One of the most significant social problems in Colombia right now and for the past 50 years, is the presence of the rebel groups like ELN and FARC. These groups have been responsible for a lot of massacres in the country. They have been involved in drugs, political scandals and many more things. Currently these groups are talking to the government in peace talks. But this group has not only caused a lot of damage to the people, they have also hurt the environment. Deforestation, air contamination, and water contamination are some of the environmental impacts these groups have caused.

One of these causes are drugs. A drug that contaminates a lot in the process of its creation is cocaine. The active ingredient in cocaine is pulled from the leaves of the coca plant. To pull the active ingredient from coca leaves you have to:

• Soak the leaves in gasoline
• Mix that coca-soaked gasoline with acid
• Filter the mixture through a cloth
• Dry the mixture
• Mix the powder with a solvent, such as acetone
• Press and heat the remainder

This process produces powdered cocaine and in this process contaminates the environment. After the process is complete the acid and gasoline mixture is dumped into rivers.  According to, National Geographic, “Cocaine is destroying lives and tearing homes apart—and not simply because of drug use. Farming coca, the plant used to make cocaine, has been linked to rising deforestation rates in the Colombian rainforest.”  A new study says, “In southern Colombia we found geographically that there is just more probability of losing the forest close to coca cultivation.” Also, the production of cocaine contaminates water and the air.

Another reason that the FARC and ELN hurt the environment is because they have their camps hidden in the rainforests. So this means that they depend on the resources that the rainforest provides  them with. They cut off a lot of trees and pollute the environment in the process, this is in addition to the drug production.

In conclusion, this violent groups don’t just kill a lot of people and are involved in the drug business, but it also pollutes the environment in the process. The solution to these issues includes continuing peace talks to disband these groups, and reforesting the areas that have been polluted. Another solution would be banning coca production.