Alvaro Uribe spent much of his youth outdoors, riding horses in the wilderness. As a presidential candidate and newly elected head of state, he talked often about the need for reforestation and for forest rangers to protect woodlands and river basins. So despite Uribe’s pro-business record as Antioquia’s governor in the mid-1990s, conservationists believed he would champion natural resource protection after becoming Colombia’s president in August 2002. But many green advocates now say they are deeply disappointed. They cite one of Uribe’s first moves as president: to fuse the Environment Ministry with the Development Ministry. This cut costs, but also prevented the environmental agency from serving as an independent watchdog and regulator of business activity. Critics complain his choice to lead the Ministry... [Log in to read more]