- Lawmakers in Colombia are considering a bill that would create an improved traceability system for monitoring the movement of cattle, with the goal of controlling illegal deforestation connected to grazeland.
- This would be the fourth attempt at passing such a law, after previous efforts in 2021, 2022 and 2023 came up short.
- There are an estimated 30 million head of cattle in the country, requiring significant amounts of pasture, one of the main factors in the rise in deforestation last year.
- If passed, the law would integrate multiple monitoring systems to improve communication between officials and their ability to identify where cattle are being raised, and would establish “high-surveillance zones” in deforested areas, requiring ranchers to share cattle registration information and install identification devices like ear tags.
Lawmakers in Colombia are considering new regulations that would make it easier to track the movement of cattle as they’re bought and sold, with the goal of controlling illegal deforestation connected to grazing pasture.
The law would improve a digital tracking system for Colombia’s beef supply chain, allowing officials to identify cattle that were raised inside protected areas and on ranches where forests were cleared illegally for pasture.
“Colombia has made significant efforts to address this problem,” WWF said in a statement. “However, structural causes, such as grazing for land grabbing, unsustainable extensive livestock practices, unplanned transport infrastructure, the expansion of the agricultural frontier … continue to be critical factors that require comprehensive attention.”
There were around 30 million head of cattle in the country in 2023, according to estimates from the Colombian Federation of Cattle Ranchers. They make up nearly half of the country’s agricultural output, with $231 million in live exports and $32 million in meat exports in 2023. Those figures could rise as the country strengthens its bovine trade with China, the U.S. and Canada, some observers have said.
The country saw a historic plunge in deforestation in 2023, with 66,083 hectares (163,295 acres) lost. But last year it shot back up to around 107,000 hectares (264,400 acres) — a 35% increase that led some officials to call for stronger oversight. The main drivers were cattle ranching and illegal mining, according to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.
The government has struggled to identify the origin of cattle when they’re bought and sold to different ranchers or move between slaughterhouses, critics say. This allows suppliers to skirt laws that prohibit cattle from grazing inside national parks and on deforested land.
In 2023, there were more than 24,000 head of cattle across more than 180 ranches inside Tinigua, Picachos and La Macarena national parks, according to a recent report by the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency.
“Consumers are unwittingly contributing to deforestation by purchasing products tied to cattle ranching in protected areas,” the report said.
Tinigua National Park alone lost around 35% of its forest cover last year, or more than 75,000 hectares (about185,000 acres). Picachos and La Macarena parks have lost a combined 62,824 hectares (155,241 acres) of forest.
More than 210,000 heads of cattle have been transported from rural areas to pastures close to or within the three parks’ limits between 2020 and 2024, the EIA investigation found. The overwhelming majority were moved to other farms with no record of their previous location, making it almost impossible to know how they contributed to deforestation.
In addition to pastures and ranches, the cattle industry also facilitates deforestation through the expansion of road networks, according to the Observatory of Socio-Environmental Conflicts in the Amazon. As ranchers move in and human settlements grow in protected areas, the need for connectivity results in illegal roadbuilding that requires clearing the forest.
“The presence of ranches in national parks like La Macarena, Tinigua and Picachos underscores the urgent need for systemic change in the cattle sector,” the EIA report said. “The proposed congressional traceability bill represents a pivotal opportunity to enact a transformative system to address this issue.”
Improved traceability in the cattle industry has been a legislative talking point for years. A version of the bill failed to gain traction in 2021 and 2022, and then another attempt fell short last year despite an international push from conservation groups and actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Last time, officials ran out of time to consider the bill because it wasn’t a legislative priority, and there wasn’t time to finish debates and voting before the session ended. This new bill was reintroduced and has already passed through a second debate in the Senate.
Juan Carlos Losada, from the Chamber of Representatives, the lower house of Colombia’s Congress, told Mongabay the bill will have a better chance if the Senate and the Chamber schedule it for expedited processing.
If passed, it would integrate multiple monitoring systems that already exist for cattle and deforestation, with the aim of improving communication between officials and their ability to identify where cattle are being raised.
It would also formalize an environmental certification seal so consumers know if meat products have been sourced sustainably. The seal would be required for producers to access certain markets, according to the bill.
The Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), the country’s agriculture and livestock agency, will establish “high-surveillance zones” in deforested areas, requiring ranchers to share cattle registration information and install identification devices like ear tags and GPS chips on their animals.
Slaughterhouses, processing plants and other businesses will have up to two years to comply with the new regulations, according to the bill, with some of the regulations being phased in. The Ministry of Agriculture and ICA will also provide financial and technical support to help small ranchers transition to sustainable practices.
“By approving the traceability bill, Colombia can tackle one of the main drivers of deforestation and set a powerful precedent both regionally and globally, while protecting its unique parks,” the EIA report said.
Banner image: Cattle in Macarena National Park. Photo by Ana María Rodríguez Ortiz.
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