Colombia is planning to build a series of large pipeline, road, and port projects over the next decade to open its vast Pacific coast to development and trade. But local Black and Indian communities, fearing injury to their traditions and environment, are mobilizing to oppose the effort. As an economic alternative, these communities have been establishing ecotourism businesses, sustainable forestry operations and other environmentally friendly initiatives that they hope will give them financial and cultural independence. The government’s highest-priority initiatives, spelled out in a 2005 document by the intra-ministerial National Council for Economic and Social Policy, are the construction of a US$400-million port in the Bay of Málaga within five years and of a $750-million port in the Gulf of... [Log in to read more]
