Diego told Real World Radio that one of the conclusions of the Forum is that forestry agroindustry, together with agrofuels, have policies and laws that favor them under an unequal extractivist development model.

Benefits on security and access to public financing mechanisms are some of the « aid » provided to tree monocultures in Colombia. « One of the reasons provided by the government is that plantations may reduce the risk of events like the recent winter wave » that led to many floods and a humanitarian crisis in the country ».

As this regards, a press release issued by CENSAT in March says -quoting official figures- that 2.2 million people and 710 municipalities were affected, 310 people died, 292 were injured, 68 went missing, nearly 5,000 houses were destroyed and over 300,000 houses were damaged. 925,000 hectares of land were affected by the floods.

« Some people claim -falsely-that reforestation is a solution to climate change, when they are actually displacing people, sometimes using the public forces other times the paramilitary »

Plantations actually erode the soils, they make an intensive use of agrotoxics and affect the ecosystem and rural communities.
As a backdrop to the Forum, there was an analysis of tree plantations as part of an extractivist development model that concentrates natural resources. This issue is one of the focus of the social struggles in Colombia, said Diego.

The activist also said that issues such as agrofuels, tree monocultures and REDD will be part of the debates that will begin next September 29 in Cali during the Congress on Land, Territory and Sovereignty, which CENSAT, together with other organizations and networks is organizing.