In November 2024, world leaders gathered in Colombia for the UN’s COP16 summit. The focus was on how to protect and restore biodiversity, both now and for the future. Jesica López attended the conference with a fresh doctoral thesis on the Amazon rainforest in hand. She used the opportunity to highlight the environmental crisis unfolding in Colombia’s own rainforest, and what it will take to reverse the trend.
"I wanted to raise awareness about the world’s most important ecosystem and the ongoing deforestation. Many people are unaware of the scale of what’s happening – even those living in the region," she says.
Jesica López is now receiving the Agenda 2030 Award, presented by the university’s interdisciplinary graduate school Agenda 2030, for her research on deforestation in the Amazon.
Urgent need for regulation of land ownership
Having grown up in Colombia herself, Jesica aimed to present her findings in a concise and accessible format, specifically targeting politicians and decision-makers with the power to bring about change. She stresses the urgent need for regulation of land ownership and stricter environmental legislation in the country – but also the importance of dialogue, collaboration and new sources of income.
"When people talk about the Amazon, many imagine untouched rainforest and wild animals. But we mustn’t forget that around 34 million people live in the Amazon region. We need solutions that work for both people and nature."
And the challenges are substantial. Colombia is considered the most dangerous country in the world for environmental activists. Jesica López prepared meticulously to carry out her fieldwork, which included workshops, interviews and flights over the Amazon – where she witnessed the destruction first-hand, with a strong smell of smoke in the air.
Colombia is also a country marked by conflict, heavily armed groups, corruption, poverty, large-scale coca production and drug trafficking. State presence is limited, particularly in remote areas of the Amazon. Meanwhile, cattle farming – a major driver of deforestation – is responsible for approximately 60% of deforestation in the country.
"We need to work from the bottom up"
Yet there are reasons for hope, Jesica believes. The current government seems more committed to taking care of rainforest issues than its predecessor. This winter’s COP16 summit cast an international spotlight on Colombia, and this autumn the UN climate summit will take place in neighbouring Brazil, home to the largest part of the Amazon. Much can also be achieved at the local level, she emphasises.
"We need to work from the bottom up. That can mean engaging with local communities and valuing Indigenous knowledge, where principles of living in harmony with nature have been passed down for generations. By listening to the people who live there every day, we can find both hope and solutions."
Jesica López describes forest areas where farmers, indigenous and afro-descendant communities have been trained and financially compensated to preserve the rainforest rather than clearing it for cattle pasture. In other areas with particularly rich biodiversity, people have begun developing sensible ecotourism practices to combine income generation with conservation.
She hopes her research will contribute to a broader understanding of what is needed to secure the future of the Amazon and its extraordinary biodiversity. Using an interdisciplinary approach, she outlines a range of potential actions.
"We must remember that a healthy ecosystem also gives us greater resilience to climate change. Biodiversity is like a pillar that holds everything together."
Thesis ‘From Canopy to Catastrophe: Understanding the Environmental Crisis in Northern Colombian Amazon’ - Lund University Research Portal
As Colombia hosts a UN biodiversity summit, its own Amazonian rainforest is in crisis - cec.lu.se
Safe fieldwork: Important to plan thoroughly - staff.lu.se
Jesica López' personal page
