BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government said nationwide deforestation increased slightly in 2025 but that it had still surpassed its four-year target to reduce forest loss under President Gustavo Petro, with pressure on the Amazon remaining largely unchanged in the administration’s final year.
The Environment Ministry and IDEAM, the country’s meteorological agency, said late Friday that Colombia lost 119,483 hectares (295,000 acres) of forest in 2025 — about the size of Los Angeles. That was a 5% increase from the previous year.
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