The cultivation of coca (Erythroxylon coca) in Colombia represents the first
step of the largest illegal agribusiness that exists in the world, namely
Cocaine. In this production chain, the small local cultivators consists of the
first step, followed by the step, where most of the money profit is made. This
sphase correspond to the elaboration of cocaine and its commercialization at a
global scale which is in the hands of illegal armed groups and drug dealers.
Most of the literature related to illicit crops considers the national and
global factors that influence the expansion of these products. However, only
little is written in the scientific literature concerning the local conditions
where the social-environmental impacts due to these activities are
concentrated. This study analyses for the first time the local factors
(social, economic, environmental and institutional) associated to the
expansion of cocaine during the last decade and how these activities have
provided the favourable settings for the increase of deforestation in zones of
high environmental importance. For the proposed analysis a social-ecological
conceptual framework was made, based on literature reviews which were
confirmed by statistical analysis of data at a municipal level and the use of
bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) during the two year
period of this study. This has allowed an improved comprehension of the
complexity between the coca cultivations and its association with the
emergence of social-environmental conflicts. It is shown that an relationship
exists between deforestation of primary forest in low-laying areas and the
increase of cultivated areas of coca with an intensification of land-use
conflicts. This study demonstrates the environmental, institutional and
social-economical resemblances that determine the establishment of coca
cultivations at a local level and its relationship with increase of coca
cultivations towards the north and southwest of Colombia and as such the
expansion of the social-environmental conflicts
