The operation led to the seizure of half a ton of charcoal.
The call of a member of the Civic Participation network, alerted troops of the Special Energy and Road Battalion No12 of the ninth Brigade and officials of the regional autonomous corporation of Alto Magdalena, CAM, about illegal trafficking activities of wild flora in rural areas of the municipality of Pitalito, south of Huila.
The interinstitutional operation went to the municipality of Resinas, where not only 500 kilos of charcoal packed in 61 bags and ready for sale were found, but in the same way a serious environmental damage, such as the indiscriminate felling of trees in a nature reserve area, was discovered.
Apparently inhabitants of the area cut trees, and in rudimentary ovens, burned wood for charcoal production and commercialization of the product without permission of the relevant environmental authority.
Despite that the commercial value of the timber material ranges two million pesos, the environmental damage is incalculable, if we take into account that these two trees are very important for the ecosystem in the department of Huila.
The damage is evidenced in the decrease of the vegetation cover, the increase of global warming, the desertification of the soil, the generation of polluting gases, the deterioration of the habitat of Wild fauna and the interruption of the natural cycles, among others.
Source: press-ninth Brigade of the National Army
