flooded town. Road infrastructure, lowland crops, and private buildings were also damaged. Such a number of landslides far exceeded previous landsliding recorded in Colombia during very wet years. For instance, during La NiƱa 1999.2000, the wettest year in record nationwide, the departmental maximum was 80 landslides and the municipal maximum was 8 (1). Larger numbers of landslides have only occurred after earthquakes, volcanic activity, and localized infrequent torrential rainfall (.200 mm h-1) in Colombia (2) and other regions of Tropical America (3)
Keywords: Landsliding Risk, Deforestation,Illegal Crops,Carbon Stocks
View and Print this Publication (2.2M)
Publication Notes:
- We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
- This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility
Citation
Lopez-Rodriguez, Sara R.; Blanco-Libreros, Juan F. 2008. Illicit Crops in Tropical America: Deforestation, Landslides, and the Terrestrial Carbon Stocks.. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Ambio Vol. 37, No. 2, :141-143.