Serranía de San Lucas

Serranía de San Lucas is a forested massif in the Bolívar Department of northern Colombia that reaches heights of 2,600m above sea level. It is part of the Magdalena-Urabá moist forests ecoregion,[1] with a rainforest ecology that includes large monkey and bird populations.[2]

It is a 'forest reserve' that has been recommended for protection,[3] but has been opened to mining by the Colombian government,[4] as the mountains have large deposits of gold, emeralds, nickel and mercury.[5] AngloGold Ashanti has been exploring in the area since 2004, causing tensions with local small-scale miners.[6]

The ELN guerilla group enforced forest protection in the area in the early 2000s, apparently to protect local hydrology.[7] The area is still subject to fighting between drug cartels, FARC, ELN, the Black Eagles and the Colombian army.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Magdalena-Urabá moist forests (NT0137)". World Wildlife Fund. http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/nt/nt0137_full.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
  2. ^ Salaman, Paul; Thomas Donegan, Carlos González, Xavier Bustos & Andrés Cuervo (2001). "COLOMBIAN EBA PROJECT: PRESENTING THE FIRST BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF SERRANÍA DE SAN LUCAS". Fundación ProAves. http://www.proaves.org/IMG/pdf/EBA__San_Lucas_report_2001B.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
  3. ^ "The Serrania de San Lucas Other Area". World Database on Protected Areas. http://www.wdpa.org/siteSheet.aspx?sitecode=100775. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
  4. ^ "Ecological holocaust: Serranía de San Lucas at risk". ProAves. 11 August 2009. http://www.proaves.org/article.php?id_article=692. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
  5. ^ Rohter, Larry (8 July 2000). "Earmarked for Colombian Rebels, a Region Asks to Be Left Alone". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/08/world/earmarked-for-colombian-rebels-a-region-asks-to-be-left-alone.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
  6. ^ a b Maldonado, Juan Camilo (8 January 2008). "En la Serranía no brilla el oro" (in Spanish). Elespectador. http://www.elespectador.com/impreso/cuadernilloa/actualidad/articuloimpreso-serrania-no-brilla-el-oro. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
  7. ^ McNeely, Jeffrey A. (2003). "Conserving forest biodiversity in times of violent conflict". Oryx 37 (2): 142–152.