Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Killings and repression of defenders · Colombia · 2017–2022

Colombia's Operation Artemisa: 113 arrests and 13 convictions

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Colombia's military Operation Artemisa, launched in April 2019 against deforestation, saw 113 arrests and 13 convictions, Mongabay Latam reported. Experts quoted by the outlet said it targeted small settlers rather than large-scale deforesters, after Amazon forest loss had already risen following the FARC withdrawal.

What?
Colombia's military Operation Artemisa, launched in April 2019 to counter deforestation that had risen after the FARC withdrew. Mongabay Latam
Where?
Colombia, Amazon region (Operation Artemisa area) Mongabay Latam
When?
Deforestation record in 2017; Operation Artemisa from April 2019; reporting to December 2022 Mongabay Latam
Who?
Gained
  • Iván Duque — After his presidency: board seats at Conservation International and SBTi, and an ambassador role with Campaign for Nature (source row without URL)
Lost
  • Amazon forest, Colombia — Deforestation rose from 70,074 ha to 144,147 ha (Mongabay Latam, 2018) Mongabay Latam
Harmed
  • Small settlers in Artemisa operation areas — Arrested, as reported by Mongabay Latam (2020) Mongabay Latam
  • Communities in operation areas — Reported 10 houses burned or destroyed and one death (Mongabay Latam, 2022) Mongabay Latam
Why?
Operation launched against deforestation, its stated aim (Mongabay Latam, 2022). Causes of the 2017 rise are not stated in the sources reviewed. Mongabay Latam
How?
Military operation with arrests of settlers; 113 arrests and 13 convictions reported. Mongabay Latam
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Mongabay Latam reported in May 2018 that deforestation hit a record in 2017 after the FARC withdrew, with Amazon loss rising from 70,074 ha to 144,147 ha.

Mongabay Latam reported that Colombia launched the military Operation Artemisa against deforestation in April 2019, with 113 arrests and 13 convictions, and that national deforestation rose from 2019 to 2021.

Mongabay Latam reported in February 2020 that peasants were arrested in Artemisa while the financiers of deforestation were not.

Experts quoted in Mongabay Latam's December 2022 article said the operation targeted small settlers and did not reach large-scale deforesters; communities reported 10 houses burned or destroyed and one death.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Artemisa-period hectare figures (158,894 ha to about 174,100 ha), from Mongabay Latam, partly known through secondary reports; not used as metrics.
    • None on record The sources reviewed describe 2017 deforestation as following the FARC withdrawal; they do not state a cause.
    • None on record Who financed the deforestation is not identified in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record Iván Duque's board and ambassador roles come from a 2026 board list and a row with no URL; dates and terms are not given.
    • None on record Circumstances of the reported death are not stated.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    2. Incendios en la Amazonía colombiana
      Mongabay Latam · 2020-02

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Standard-setter and registry
    An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.
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