The Territory as a Victim: Geological Assessment to Analyzing the Impact of Colombia’s Armed Conflict on Geo-Bio Megadiversity at the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

• Published in: Earth Science, Systems and Society Systems and Society, 2024-11, Vol.4
• Main Authors: Zapata-Herrera, Juan Fernando, González-Tejada, Catalina, Restrepo-Moreno, Sergio A., Marín-Cerón, María Isabel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Colombian indigenous peoples; deforestation; environmental degradation; land use change; remote sensing; socio-environmental conflict
• ISSN: 2634-730X; 2634-730X
• DOI: 10.3389/esss.2024.10112

This study delves into the intricate relationship between Colombia’s status as one of the world’s 17 Megadiverse countries and the socio-environmental challenges the country faces, with focus on the geological diversity of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM); the world’s highest coastal massif laying in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. Despite its natural splendors and magnificence, SNSM’s ecosystems have been significantly shaped by the enduring Colombian armed conflict (1964- latent today), leading to alarming environmental degradation that affects both geological and biological diversity, and hence the local communities inhabiting the territory. Employing modern geological methodologies such as Remote Sensing and Landscape Metrics, this research explores and quantifies the extent of degradation within the SNSM. The findings, spanning the pivotal years from 2000 to 2020, offer an innovative analysis of the Geo-Bio-Megadiverse ecosystems of the Sierra. This comprehensive examination reveals crucial insights to advancing informed environmental management, while supplying a groundwork for potential geoconservation strategies in this embattled territory; unequivocally acknowledged as a victim of a multifaceted and long-lasting socio-environmental conflict. The definition “territory as a victim” originated by local indigenous communities and is now incorporated in transitional justice systems such as the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP, Colombia), condenses the profound violence experienced by the land, one that muted the spiritual guardians inhabiting its waters, trees, plants, soils, and stones. By spotlighting the intricate interplay between social struggles and environmental degradation as a central element of the ecosphere-techonosphere conflict in the Anthropocene, this study heightens awareness of the urgent issues confronting the SNSM, while advocating for targeted conservation initiatives to preserve its distinctive and invaluable natural heritage.