As part of a larger study on biofuels, WOLA Senior Associate Gimena Sanchez contributes a chapter on the effects of palm oil in Colombia. In the chapter, she explores the social and environmental effects that palm oil has had in Colombia, and sheds light on the widespread human rights abuses that arose due to the crop’s close ties with paramilitary groups in the country. While seen as something of an ideal fuel, for its believed minimal environmental effects and potential creation of new jobs, Sanchez finds that in reality oil palm only contributed to mass displacement and serious environmental degradation throughout the country.
