@article{Fergusson:209328,
      recid = {209328},
      author = {Fergusson, Leopoldo and Romero, Dario and Vargas, Juan  Fernando},
      title = {The environmental impact of civil conflict: The  deforestation effect of paramilitary expansion in Colombia},
      address = {2014-09},
      number = {1509-2016-130919},
      series = {Documento CEDE},
      pages = {43},
      year = {2014},
      abstract = {Despite a growing body of literature on how environmental  degradation can fuel civil war, the reverse effect, namely  that of conflict on environmental outcomes, is relatively  understudied. From a theoretical point of view this effect  is ambiguous, with some forces pointing to pressures for  environmental degradation and some pointing in the opposite  direction. Hence, the overall effect of conflict on the  environment is an empirical question. We study this  relationship in the case of Colombia. We combine a detailed  satellite-based longitudinal dataset on forest cover across  municipalities over the period 1990-2010 with a  comprehensive panel of conflict-related violent actions by  paramilitary militias. We first provide evidence that  paramilitary activity significantly reduces the share of  forest cover in a panel specification that includes  municipal and time fixed effects. Then we confirm these  findings by taking advantage of a quasi-experiment that  provides us with an exogenous source of variation for the  expansion of the paramilitary. Using the distance to the  region of Urabá, the epicenter of such expansion, we  instrument paramilitary activity in each cross-section for  which data on forest cover is available. As a falsification  exercise, we show that the instrument ceases to be relevant  after the paramilitaries largely demobilized following  peace negotiations with the government. Further, after the  demobilization the deforestation effect of the  paramilitaries disappears. We explore a number of potential  mechanisms that may explain the conflict-driven  deforestation, and show evidence suggesting that  paramilitary violence generates large outflows of people in  order to secure areas for growing illegal crops, exploit  mineral resources, and engage in extensive agriculture. In  turn, these activities are associated with deforestation.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/209328},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.209328},
}