The Unintended Impact of Colombia’s Covid-19 Lockdown on Forest Fires

Mónica Amador-Jiménez, Naomi Millner, Charles Palmer, R. Toby Pennington and Lorenzo Sileci
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Mónica Amador-Jiménez: University of Bristol
Naomi Millner: University of Bristol
R. Toby Pennington: University of Exeter
Lorenzo Sileci: London School of Economics (LSE)

Environmental & Resource Economics, 2020, vol. 76, issue 4, No 31, 1105 pages

Abstract: Abstract The covid-19 pandemic led to rapid and large-scale government intervention in economies and societies. A common policy response to covid-19 outbreaks has been the lockdown or quarantine. Designed to slow the spread of the disease, lockdowns have unintended consequences for the environment. This article examines the impact of Colombia’s lockdown on forest fires, motivated by satellite data showing a particularly large upsurge of fires at around the time of lockdown implementation. We find that Colombia’s lockdown is associated with an increase in forest fires compared to three different counterfactuals, constructed to simulate the expected number of fires in the absence of the lockdown. To varying degrees across Colombia’s regions, the presence of armed groups is correlated with this fire upsurge. Mechanisms through which the lockdown might influence fire rates are discussed, including the mobilisation of armed groups and the reduction in the monitoring capacity of state and conservation organisations during the covid-19 outbreak. Given the fast-developing situation in Colombia, we conclude with some ideas for further research.

Keywords: Armed groups; Covid-19; Colombia; Deforestation; Forest fires; Lockdown (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q23 Q56 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The unintended impact of Colombia’s covid-19 lockdown on forest fires (2020)
Working Paper: The unintended impact of Colombia's covid-19 lockdown on forest fires (2020)
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DOI: 10.1007/s10640-020-00501-5

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