The great expansion of oil palm plantations in Colombia in the last few years has been the cause of great concern. Although the cultivation in itself is not particularly harmful, mono-cropping is the root of various problems in Colombia and other tropical zones.
Although studies have been conducted on the environmental issues related with large-scale oil-palm plantations (as a result of large fires in Indonesia, or associated with the potential extinction of orangutans), on energy-related and economic questions (production of agro-diesel), and on macroeconomic concerns, human rights violations of the populations affected by the plantations have not received sufficient attention.
On the basis of a study* focusing on the current human rights situation in areas with oil-palm plantations in Colombia, we think we need to address the issue of human rights in the context of the ongoing general debate on this theme.