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Pollution on the streets of Barranquilla
Environmental issues in Colombia was codified in the 1991 constitution with new environmental protection legislation, including the creation of specially protected zones, of which more than 200 were created in the early 1990s, mostly in forest areas and national parks. As a result of this charter, the Ministry of the Environment was established in 1993, but merged with the housing and drinking water division of the Ministry of Economic Development, Housing, and Potable Water in 2003. Natural hazards include highlands subject to volcanic eruptions, occasional earthquakes, and periodic droughts. Current issues include deforestation resulting from lumber exploitation in the jungles of the Amazon and the region of Chocó; illicit drug crops grown by peasants in the national parks of Serranía de la Macarena and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; soil erosion; soil and water quality damage from contamination by the use of chemicals in the coca-refining process, spillage of crude oil into the local rivers as a result of guerrilla sabotage of pipelines, and overuse of pesticides; air pollution (especially in Bogotá) from vehicle emissions; and preservation of wildlife.
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This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.
