Public Policies for Fires in the Amazon

Abstract

By August 2019, the Amazon rainforest had experienced three times the number of fires recorded during the same period in 2018. Fires are a growing contemporary environmental problem affecting Colombia and the region, with effects on air pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Colombia currently has three public policy frameworks addressing health and environmental issues affected by Amazon forest fires (air quality, climate change, and biodiversity). However, neither Colombia's air pollution policy, its climate change policy, nor its biodiversity conservation policy includes measures to address Amazon forest fires. Recognizing the importance of the Amazon rainforest and the growing effects of fires each year, this paper seeks to determine whether Colombia needs new regulation to address this problem or whether one of the existing regulatory frameworks in the three areas mentioned can be used to develop a public policy to tackle Amazon fires and mitigate their health and environmental effects. The paper concludes that, given the urgency of the issue, it is preferable to build on the current regulatory framework rather than develop a new policy.