Colombia is a megadiverse country. It is also a country with a difficult history. War has been around for more than 60 years. With the signing of the peace agreement in 2016, Colombia opened up as never before, presenting a rich, unexplored and under-exploited territory. It also was the starting of the post-conflict struggle.
Paradoxically, the conservation of natural habitats in Colombia was facilitated by the war conflict, preventing territories from being invaded by development and deforestation.
Colombia’s Post-conflict Scenarium
Tourism has been one of the sectors that have benefited the most from the peace agreement, especially nature tourism.
One of the economic benefits of the peace agreement in Colombia has been that local communities have an alternative business opportunity in bird watching tourism.
The most remarkable result was the bird-watching expansion to areas, that were formerly unsafe, such as Caquetá and Putumayo.
However, not everything has been rosy. This time of transition has cost us, especially due to the lack of proper administration and governance in the territories that were liberated from the conflict.
The Environmental Cost of the Post-conflict
Birding & Conservation
New Frontiers for Birding
The 2016 peace agreement opened vast areas of Colombian territory to scientific exploration and tourism for the first time in decades. Regions that were effectively off-limits during the conflict — including portions of the Pacific coast, Amazon foothills, and eastern savannas — have revealed extraordinary bird diversity that had gone undocumented.
Ornithological expeditions to newly accessible areas have produced remarkable discoveries: species new to science, range extensions that reshape our understanding of Colombian biogeography, and population assessments of species previously feared extinct. The Serranía de Perijá on the Venezuelan border has emerged as one of the most important conservation frontiers, with recently described species confirming its biological significance.
Community Transformation
Perhaps the most powerful impact of post-conflict birding is the economic transformation it brings to rural communities. Former coca-growing regions have found alternative income through birding lodges and guide services. Former combatants have been trained as nature guides. Communities that once saw forest as an obstacle to agriculture now recognize its value as habitat for birds that attract international tourists.
This economic argument for conservation — that standing forest with birds is worth more than cleared land — has proven remarkably effective. Community-based ecotourism projects centered on birding have become models for sustainable rural development across Colombia.
Impact on Colombia’s Bird Count
Post-conflict access has directly contributed to Colombia’s growing species count. With over 1,966 confirmed species and new records added regularly, Colombia’s lead as the world’s most bird-rich country continues to expand. Areas like the Guaviare region, once a conflict epicenter, now attract birders exploring its unique transition-zone avifauna.
Former Conflict Zones Now Open to Birding
Several regions that were inaccessible for decades have emerged as Colombia’s most exciting birding frontiers since the 2016 peace agreement. The Pacific slope of the Western Andes, parts of the Serranía de las Quinchas in Boyacá, and the foothills of the Eastern Andes in Caquetá and Meta have revealed bird communities that went unstudied for an entire generation. Ornithological expeditions into these reopened areas have documented range extensions, rediscovered species thought locally extinct, and in some cases identified populations that may represent undescribed taxa.
Community-Based Birding Tourism
Many former conflict-affected villages have embraced birdwatching tourism as an economic alternative to coca cultivation and illegal mining. Community birding guides bring unmatched field knowledge — their intimate understanding of local forests translates directly into the tracking and observation skills that make exceptional bird guides.
Programs supported by conservation organizations have trained hundreds of community guides across conflict-affected regions. A single birding group visiting a remote community can generate more income in a week than months of agricultural labor, creating powerful incentives for forest conservation and community development.
Why This Matters for Conservation
Colombia’s conflict inadvertently preserved vast tracts of forest that would likely have been cleared for agriculture under peaceful conditions. The challenge now is ensuring that peace does not bring the deforestation that war prevented. Birding tourism provides a direct economic argument for keeping forests standing — forests with documented rare species attract international visitors willing to pay premium rates for guided access, making conservation financially competitive with extractive land uses.
Sara Colmenares holds a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Ecology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master’s degree in Botany from the same institution. Her doctoral research focused on palm ecology in the Atlantic Forest, supported by the Rufford Foundation conservation grant.
A published researcher in the Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology and a member of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Sara has presented her work at international conferences across Latin America and beyond. She was awarded the COLCIENCIAS “Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda” fellowship, one of Colombia’s most competitive academic distinctions for young researchers.
Sara founded the Sula nature tourism brand in 2018, applying her scientific expertise to develop birding and wildlife experiences across Colombia’s six natural regions. Her fieldwork took her from the cloud forests of the Andes to the Amazon basin, the Pacific coast, and the plains of the Orinoquía. She combined deep ecological knowledge with firsthand experience to create content that is both scientifically accurate and practically useful for nature travelers.
She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the National University of Colombia, where she also taught plant ecophysiology. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English.