Serranía de San Lucas

Serranía del San Lucas
Serranía del San Lucas
Highest point
Elevation 2,700 m (8,900 ft)
Coordinates 7°40′00″N 74°12′00″W / 7.66667°N 74.20000°W / 7.66667; -74.20000Coordinates: 7°40′00″N 74°12′00″W / 7.66667°N 74.20000°W / 7.66667; -74.20000
Dimensions
Area 16,000 km2 (6,200 sq mi)
Geography
Country Colombia
States/Provinces Antioquia and Bolivar

The Serranía de San Lucas is a forested massif in the Bolívar Department of northern Colombia that reaches heights of 2,600m above sea level. It is part of the Magdalena-Urabá moist forests ecoregion,[1] with a rainforest ecology that includes large monkey and bird populations.[2]

It is a 'forest reserve' that has been recommended for protection,[3] but has been opened to mining by the Colombian government,[4] as the mountains have large deposits of gold, emeralds, nickel and mercury.[5] AngloGold Ashanti has been exploring in the area since 2004, causing tensions with local small-scale miners.[6]

The ELN guerrilla group enforced forest protection in the area in the early 2000s, apparently to protect local hydrology.[7] The area is still subject to fighting between drug cartels, FARC, ELN, the Black Eagles and the Colombian army.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Magdalena-Urabá moist forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  2. ↑ Salaman, Paul; Thomas Donegan; Carlos González; Xavier Bustos; Andrés Cuervo (2001). "COLOMBIAN EBA PROJECT: PRESENTING THE FIRST BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF SERRANÍA DE SAN LUCAS" (PDF). Fundación ProAves. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  3. ↑ "The Serrania de San Lucas Other Area". World Database on Protected Areas. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  4. ↑ "Ecological holocaust: Serranía de San Lucas at risk". ProAves. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  5. ↑ Rohter, Larry (8 July 2000). "Earmarked for Colombian Rebels, a Region Asks to Be Left Alone". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  6. 1 2 Maldonado, Juan Camilo (8 January 2008). "En la Serranía no brilla el oro". Elespectador (in Spanish). Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  7. ↑ McNeely, Jeffrey A. (2003). "Conserving forest biodiversity in times of violent conflict". Oryx. 37 (2): 142–152. doi:10.1017/s0030605303000334.
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