Colombia Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

deforestation resulting from timber exploitation in the jungles of the Amazon and the region of Chocó; illicit drug crops grown by peasants in the national parks; soil erosion; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Climate

tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands

Land use

agricultural land: 37.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 34.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 54.4% (2018 est.)

other: 8.1% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 82.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.01% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0.75% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 14.04 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 97.81 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 81.52 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 12,150,120 tons (2011 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2,089,821 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 17.2% (2013 est.)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Rio Negro river source (shared with Venezuela and Brazil [m]) - 2,250 km; Orinoco (shared with Venezuela [s]) - 2,101 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km)

Major aquifers

Amazon Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 3.72 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 360 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 25.04 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

2.36 trillion cubic meters (2020 est.)