Colombia adopts historic traceability law to fight deforestation
In a historic move to fight deforestation, the Colombian House of Representatives passed a landmark law on Tuesday that requires mandatory traceability in the country’s cattle sector – meaning that for the first time, there will be safeguards to make sure the beef on supermarket shelves in Colombia is not linked to deforestation.
The need for regulation became nationally recognized after EIA published its undercover investigation Tainted Beef, which found that supermarkets like Grupo Exito and Colsubsidio purchased meat from suppliers who source from ranchers selling cattle illegally raised in National Parks. Cattle ranching and landgrabbing have been major drivers of deforestation, threatening protected areas including the iconic Chiribiquete National Park. Armed groups have been extorting payments from cattle ranchers to allow them to conduct business.
A 2025 EIA analysis found that between 2020 and 2024, over 211,000 cattle had been transported from districts overlapping national parks, with 85% becoming untraceable once moved.
“The law is a major step to transform the cattle sector and ensure that Colombian consumers are not buying beef contributing to deforestation,” said Susanne Breitkopf, Director of Forest Campaigns. “Colombia is setting an example for the region and for the rest of the world. It will now be crucial to ensure that the law is effectively implemented.”
Research from Colombian civil society organizations like Dejusticia and FCDS over the past years also demonstrated the need for regulation and their strong support has been instrumental in getting the law passed.
The Colombian Government now needs to issue the necessary regulations and ensure effective implementation, oversight, and public transparency in order for the law to stop beef from illegal deforestation being sold in Colombian markets.
Additional Resources:
- Watch the Congressional session here
- EIA’s full 2021 investigation Tainted Beef and video is available here
- EIA’s 2025 analysis A Path to Accountability is available here
- Dejusticia’s 2022 Carne Deforestadora is available here
- Dejusticia’s 2026 Deforestation and blind spots in the beef supply chain is available here