Is the Amazon rainforest set to be saved by a COCAINE warlord? Columbian kingpin’s threats to tree choppers have slashed deforestation in his native country by 76% – but locals fear he’ll start chainsaws if govt. ignores his demands

A cocaine warlord is helping save the Amazon rainforest in Colombia after his threats to farmers saw deforestation rates fall by 76 percent in a year.

Ivan Mordisco, the leader of Estado Mayor Central (EMC), has implemented strict sanctions to stop land-grabbing farmers to slashing trees.

As the country’s third-largest illegal armed group, the EMC is known for drug trafficking, illegal gold mining and extortion. The sanction occupies the country’s most environmentally-sensitive territory with significant military power.

With a support network of more than 3,000, including 2,200 armed fighters said to strong-arm anyone who should attempt to evade the rules of the armed factions, Mordisco’s tactics have seen deforestation rates fall.

In May 2022, the EMC introduced sanctions of 1 million Colombian pesos ($251) for each hectare of forestry slashed without permission.

Now, it’s believed to be even higher, with one local leader in Calamar, a region of Guaviare province, claiming fined can go as high as 10 million to 20 million pesos ($2,000 – $4,800) per hectare, Bloomberg reports.

In regions where the EMC holds the power, such as the Caqueta, Meta and Guaviare provinces, illegal logging has declined the most substantially at rates of 50 percent, 34 percent and 37 percent respectively.

But the scale of Mordisco’s control is causing long-term concern.

There are fears that should the leftist government refuses Mordisco’s demands, he’ll act on threats already issues to start up the chainsaws once again.

Environmental crime researcher Bram Ebus says the initiative is a power move.

Ebus, who works for the non-profit International Crisis Group, says while the tactic is clearly helping the area, Mordisco could be interested holding the upper-hand during peace talks negotiation tables with left-wing President Gustavo Petro who is looking to meet with illegal groups, including the EMC.

‘We saw that they started using deforestation restrictions as a political tool prior to the “paz total” negotiations,’ Ebus told Al Jazeera.

‘They can even threaten the government (with) large-scale Amazon destruction if the government doesn’t give them what they’re hoping for.’

His motivation could also be linked to an interest in maintaining a thick jungle canopy for his troops to move freely about.

Jose Tomas Ojeda Soleimani, an EMC spokesperson, said the consideration for the Amazon is born out of both environmental and security concerns, acknowledging in some part the protection their army gains from being undetectable.

‘We have banned deforestation in the Amazon because we are a profoundly environmental guerrilla,’ Ojeda said.

‘The trees protect us and we need water for our military operations.’

An environmentalist who works in the region for an NGO, the Foundation for Conservation and Development, says long-term, the method doesn’t work.

‘This isn’t sustainable, because it depends on the whims of an armed actor, not of the people, not of the government, not of anyone using any mechanisms other than force,’ Angelica Rojas told Bloomberg.

It’s estimated Mordisco’s Estado Mayor Central (EMC) boasts an army of about 2,200 fighters and a network of supporters of 1,400, according to army intelligence.

Only the National Liberation Army, a guerrilla force, and cocaine cartel, the Gulf Clan, are made up of more numbers.

Colombia’s part of the Amazon only accounts for 10 percent of the forest – and in Brazil, deforestation numbers were recorded at an all-time high last year.

The Amazon spans 2.1 million square miles across eight countries – Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname – but the majority, around 60 per cent, is within Brazil’s borders.

A 2022 report warned the jungle is ‘alarmingly close’ to dying by 2030 due to climate change and forest loss.

The world’s largest rainforest is close to a ‘tipping point’ that could mean it changes forever, no longer benefiting humanity by soaking up greenhouse gases, the WWF report said.

Lead author Professor Mary Gagen said: ‘We could lose the Amazon to a state of permanent, irreversible degradation that would impact the entire planet… the evidence gives a stark warning.’

Between 13 to 17 per cent of the Amazon rainforest area has already been lost in the past 50 years, according to the organization.

An area of ​​the Amazon one quarter of the size of Europe – 1.4 million sq miles – has experienced a lack of rain, a prolonged dry season and deforestation which could lead it to become permanently degraded, turning to scrubland.

While scientists frequently warn about deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, a lesser-known process called ‘degradation’ – where trees have been affected by logging, mining, fires, expansion of roads or other human activity – is just as harmful.

According to a study published earlier this year, 38 per cent of what’s left of the Amazon has been degraded in some way by humans – more than previously realized.

Although the two are sometimes confused, degradation is different from deforestation, where the forest is removed altogether and a new land use, such as agriculture, is established in its place.

‘The disturbance of the remaining forest causes a long term loss of their capacity to store carbon,’ study author Jos Barlow, a professor of conservation science at Lancaster University, told MailOnline.

‘For example, when fire escapes into a rainforest, it kills around 40 per cent of the trees.

‘The dead trees then decompose, or are burned by a subsequent fire, releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

‘Furthermore, these emissions are not offset by the growth of new trees, which store very little carbon compared to the large trees that have been lost.’