The natural resources of Colombia determine the population seat of a country located north of South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador and the Pacific Ocean.
Its geographical coordinates are 400º N, 7200º W; with an elevation of 593 msnm, being the Pico de Cristóbal Colón the highest with 5,775 msnm and the Pacific Ocean the lowest with 0 msnm (CIA, 2015).
It is a country with a population of 47,220,856 people, where 60% of the population lives in the north and west of the country, areas where opportunities predominate due to the vast natural resources in these areas.
Its total area is 1,138,910 km2, of which 1,038,910 km2 are land and 100,210 km2 are water.
Its territorial extension includes the Island of Malpelo, the small island of Roncador and the Serrana Bank. In turn, the maritime territory covers 12 miles and has an exclusive economic zone of 200 miles.
Its climate is tropical along the coast and eastern plains and frozen in the highlands; its territory consists of coastal lowlands, central mountains, and eastern lowland plains.
In addition, it is the only South American country with two coastlines, in the Pacific Ocean and in the Caribbean Sea.
In 2011, 37.5% of its land was used for agriculture, while 54.4% was forest and the remaining 8.1% was used for other uses (CIA, 2015).
Currently, Colombia has several international agreements to preserve its natural resources, with emphasis on desertification, Endangered species, Hazardous wastes, conservation of marine life, protection of the ozone layer, pollution of Ships, tropical wood 83, tropical wood 94, wetlands and Les de los mares.
The main natural resources that Colombia has are: oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, crops and hydraulic energy.
Crops
The main crops in Colombia are coffee, cocoa and bananas. In 2014, the cocoa harvested areas were 160,276 hectares and the production was 47,732 tons.
In coffee, the harvested area was 795,563 hectares and the production obtained was 728,400 tons
Of banana, the harvested area was 399,653 hectares, with a production of 3,467,232 tons. (FAOStat, 2014).
Coffee was introduced in 1787 and it began to be exported from 1835 (Chalarca, 1987 cited in Bentley & Baker 2000). Since the last century it has represented an important productive activity for the country and in 2006 it was the second source of net foreign exchange (Bustillo and Enrique, 2006).
Many of the coffee crops currently use agroforestry systems. This technique consists of combining coffee production with the presence of other trees or other crops such as bananas or cocoa, ensuring the improvement of the soil and the diversification of production (Arcila et al. 2007, Beer et. Al, 1998).
Drugs
The marijuana C. sativa L., which had its peak in the 70s, has been cultivated in regions of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, La Guajira and the Llanos Orientales. Currently 95% of its production is destined for internal consumption and the rest is exported mainly to Central American countries (Florian et. Al., 2009).
However, from the early 1980s, coconut leaf cultivation replaced marijuana cultivation in the illegal drug trade.
Currently, coca cultivation contributes 3% of the GDP of the agricultural sector. In addition, Colombia is considered the main producer of cocaine in the world, with the United States and Europe being the main consumers (UNODC, 2016).
Hydrocarbons
Colombia has the 34th place in total crude oil tested worldwide, with 2,445,000,000 barrels. The Llanos, Valle de Magdalena, and Cordillera Oriental regions of Colombia are among the largest oil-producing sedimentary basins in the world (US Geological Survey World Energy Assessment Team, 2000; Mann et al., 2006; cited in Mora et. Al., 2010).
The proven natural gas reserves in Colombia in 2014, reached a total of 4,758.51 gpc, the department with the greatest use being La Guajira with a total production of 1,000.9 mcfd (UPME, 2016).
Mining
According to the annual statistical report on mining and mineral production statistics, in 2012 the production of 85.8 million metric tons of minerals was reported for Colombia, ranking 11th in world production.
As for gold, 55.9 metric tons were used. Nickel production was 37.8 thousand metric tons and silver was 24 tons (Krentz, 2013).
The mining industry in Colombia has tended to grow due to foreign direct investment. In 2012, in the classification of the ideal countries for mining investments made by the Behre Dolbear Group, Colombia obtained the 7th place of the most attractive countries in the world for mining investment.
Hydroelectric power
The Nare River, the longest in the country, provides 14% of the national production of hydroelectric energy (Poveda, et. Al., 2013). In total, there are five hydroelectric plants that are installed in the country: Chivor, Jaguas, Playas, San Carlos and Río Grande.
Despite being formally established power stations, there is a constant dispute between the inhabitants of rural areas, who are affected by the diversion of channels and by floods due to poorly planned infrastructure (Duarte, et. Al., 2015).
Despite the fact that Colombia's history has been very hard, full of drug trafficking and terrorism, it has managed to overcome its past little by little.
Today, the country is the third emerging economy in Latin America, being an example of the effort of Colombians to overcome themselves and how they are bearing fruit so that their living standards continue to increase.
Colombia, for its people and its natural resources, is one of the promises of America.
References
- Arcila P., J.; Farfán V., F.; Moreno B., AM; Salazar G., LF; Hincapié G., E. (2007). Coffee production systems in Colombia. Chinchiná, Cenicafé, 309 p.
- Beer J., R. Muschler, D. Kass And E. Somarriba. (1998) Shade management in coffee and cacao plantations. Agroforestry Systems 38: 139–164,
- Bentley JW and Peter S. Baker (2000). The Colombian Coffee Growers' Federation: Organized, Successful Smallholder Farmers For 70 Years. Agricultural Research & Extension Network. Network Paper No. 100.
- Duarte BA, R. Boelens, and TR Avendaño (2015) Hydropower, Encroachment and the Re-patterning of Hydrosocial Territory: The Case of Hidrosogamoso in Colombia. Human Organization: Fall 2015, Vol. 74, No. 3, pp. 243-254.
- Bustillo Pardey, Alex Enrique. (2006). A review on the coffee borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), in Colombia. Colombian Journal of Entomology, 32 (2), 101-116. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- CIA (2015). The world factbook. Retrieved on December 19, 2016, from CIA Website: cia.gov.
- FAOStat (2014). Crops. Retrieved on December 20 from FAOStat Website: fao.org.
- Florian R, Néstor M, Parada A, Fabián, & Garzón M, William F. (2009). Study Of Cannabinoids Content In Marihuana Samples (Cannabis sativa L.) Cultivated In Several Regions Of Colombia. Vitae, 16 (2), 237-244.
- Mora, A; Horton, B; Table, A; Rubiano, J; Ketcham, R; Parra, M; White, V; García, D & Stockli, D. (2010). Migration of cenozoic deformation in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia interpreted from fission track results and structural relationships: Implications for petroleum systems. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, vol. 94, pp 1543-1580.
- UPME (2016). Balance of natural gas in Colombia 2016 - 2025. Retrieved on December 20 from UPME Website: upme.org.
- Poveda, G., Mesa, O & Waylen, P. (2013). Nonlinear Forecasting of River Flows in Colombia Based Upon ENSO and Its Associated Economic Value for Hydropower Generation. Climate and water, vol. 16, pp 351 - 371.