"Colombia Declares Its Entire Amazon Region Off-Limits to Mining and Oil Extraction", 14 November 2025

...Colombia declared the entirety of its Amazon biome as a renewable natural resources reserve zone, formally prohibiting new large-scale mining and hydrocarbon exploitation activities. This decision — framed within a global context of climate crisis — places the South American country as the first in the world to place its entire national Amazon region under this type of protection.

The announcement was made by Colombia’s minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Irene Velez, during a meeting of ministers of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), held within Brazil’s COP30...

Minister Velez stated that the measure not only responds to a logic of environmental sovereignty, but also constitutes a fraternal call to the other Amazonian countries to join efforts in defense of the rainforest...

With this declaration, Colombia protects more than 483,000 km² of the Amazon biome, which corresponds to 42% of its national territory and 7% of the total South American Amazon...

Although the resolution represents a highly symbolic step forward, its implementation could face significant difficulties...This project respects already consolidated situations — that is, it does not imply immediate eviction of existing activities — but establishes a transitional regime for new licenses.

On the other hand, the call for regional consensus — although well received by some Amazonian countries — will need to translate into concrete actions to overcome historical differences regarding resource exploitation...