Coca Cultivation Survey Colombia

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Coca Cultivation Survey

Colombia

June 2006

Government of Colombia

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Colombia Coca Survey for 2005

Abbreviations

CICAD Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission COP Colombian Pesos

DANE National Department of Statistics DEA US Drugs Enforcement Agency DIRAN Colombian Anti-Narcotics Police DNE National Narcotics Office

DNP National Planning Department ICMP Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme INCB International Narcotics Control Board IDB Inter-American Development Bank IDP Internally Displaced People

PDA Alternative Development Programme PCI Presidential Programme against Illicit Crops RSS Colombian Social Solidarity Net

SIMCI II Integrated Illicit Crops Monitoring System

UIAF Special Administrative Unit on Information and Financial Analysis UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

US$ United States Dollars Acknowledgements

The following organizations and individuals contributed to the implementation of the 2005 coca cultivation survey in Colombia, and to the preparation of the present report:

Government of Colombia:

Ministry of Interior and Justice National Narcotics Office -DNE

Colombian Anti-Narcotics Police -DIRAN Ministry of Defence

Colombia Agency for International Cooperation –ACCI

Presidential Agency for Social Action and International Cooperation UNODC:

Rodolfo Llinás, SIMCI Project Coordinator Orlando González, Digital Processing Expert Sandra Rodríguez, Digital Processing Expert Zully Sosa, Digital Processing Expert

Maria Isabel Velandia, Digital Processing Expert Martha Paredes, Research and Analysis Expert Leonardo Correa, Field Engineer

Juan Carlos Parra, Editing Engineer

Martha Luz Gutierrez, Administrative Assistant Javier Espejo, Assistant Engineer

Juan Pablo Ardila, Assistant Engineer Sandro Calvani, Representative for Colombia Guillermo Garcia, National Programme Officer

Coen Bussink, Remote Sensing and GIS expert (UNODC – Research and Analysis Section - ICMP)

Denis Destrebecq, Regional Illicit Crop Monitoring Expert (UNODC – Research and Analysis Section - ICMP) Anja Korenblik, Programme Manager (UNODC – Research and Analysis Section - ICMP)

Thibault le Pichon, Chief (UNODC – Research and Analysis Section)

Thomas Pietschmann, Research Officer (UNODC-Research and Analysis Section) Martin Raithelhuber, Programme Officer (UNODC-Research and Analysis Section) Javier Teran, Statistician (UNODC – Research and Analysis Section – ICMP)

The implementation of UNODC’s Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme in the Andean countries and the Colombia survey in 2005 was made possible thanks to financial contributions from the Governments of The United States of America (USAID), The Netherlands and United Kingdom.

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PREFACE

The world’s appetite for cocaine remains stable but uneven, declining in the United States while increasing in Europe. In 2005 more than two thirds of the supply came from Colombia (640 tons), where coca cultivation increased by 8% over 2004: a discouraging outcome taking into account the resolute efforts of the Colombian Government to eradicate this illicit cultivation.

However, this increase should be kept in perspective. The overall level of coca cultivation in Colombia remains almost 50% below the peak recorded in 2000. Furthermore, country-wide aerial eradication has become more difficult due to a growingly aggressive insurgency fuelled by the narco-economy (and vice versa).

A further factor affected this Colombia coca crop survey for 2005: the need for UNODC – in co-operation with the Government – to develop a state of the art technique to measure (i.) the productivity of coca fields (coca leaves yield per hectare), and (ii.) the productivity of coca crops (hydrochloride yield per ton of leaves).

In both instances it was found that current Colombia crops are more productive than previously estimated.

As a result, Colombian cocaine production figures for 2004 and 2005 have been revised upwards to take into account this new evidence.

These higher figures for the cocaine yield in Colombia suggest that there is more cocaine on the international market than previously believed. This may help explain why the price for cocaine has not gone up and the purity of doses has not declined on the streets of consuming nations, despite the halving in cultivation since 2000, the massive number of labs destroyed (1,953 in Colombia alone in 2005), and the dramatic (and still under-appreciated) increase in seizures world wide.

Clearly, the 2005 increase of the area under cultivation (+6,000 ha) despite large-scale aerial eradication (139,000 ha) is a warning signal to the Colombian government and to those, like UNODC, that have participated in the joint drug control efforts.

This signal should alert us to refine drug control policies in Colombia in order to take into account the more challenging security environment, and the inevitable difficulty of destroying coca fields fragmented in size, dispersed on steep mountain slopes, embedded in protected national parks, and grown in proximity to international borders.

The overriding strategy of putting an end to coca cultivation through eradication must be pursued relentlessly. However, there should be a change in tactics using finer and more sustainable instruments. In particular, the second strong popular mandate received by President Uribe should make it possible for his new government to launch a major drive in favour of greater assistance to farmers in coca cultivation areas, accompanied by structural policies devised to redistribute land (especially land seized from drug lords) to internally displaced people. In Colombia, like in other countries, poverty in the countryside and lack of government control in many areas enable large-scale illicit activity and the resulting violence.

While aerial spraying is cost-effective and keeps pressure on insurgents and organized crime, coca farmers need to be convinced to eradicate their own fields. Voluntary eradication backed up by strong economic incentives would give farmers a greater sense of ownership in the government’s zero-coca policies, and increase the chances of long-term success.

The international community must share the responsibility for reducing the world’s biggest supply of cocaine.

Cocaine consuming nations need to reduce demand for the drug, especially in Europe where abuse is rising.

I invite them all to be more generous towards Colombia.

Antonio Maria Costa

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1 INTRODUCTION... 8

2 FINDINGS... 10

2.1 CULTIVATION... 10

2.1.1 Coca Cultivation ... 10

2.1.1.1 Regional analysis ...19

2.1.1.2 Meta-Guaviare region ...21

2.1.1.3 Pacific region...23

2.1.1.4 Central region ...25

2.1.1.5 Putumayo-Caqueta region...27

2.1.1.6 Orinoco region ...29

2.1.1.7 Amazonia region...31

2.1.1.8 Sierra Nevada region ...33

2.1.1.9 Possible areas of new cultivation ...35

2.1.1.10 Coca plant varieties...37

2.1.1.11 Coca cultivation and poverty ...41

2.1.1.12 Coca cultivation and displacement ...43

2.1.1.13 Coca cultivation and the forest warden families programme ...45

2.1.1.14 Coca cultivation in National Parks...47

2.1.2 Reported Opium Poppy Cultivation... 50

2.2 NEWFINDINGS ON YIELD AND PRODUCTION... 53

2.2.1 Coca leaf yield and coca leaf production ... 53

2.2.2 Annual yield ... 55

2.2.3 Coca leaf, coca paste and base production ... 63

2.2.4 Revised Potential Cocaine production... 68

2.2.5 Opium latex and heroin production ... 70

2.3 PRICES... 71

2.3.1 Coca leaf, coca base and cocaine prices ... 71

2.3.2 Opium latex and heroin prices... 76

2.4 REPORTED AERIAL SPRAYING AND MANUAL ERADICATION... 78

2.5 REPORTED SEIZURE... 83

3 METHODOLOGY ... 89

3.1 COCACULTIVATION... 89

3.2 OPIUM POPPY CULTIVATION... 99

3.3 YIELD AND PRODUCTION... 100

3.4 PRICES... 110

4 ANNEX ... 111

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Index of Maps

Map 1: Coca cultivation density in Colombia, 2005... 9

Map 2: Coca cultivation density change in Colombia, 2004-2005 ... 12

Map 5: Changes in coca cultivation in Colombia, 2001- 2005 ... 15

Map 6: Coca cultivation density in the Andean region, 2005 ... 16

Map 7: Coca cultivation by region in Colombia, 2001-2005... 18

Map 8: Coca cultivation density in the Meta-Guaviare region, Colombia 2005... 20

Map 9: Coca cultivation density in the Pacific region, Colombia 2005... 22

Map 10: Coca cultivation density in the Central region, Colombia 2005 ... 24

Map 11: Coca cultivation density in the Putumayo-Caqueta region, Colombia 2005 ... 26

Map 12: Coca cultivation density in the Orinoco region, Colombia 2005... 28

Map 13: Coca cultivation density in the Amazonia region, Colombia 2005 ... 30

Map 14: Coca cultivation density in the Sierra Nevada region, Colombia 2005 ... 32

Map 15: Distribution of coca plants varieties in Colombia, 2005... 36

Map 16: Index of livelihood conditions by department in 2003 and coca cultivation in Colombia, 2005... 40

Map 17: Internal people displaced because of violence between 2000 and 2005 ... 42

Map 18: Forest Warden Families Programme and coca cultivation in Colombia, 2005... 44

Map 19: National Parks and coca cultivation in Colombia, 2005 ... 46

Map 20: Aerial perspective of the National Park Sierra de La Macarena and coca cultivation in 2005 ... 49

Map 21: Coca yield by region in Colombia, 2005 ... 52

Map 22: Annual coca leaf production in Colombia, 2005 ... 62

Map 23: Aerial spraying and coca cultivation in Colombia, 2005... 80

Map 24: Destruction of clandestine laboratories and coca cultivation in Colombia, 2005 ... 85

Map 25: Drug seizures by department and by drug type, Colombia 2005 ... 87

Map 26: Satellite images used for the Colombian coca cultivation survey 2005... 91

Map 27: Study area distributed by region and Colombia coca cultivation, 2005... 95

Map 28: Sample selection for yield survey by regions in Colombia, 2005... 101

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SUMMARY FACTS SHEET

2004 Variation 2005

Net coca cultivation (rounded total) 80,000 hectares + 8% 86,000 hectares Of which Meta-Guaviare region 28,500 hectares - 9% 25,970 hectares

Pacific region 15,800 hectares + 12% 17,650 hectares

Central region 15,100 hectares + 4% 15,630 hectares

Putumayo-Caqueta region 10,900 hectares +28% 13,950 hectares

Elsewhere 10,100 hectares +24% 12,570 hectares

Reported accumulated aerial spraying of

coca bush 136,550 hectares + 2 % 138,775 hectares

Reported manual eradication of coca bush 2,589 hectares 31,285 hectares Average farm-gate price of coca paste US$ 810 /kg

COP 2,119,000 /kg

+ 12 % - 0.5%

US$ 910 /kg COP 2,109,000 /kg Total farm-gate value of the production of coca leaf

and derivatives US$ 843 million

in percent of GDP (US$ 122 billion in 2005) 0.7%

in percent of GDP of agricultural sector

(US$ 13.8 billion in 2005) 6%

Number of households involved in coca cultivation

68,600 households Annual household gross income from the

production of coca leaf and its derivatives US$ 12,300

Annual use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides on coca fields

~85,000 mt

~12 million litters

Potential production of cocaine 640¹ mt 640mt

In percent of world cocaine production 68 % 70 %

Average cocaine price US$ 1,713 /kg

COP 4,600,000 /kg

+ 9%

- 6%

US$ 1,860/kg COP 4,315,000/kg Reported opium poppy cultivation (rounded) 3,950 hectares - 51% 1,950 hectares

Potential opium latex production 119 mt - 50% 59 mt

Potential heroin production 5 mt - 50% 2.5 mt

Average farm-gate price of opium latex US$ 164 /kg + 40% US$ 230 /kg

Average heroin price US$ 7,635 /kg + 19% US$ 9,050/kg

Reported seizure of cocaine 149,297 kg + 16% 173,265 kg

Reported seizure of heroin 773 kg - 4% 745 kg

Reported destruction of illegal laboratories² 1,865 + 5% 1,953

1 Cocaine production for 2004 has been revised following the field findings obtained in 2005.

2 Includes laboratories processing coca paste/base, cocaine hydrochloride, heroin, morphine, potassium, permanganate, and non specified.

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EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Through its global Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme, UNODC has been assisting the Colombian Government in the implementation and refinement of a national coca monitoring system since 1999. Annual surveys have been produced since then and the present report provides the findings of the coca survey for 2005.

The results of the survey showed that, at the end of December 2005, 86,000 hectares of coca were cultivated in 23 out of the 32 Colombian departments. This represents an increase of 6,000 hectares (or + 8%) since 2004 when coca cultivation reached 80,000 hectares. This was the first annual increase recorded after four consecutive annual decreases between 2000 and 2004. The 2005 level of coca cultivation remained however much lower (- 47%) than the peak level of 163,000 hectares recorded in 2000.

The most important increase between 2004 and 2005 took place in the region of Putumayo- Caqueta (+28%). However, most of coca cultivation continued to take place in the region of Meta- Guaviare (30% of the country’s cultivation). In fact, 78% of the 2005 cultivation took place in just seven departments, the same seven departments that also accounted for 78% of 2004 total cultivation: Meta, Nariño, Putumayo, Guaviare, Vichada, Antioquia and Caqueta.

It was also noted that the average field size decreased from 1.30 hectares in 2004 to 1.13 hectares in 2005. This could reflect farmers’ attempts to avoid detection and aerial spraying. Between 2004 and 2005, aerial spraying continued to be intense and was above 130,000 hectares for the fourth consecutive year. In 2005, a total of 138,775 hectares were sprayed. In addition, the government also reported the manual eradication of 31,285 hectares, a record compared to previous levels of 2,600 hectares in 2004 and 4,011 hectares in 2003. The total of both types of eradication (spraying and manual) amounted to 170,060 hectares in 2005.

Between May 2005 and February 2006, the Colombian Government jointly with UNODC implemented a coca leaf yield survey in Colombia. Samples of fresh coca leaves were harvested from 746 coca plots selected among 463 coca fields, and 1,389 coca farmers were interviewed.

The results of this survey indicated that the coca leaf yield were higher than previously thought, establishing at 6,300 kg/hectare/yr of fresh coca leaf (equivalent to 2,700 kg/hectare/yr of sun-dried coca leaf). With the information provided by the farmers, the average annual yield per hectare for pure cocaine hydrochloride reached 7.7 kg/hectare, compared to 4.7 kg/hectare previously used.

At the farm-gate level, the illegal market of coca leaf and its derivatives amounted to a gross-value of US$ 843 million, equivalent to 0.7% of the 2005 GDP and 6% of the GDP of the agricultural sector. It should be noted however that this value does not take into account production costs like herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers and wages. The coca leaf yield survey also enabled to estimate the total number of households involved in coca farming at about 68,600 households. The farm gate value thus represents an annual gross income per household of US$12,300, equivalent to an annual per capita gross income of US$ 2,500. By comparison, the GDP per capita in Colombia in 2005 was estimated by the National Department of Statistics at US$ 2,700.

With the results of the field survey, it was possible to estimate that coca farmers used about 85,000 metric tons of fertilizers and pesticides in their coca fields in 2005, together with about 12 million liters of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. It was also interesting to note that 129,000 liters of glyphosate and round-up were sprayed by farmers on their coca fields, two herbicides used in the aerial spraying of coca cultivation. However farmers’ concentrations were probably lower than the concentration used for aerial spraying.

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1 INTRODUCTION

The objectives of UNODC’s Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme (ICMP) are to establish methodologies for data collection and analysis, to increase the governments’ capacity to monitor illicit crops on their territories and to assist the international community in monitoring the extent and evolution of illicit crops in the context of the elimination strategy adopted by the Member States at the U.N. General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in June 1998. ICMP presently covers seven countries: Colombia, Bolivia and Peru for coca; Afghanistan, Laos and Myanmar for opium and Morocco for cannabis.

During the 1980’s and 1990’s, Colombia became the country with the largest illicit coca growing area and cocaine production in the world. Illicit coca cultivation in the country expanded steadily throughout this period, in particular in remote areas of the Amazon basin. Although, coca cultivation started to decrease in 2001, Colombia still remains the largest coca-growing country in the world.

UNODC has supported the monitoring of illicit crops since 1999, and has produced seven annual surveys. In October 2003, UNODC signed a new agreement with the Colombian government to continue and expand monitoring and analysis work. In this context, the SIMCI II project has established to facilitate the implementation of additional tasks in the framework of an integrated approach to the analysis of the drug problem in Colombia. The project also supports the monitoring of related problems such as fragile ecosystems, natural parks, indigenous territories, the expansion of the agricultural frontier and deforestation. It provides Geographic Information System support to the government’s alternative development projects and it’s Forest Families Warden Programme.

The new project foresees the creation of an Inter-Institutional Committee permanently assigned to the project in order to ensuring the transfer of know how to the national beneficiary institutions.

SIMCI II is a joint project between UNODC and the Colombian government, represented by Ministry of Interior and Justice and the International Cooperation Agency. The national counterpart and director of the project is the head of the Ministry of Interior and Justice.

The project is managed by a technical coordinator and composed of engineers and technicians:

four digital image processing specialists, one field engineer, a cartographic technician, a research and analysis specialist, two assistant engineers and an administrative assistant. The team is integrated on permanent basis by technicians from DIRAN and National Parks Administration it supports several studies and investigations for government and private institutions, related to land use, environment, licit crops, etc. SIMCI provides to their experts, access to its Spatial Information Data Bank, transfer of technology and guidance to achieve their goals. Organizations that benefited from SIMCI support include DANE, local governments, the National Federation of Coffee Growers, NGO’s as well as other UN agencies and projects.

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Pacific Ocean

Caribbean Sea

Río Ma

gdalena

RíoMeta

Río Vichada RíoCauc

a

RíoMagdalena

RíoGuaviare

RíoP utuma yo Río Caquetá

R ío Arauca

Río

traA

to

PANAM A

Rí o Amazonas Río Inírida

íoORrinoco

Vichada

Vaupés Valle

Tolima Sucre

Santander

Risaralda Quindío

Putumayo

Norte de Santander

Nariño

Meta Magdalena

La Guajira

Huila

Guaviare

Guainía Cundinamarca

Córdoba

Chocó

Cesar

Cauca

Casanare

Caquetá Caldas

Boyacá Bolívar

Atlántico

Arauca Antioquia

Amazonas

VENEZUELA

PERU ECUADOR

BRAZIL

Neiva

Tumaco

San José Popayán

Puerto Asís

Cucutá Cartagena

Pasto Cali

Florencia Medellín

Barranquilla

Bogotá

Mitú

Leticia Arauca

Puerto Carreño

75°W 70°W

0° 0°

5°N 5°N

10°N 10°N

South America Colombia

Cultivation density

0.1 - 1.0 1.1 - 4.0 (ha/km²)

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2 FINDINGS

2.1 CULTIVATION

2.1.1 COCA CULTIVATION

In 2005, the total area under coca cultivation in Colombia increased by 6,000 hectares, a 8%

increase compared to previous year’s estimate of 80,000 hectares. This is the first increase following four consecutive years of annual decreased in Colombia, between 2000 and 2004.

During that period, coca cultivation decreased by 51% and the 2005’s area under coca cultivation is 47% lower compared to the peak annual estimate of 163,000 hectares in 2000.

Similarly to the previous four surveys, the 2005 survey represented the situation as of the end of the year, in this case as of December 2005. As was the case last year, it covered the whole country and detected coca cultivation in 23 departments out of 32. In 2005, the area under coca cultivation represents 0.08% of the total territory.

Figure 1. Coca cultivation in Colombia, 1995 – 2005 (in hectares)

Sources United States Department of State National Monitoring System Supported by UNODC -

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000

Hectares

Hectares 51,000 67,000 79,000 102,000 160,000 163,000 145,000 102,000 86,000 80,000 86,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

The increase in coca cultivation between 2004 and 2005 took place despite high level of aerial spraying, which in 2005 reached 138,780 hectares. In fact, aerial spraying of coca cultivation has remained above 130,000 hectares since 2002. In 2005, the Colombian Government also reported the additional manual eradication of 31,285 hectares of coca cultivation. This level of manual eradication was unprecedented, as it only reached 2,700 hectares in 2003 and 4,000 hectares in 2004.

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Table 1: Stable and new fields of coca bush in 2005

Identified in 2004 and 2005 Not detected in 2004 Total 2005 Region

Number of fields

% of total fields

Area (hectares)

% of total area

Number of fields

% of total fields

Area (hectares)

% of total area

Total Fields

Total Area (hectares) Meta-Guaviare 7,958 42 7,896 30 10,801 58 18,066 70 18,759 25,963

Pacific 5,609 33 3,829 22 11,551 67 13,803 78 17,160 17,633

Central 4,067 30 2,662 17 9,340 70 12,970 83 13,407 15,632

Putumayo-

Caquetá 2,969 27 2,831 20 8,028 73 11,121 80 10,997 13,951

Orinoquia 2,386 49 3,076 32 2,488 51 6,634 68 4,874 9,709

Amazonia 575 38 708 31 953 62 1,612 70 1,528 2,320

Sierra Nevada 195 34 112 21 386 66 430 80 581 542

TOTAL 23,759 35 21,114 25 43,547 65 64,636 75 67,306 85,750 The comparison of the position of the coca fields in 2004 and 2005 revealed that about 65% of the fields were in a different position or at least not observed in 2004 for various reasons (aerial spraying, recently harvested, recently planted, etc) and therefore not in production and not accounted for in the 2004 census. This is to say that not necessary all of these coca fields can be qualified as new fields planted in 2005 because its identification as new is not referred to the age of the cultivation but to the position of the field.

For a better assessment of the dynamic of coca cultivation in Colombia, a comparison was made between the position of the coca fields identified in 2005 and the position of the fields identified between 2001 and 2004. In total, 44% of the fields identified in 2005 had never been detected before. Such observation suggests a high mobility of coca cultivation in Colombia.

Table 2: Stable and new fields of coca bush in 2001-2005

Stable 2001-2005 New in 2005 Total 2005

Region

Number of fields

% of total fields

Area (hectares)

% of total area

Number of fields

% of total fields

Area (hectares)

% of total area

Total Fields

Total Area (hectares) Meta-Guaviare 12,728 68 12,516 48 6,031 32 13,446 52 18,759 25,963

Pacific 8,750 51 5,744 33 8,410 49 11,888 67 17,160 17,633

Putumayo-

Caquetá 6,160 56 6,178 40 4,837 44 9,454 60 10,997 15,632

Central 5,806 43 3,387 24 7,601 57 10,565 76 13,407 13,951

Orinoquia 3,106 64 4,487 46 1,768 36 5,223 54 4,874 9,709

Amazonia 786 51 997 43 742 49 1,323 57 1,528 2,320

Sierra Nevada 259 45 151 28 322 55 391 72 581 542

TOTAL 37,595 56 29,840 39 29,711 44 52,290 61 67,306 85,750 The analysis of the census data also showed that the average coca field size decreased from 1.3 hectares in 2004 to 1.13 hectares in 2005 (-13%). A possible explanation could be that farmers are reducing the size of their coca fields to avoid detection and aerial spraying.

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Pacific Ocean

Caribbean Sea

PANAM

A VENEZUELA

PERU ECUADOR

BRAZIL

Vichada

Vaupés Valle

Tolima Sucre

Santander

Risaralda

Quindío

Putumayo

Norte de Santander

Nariño

Meta Magdalena

La Guajira

Huila

Guaviare

Córdoba

Chocó

Cesar

Cauca

Casanare

Caquetá Caldas

Boyacá Bolívar

Atlántico

Arauca Antioquia

Amazonas Neiva

Tumaco

San José Popayán

Puerto Asís

Cucutá Cartagena

Pasto

Cali

Florencia Medellín

Barranquilla

Bogotá

Mitú

Leticia Arauca

Puerto Carreño

75°W

75°W 70°W

5°S 70°W 5°S

0° 0°

5°N 5°N

10°N 10°N

South America

Source: Government of Colombia - National monitoring system supported by UNODC

Coca cultivation density change in Colombia, 2004 - 2005

Colombia

Geographic coordinates WGS 84 150

0 300

International boundaries km

Department boundaries Strong decrease Decrease Stable Increase Strong increase

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In absolute numbers, the most important increases of coca crops between 2004 and 2005 were noted in the departments of Putumayo (+ 4,600 hectares) in the Southern part of the country and Vichada (+3,100 hectares) in the Orinoco region bordering Venezuela. The increase in Putumayo corresponded to doubling the area under coca cultivation between 2004 and 2005, from 4,390 hectares to 8,960 hectares. Putumayo used to be the centre of coca cultivation, with 66,000 hectares in 2000. Coca cultivation had strongly declined until 2004, but this year’s increase could indicate a return of farmers to coca cultivation.

The largest reductions of coca crops took place in the departments of Norte de Santander (- 2,200 hectares) and Caqueta (- 1,500 hectares). The strong decrease in Norte de Santander, at the border with Venezuela, meant that there was a small coca cultivation left in 2005 in this department, with less than 1,000 hectares. In 2005 Norte de Santander was among the departments with the lowest levels of coca cultivation.

Compared to 2004, Meta – despite a decrease of 1,430 hectares - and Nariño remained the first two departments in terms of coca cultivation, together accounting for 36% of the total area under coca cultivation in the country. In fact 78% of the 2005 cultivation took place in just seven departments, the same seven departments that also accounted for 78% of 2004 total cultivation:

Meta, Nariño, Putumayo, Guaviare, Vichada, Antioquia and Caqueta.

Table 3: Coca cultivation by department in Colombia, 1999 – 2005 (hectares)

Department Mar- 1999

Aug- 2000

Nov- 2001

Dec- 2002

Dec- 2003

Dec- 2004

Dec- 2005

% Change 2004-2005

% of 2005 total Meta 11,384 11,123 11,425 9,222 12,814 18,740 17,305 -8% 20%

Nariño 3,959 9,343 7,494 15,131 17,628 14,154 13,875 -2% 16%

Putumayo 58,297 66,022 47,120 13,725 7,559 4,386 8,963 104% 10%

Guaviare 28,435 17,619 25,553 27,381 16,163 9,769 8,658 -11% 10%

Vichada 4,935 9,166 4,910 3,818 4,692 7,826 67% 9%

Antioquia 3,644 2,547 3,171 3,030 4,273 5,168 6,414 24% 7%

Caquetá 23,718 26,603 14,516 8,412 7,230 6,500 4,988 -23% 6%

Bolívar 5,897 5,960 4,824 2,735 4,470 3,402 3,670 8% 4%

Córdoba 1,920 117 652 385 838 1,536 3,136 104% 4%

Cauca 6,291 4,576 3,139 2,120 1,443 1,266 2,705 114% 3%

Arauca 978 2,749 2,214 539 1,552 1,883 21% 2%

Chocó 250 354 453 323 1,025 219% 1%

Santander 2,826 415 463 632 1,124 981 -13% 1%

Amazonas 532 784 625 783 897 15% 1%

N. de Santander 15,039 6,280 9,145 8,041 4,471 3,055 844 -73% 1%

Guainía 853 1,318 749 726 721 752 4% 1%

Vaupés 1,014 1,493 1,918 1,485 1,157 1,084 671 -38% 1%

Boyacá 322 245 118 594 359 342 -5% 0.4%

Guajira 321 385 354 275 556 329 -41% 0.4%

Magdalena 521 200 480 644 484 706 213 -70% 0.2%

Caldas 54 358 189 -47% 0.2%

Cundinamarca 66 22 57 57 71 56 -15% 0.1%

Valle del Cauca 76 184 111 37 45 28 -33% 0.03%

TOTAL 160,119 162,510 144,807 102,071 86,340 80,350 85,750 +6.7%

Rounded Total 160,000 163,000 145,000 102,000 86,000 80,000 86,000 + 7%

Department

affected 12 21 22 21 23 23 23

Country coverage 12% 41% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

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Pacific Oc ean

CaribbeanSea

Río Magdalena

Río eta M

Río

dahaicV

Ca Río uca

Ma Río len gda a

íoR

uaG

viare

RíoPutum ayo RíoCaquetá ucaRraíoA

Atra Río to

PANAMA

RíoA mazonas oIRí

dariní

Río no Ori

co Vichada Vaupés

Valle

Tolima

Sucre Santander Risaralda Quindío Putumayo

Nortede Santander Nariño

Central

Meta - Guaviare

Putumayo -

Caquetá Amazonia

Orinoco

Pacific

Sierra Nevada

Vichada

Vaupés Valle

Tolima Sucre

Santander

Risaralda Quindío

Putumayo

Norte de Santander

Nariño

Meta Magdalena

La Guajira

Huila

Guaviare

Córdoba

Chocó

Cesar

Cauca

Casanare

Caquetá Caldas

Boyacá Bolívar

Atlántico

Arauca Antioquia

Amazonas

VENEZUELA

BRAZIL

Tumaco

Neiva

Puerto Asís Popayán

Cucutá Cartagena

Pasto Cali

Florencia Medellín

Barranquilla

Bogotá

Mitú

Leticia Arauca

Puerto Carreño

75°W

75°W 70°W

70°W

5°S 5°S

0° 0°

5°N 5°N

10°N 10°N

South America

Coca cultivation by region in Colombia, 2001 - 2005

Colombia

International boundaries Department boundaries Coca cultivation (ha)

17,630 25,960

15,630 13,950 9,710

540 2,320

Geographic coordinates WGS 84 150

0 300

km 2001

2002 2003 2004 2005

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- 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000

Meta- Guaviare

Pacific Central Putumayo- Caqueta

Orinoco Amazonian Sierra Nevada

hectares

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

2.1.1.1 Regional analysis

In 2005, 46% of the coca cultivation in Colombia took place in the two traditional coca growing regions of Meta-Guaviare and Putumayo-Caqueta, both situated in the south-eastern part of the country. In absolute terms, the largest increases took place in Orinoco (+ 3,459 hectares), in the north-eastern part of the country bordering Venezuela, and Putumayo-Caqueta (+ 3,063 hectares), a traditional region for coca cultivation, bordering Ecuador. An important decrease of coca cultivation took place in the northern region of Sierra Nevada (- 57%), but in absolute numbers, this only represented a decrease of 540 hectares. Coca cultivation remained relatively stable (between +/- 10%) in Meta-Guaviare and the central region.

Table 5: Coca cultivation in Colombia by region 2001 - 2005 (in hectares)

Region 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

% Change

2004 - 2005

% of 2005 total Meta-Guaviare 36,978 36,603 28,977 28,507 25,963 -9% 30%

Pacific 11,171 17,362 19,561 15,789 17,633 12% 21%

Central 18,474 14,829 15,389 15,081 15,632 4% 18%

Putumayo-

Caqueta 61,636 22,137 14,789 10,888 13,951 28% 16%

Orinoco 11,915 7,124 4,357 6,250 9,709 55% 11%

Amazonia 3,768 3,018 2,508 2,588 2,320 -10% 3%

Sierra Nevada 865 998 759 1,262 542 -57% 1%

Rounded Total 145,000 102,000 86,000 80,000 86,000 7% 100%

Figure 3. Coca cultivation in Colombia by region 2001 - 2005 (in hectares)

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RíoMeta

RíoVichada

Río Guavia re

Río Putum

ayo Río Caquetá

RíoInírida

Río Caguán

Guaviare

Rí o Vau p es

Vichada

Vaupés Tolima

Santander

Putumayo

Meta Huila

Casanare

Caquetá Caldas

Boyacá

Arauca Antioquia

Amazonas

Miraflores Calamar

El Retorno La

Macarena

San José del Guaviare Puerto

Concordia Puerto

Rico Vista

Hermosa

Mapiripán Puerto

Lleras San

Juan de Arama Mesetas

El Castillo

La Uribe

San Martín San Carlos

Guaroa San Luis de

Cubarral Guamal

Acacias Villavicencio Cumaral

Puerto López Cabuyaro

Puerto Gaitán Yopal

Miraflores Bogotá

San José

Mitú 74°W

74°W

72°W

0° 0°

2°N 2°N

4°N 4°N

6°N 6°N

COLOMBIA

PANAMA

VENEZUELA

BRAZIL

Source: Goverment of Colombia - National monitoring system supported by UNODC

Coca cultivation density in the Meta-Guaviare region, Colombia 2005

0 200

km 100

Geographic coordinates WGS 84

PERU

Cultivation density (ha/km²)

Department boundaries International boundaries

Meta Guaviare Region Roads

Municipality boundaries Vaupés

> 8 0.1 - 1.0 1.1 - 2.0 2.1 - 4.0 4.1 - 8.0

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2.1.1.2 Meta-Guaviare region

Table 6: Coca cultivation in Meta-Guaviare, 1999 – 2005

Department 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 % Change

2004-2005 Meta 11,384 11,123 11,425 9,222 12,814 18,740 17,305 -8%

Guaviare 28,435 17,619 25,553 27,381 16,163 9,769 8,658 -11%

Total 39,819 28,742 36,978 36,603 28,977 28,509 25,970

Annual trend -28% 29% -1% -21% -2% -9%

In 2004 and 2005, the department of Meta remained the department with the largest level of coca cultivation, even though coca cultivation decreased of 8%, from 18,740 hectares in 2004 to 17,300 hectares in 2005. The department of Meta represented 20% of the national coca crops.

In 2005, a record of 14,500 hectares of coca cultivation were sprayed in 2005 over Meta department. This represented 55% of the total aerial spraying in the region, though coca cultivation in Meta represented 67% of the total coca crops for both departments and the highest level of cultivation using high agro-technical efficiency.

Between 2004 and 2005, in the department of Guaviare, coca cultivation decreased from 9,769 hectares to 8,658 hectares (-11%). At the same time, aerial spraying decreased from 30,900 hectares in 2004 to 11,900 hectares in 2005.

Among the thirteen national parks surveyed, the National Park of Sierra de la Macarena, located within Meta department, experienced the largest level of coca cultivation within a protected area in 2005, with 3,354 hectares. This represented an increase of 24% between 2004 and 2005.

However, the increase is mostly due to a better interpretation of the coca fields in 2005 due to the absence of clouds in the images of that year.

Guaviare was the department where coca cultivation first appeared in Colombia at the end of the seventies. Since then coca cultivation remained important in the department. However, an encouraging decrease has been noted in the past few years and the 8,650 hectares observed in 2005, only represented 32% of the 27,381 hectares observed in 2002, mainly owing to important aerial spraying campaigns. In 2005, Guaviare accounted for 10% of the national total.

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Pacific Ocean

RíoCauca

RíoMagdalena

Río

attrA

o

Río Cagu

PANAMA

ECUADOR

Río San Juan

Río Patía

Valle

Tolima

Sucre

Putumayo Nariño

Huila Meta

Cundinamarca Córdoba

Chocó

Cauca

Caquetá Caldas

Bolívar

Antioquia

Montería

Neiva Manizales

Ibagué

Tumaco

Quibdó

Mocoa

Neiva

Popayán

Pasto

Cali

Florencia Medellín

Bogotá

78°W 78°W

76°W 76°W

0° 0°

2°N 2°N

4°N 4°N

6°N 6°N

8°N 8°NCOLOMBIA

PANAMA

VENEZUELA

BRAZIL

Coca cultivation density in the Pacific region, Colombia 2005

0 200

100 km

Geographic coordinates WGS 84

Cultivation density (ha/km²)

Department boundaries International boundaries

Pacific Region Roads

> 8 0.1 - 1.0 1.1 - 2.0 2.1 - 4.0 4.1 - 8.0