Cleofe Espinosa ID: 11331187

Part 1:
Colombia’s Environmental Issues
Colombia is a South American country that holds one of the richest eco-systems of the world. The country is roughly comprised of 51 percent rainforest and 68 percent forest, totaling a significant amount of the Earth’s oxygen (VIVA Guides). Despite its small size, Colombia is considered the second most biologically diverse country worldwide. It is home to 10 percent of the world’s species. Colombia’s biodiversity is highly known for its rich tropical rainforest to the coastal cloud forests and open savannas. However, due to the increasing concern over environmental issues, the biodiversity of Colombia is becoming more threatened (mongabay). The country of Colombia faces numerous environmental problems. The most prominent problems however are deforestation, pollution, and soil erosion. Deforestation remains as the most significant problem throughout the country. According to figures by the United Nations in 2003, each year, Colombia loses approximately 200,000 hectares of natural forest. The majority of this loss is mostly forests, which account for more than 80 percent of the Colombian country (mongabay). The expansion of human population alongside the increasing demands for goods and services continue to exert pressure on the ecological systems. As a result, rapid deforestation occurs throughout the country of Colombia (Etter). The main causes and constraints of the ongoing deforestation are due to proximity to roads and settlements, distance to forests, soil fertility, rainfall, slope, and rural population density and growth (Etter). Additionally, small-scale activities, such as logging and mining, and big scale activities such as energy development, infrastructure construction, and large-scale agriculture further dampen the problem of deforestation (mongabay). Air pollution has also become one of the most important concerns to the country of Colombia. Bogota, the capital of Colombia, shows significantly high levels of air pollution. Bogota is one of the largest cities of Latin America, with a population of about 6.5 million with an annual growth of about two percent annually. These levels represent high risk factors for the population’s health and quality of life for those living in Colombia. Air pollution has increased dramatically due partly to unmonitored and uncontrolled increase of vehicles in the city. A study in 1990 by the Health of District and Japanese International Cooperagion Agency (JICA) reveal that 70 percent of the pollution is attributed to automobiles (Banrep). This has become a growing concern, and will only rapidly increase with the production of new cars along other factors that pollute the air. Soil erosion is yet another environmental problem existing in Colombia. The soil erosion problem has resulted in large amounts of vegetation loss. It also causes a lot of problems in the preservation wildlife (soilcentralsouthamerica). Soil erosion has resulted from the loss of vegetation and heavy rainfall. Additionally, the soil has been damaged by the abuse and overuse of pesticides (“Encyclopedia of the Nations”). The devastating results from deforestation further worsen the soil erosion problems because open areas where heavy rainfall occur, wipe away the nutrients from the soils. In conclusion, I determined the importance of the environmental concerns based on what I believed has the most impact to the quality of life, both for the people and species living in Colombia. Beginning with deforestation as the main concern, its impact plays a large role to the country itself and has increased the rate of extinction for many plant and animal species. In addition, it has a domino effect in also playing the role of destabilizing soils (Porup). Secondly, I determined pollution to be the second most vital problem within the country, partly due to recent surveys revealing the increase of pollution just from an increase in automobile use. Pollution plays a huge role in determining the well being of society and health to those living within it. Therefore, as pollution continues to increase you risk the well being of the overall country. Lastly, I determined the soil erosion concern following pollution because it persists as an environmental problem as a result of deforestation. Therefore, in order to find a solution to the soil erosion concerns, deforestation must first be addressed.

Part 2:
Information Technology on Deforestation
As mentioned above, deforestation harnesses a huge concern to the country of Colombia. It accounts for the release of carbon into the atmosphere and greenhouse gas emissions to the extinction of species and jeopardy of Colombia’s biodiversity. While developing a solution to end deforestation may seem impossible, the role of Information Technology offers a wide range of approaches and apprehension to lessen the devastation. Information technology is a branch of engineering that uses computers and other technology to transmit information. It does this through many ways, such as new inventions or programs, and offers various ways for a sustainable development to address environmental concerns. Through the use of technology such as satellites and implementing education programs for sustainability, there is a higher chance at reducing deforestation in Colombia. Information Technology plays an important role in understanding deforestation. A few examples include the inventions of new satellites to track environmental changes worldwide. Recently, a New York Times article revealed a new invention to tracking deforestation. According to the article, a new satellite tool developed in 2012 is now able to track deforestation across Latin America. This satellite, which was presented by a team of international researchers at Rio +20, is the first to monitor deforestation across Latin American countries in approximately real time. This project was collaborated with many different people, one of them also including the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia. Results from this satellite have revealed the detrimental effects of deforestation in parts of Colombia. According to the satellite, deforestation in areas of Colombia has quadrupled, increasing by 340 percent since 2004. Dr. Mulligan, a graduate student who also collaborated in the satellite pr oject, states, “I think the Gran Chaco results are quite surprising – there’s much greater deforestation than we expected” (Nuwer). This statement showcases how IT plays an important role in understanding the deforestation issues of Colombia. It has even revealed deforestation occurring at a rate higher than expected. Another form of IT in understanding Colombia’s deforestation problems is the new Google Earth Engine. On December 2nd of 2010, the Google Labs launched a new product known as “Google Earth Engine” at the International Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico. This new technology platform also involves a satellite. However, unlike the satellite mentioned above, the Google Earth Engine platform puts all its information and data—current and past—all online for anyone to view. Additionally, it also uses global-scale monitoring and measurement of changes in the earth’s environment (“google blog”). To conclude, the deforestation problems of Colombia can be addressed in aspects to IT. The rise of new and more advanced IT systems allows us to keep track of changes over a wide space and time. The development of these satellites alone, give us a lot of information and understanding to the rates of deforestation in Colombia. Therefore, in order to reduce the amount of deforestation, education programs are also an option for Colombia to adapt. Many sustainable development programs are in place across many schools throughout the country. By adapting into programs such as these and educating people, it creates more awareness to the problem and draws attention. With the implementation of these satellites and educating the people of Colombia with IT, there are higher changes in ending deforestation in Colombia.

Works Cited

Colombia. Banrep. Air Pollution in Bogota, Colombia. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. .

"Environmental Issues in Colombia." Colombia's Economy and Politics. VIVA Travel Guides, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. .

"Encyclopedia of the Nations." Environment. Advameg, Inc., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. .

Etter, Andes. "Regional Patterns of Agricultural Land Use and Deforestation in Colombia." Agriculture, Ecosystems, & Environment 114.2-4 (2006): 369-86.ScienceDirect. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.

Mongabay. "Colombia Environmental Problems."Http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20colombia.htm. Rhett Butler, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. .

Nuwer, Rachel. "A New Satellite Tool Tracks Deforestation." Enviornment. New York TImes, 25 June 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. .

"Official Google Blog: Introducing Google Earth Engine." Official Google Blog: Introducing Google Earth Engine. Google, Inc., 02 Dec. 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. .

Porup, Jens, and Michael Kohn. Colombia. Footscray, Vic.: Lonely Planet, 2009. Print.

"Soil Issues in Central and South America." : Soil Erosion in Colombia. N.p., 31 Oct. 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. .