Colombia declares itself the first country in the Amazon completely free of oil and mining activities

It is 42% of Colombia’s territory, represents 7% of the total Amazon rainforest and is the same size as Sweden. And now it is free from future oil and mineral extraction. We are in Colombia and here the Government has just announced that it will no longer approve new oil or large-scale extraction projects in its Amazon biome.

According to a statement from the Ministry of the Environment in recent days, in fact, the entire Colombian Amazon will be destined to become a reserve for renewable natural resources.

This declaration is an ethical and scientific commitment. It aims to prevent the degradation of forests, the contamination of rivers and the loss of biodiversity that threaten the climate balance of the continent, said the interim Minister of the Environment Irene Vélez Torres, during a meeting of ministers of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, during COP30, the UN climate summit which took place in Belém, Brazil.

He also called on other Amazonian nations to adopt similar protections, noting that Colombia controls only 7% of the Amazon biome. Across the Amazon, 871 oil and gas blocks cover an area about twice the size of France. 68% of the blocks are still in the study or bidding phase.

While Colombia slows down, Brazil and others accelerate towards new drilling

Despite recent progress in the fight against deforestation, Brazil – which holds almost 60% of the entire Amazon – has taken a contradictory path in the last twelve months. The Government has in fact auctioned off several oil blocks near indigenous territories and authorized new offshore drilling at the mouth of the Amazon River, an ecologically extremely sensitive area.

But other Amazonian countries are also pushing the hydrocarbon accelerator: in Peru, the authorities are trying to attract foreign companies to reactivate production in Lot 192, one of the largest oil sites in the Amazon, in the north of the country.

We also talked about it here: “It polluted and violated human rights”: the oil giant Pluspetrol under accusation for the damage caused in the Amazon

In Ecuador, the government plans to auction 49 oil and gas projects, worth more than $47 billion, ignoring strong protests from local communities and environmentalists.

Colombia, however, takes the opposite path. According to the Environment Ministry, 43 oil blocks and 286 mining claims have not yet started work, and a new measure will prevent these projects from moving forward.

María Soledad Hernández, coordinator of the sustainability program of the Amazonian Institute for Scientific Research, based in Colombia, also reminds us of the stakes:

Future generations must be able to find nature in a healthy state, as we have known it. Talking about conservation does not mean giving up the use of resources. Conservation means being sustainable, being responsible and carrying out activities in balance and harmony with nature.

A powerful statement, especially at a time when the Amazon – already devastated by fires, deforestation and climate change – risks becoming increasingly a land of conquest for the oil industry. Colombia’s line represents an example of long-term vision. Will other countries follow or will they continue to sacrifice the planet’s green lung for immediate profit?