FARC and Deforestation in Colombia: A Case for Rebel Governance?

Abstract

What role did the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) play in regulating deforestation before reaching an agreement with the Colombian government? Following the rebel group's retrenchment as a consequence of the peace deal, an increase in deforestation in zones formerly under FARC’s influence is observed. I hypothesize that in the places where FARC was able to establish itself as a governance provider, it managed to regulate deforestation compared to other regions. Using a sample size of 5,565 municipality-years for 1,113 unique entities using municipality-level panel data comprising five years from 2012 to 2016, I find that FARC’s presence is positively associated with greater deforestation. I also replicate Mounu Prem, Santiago Saavedra, and Juan Fernando Vargas’ (2019) difference-in-differences approach and find similar positive results of FARC’s demobilization on deforestation. My results are consistent with their argument that this gap has widened after the rebels’ retrenchment. From a policy perspective, introducing formal governance frameworks that regulate deforestation is crucial to preserve one of Colombia’s main endowments: its forests.