Colombia becomes the first tropical forest country to enact a cattle traceability law to fight deforestation

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Joint statement by EIA and Dejusticia

Bogotá — On June 4, the Government of Colombia signed into law Law 2585 of 2026 on Sustainable and Deforestation-Free Cattle Ranching, approved by Congress on May 5. The law is the result of years of work by legislators, civil society, the academic sector, and the environmental movement. It comes at a moment when Colombia has accumulated 3.3 million hectares of forest loss — an area larger than the country of Belgium. This problem is particularly acute in the Amazon region, where cattle ranching remains one of the main drivers of deforestation. A 2025 EIA analysis found that between 2020 and 2024, hundreds of thousands of cattle had been transported from districts overlapping national parks.

Background

This landmark law establishes, for the first time in Colombia and the region, safeguards to ensure that beef sold in supermarkets is not linked to deforestation. The need for such legislation gained national recognition after EIA published its investigation Tainted Beef (2021), which found that supermarkets purchased beef from suppliers sourcing cattle from ranchers illegally raising livestock inside National Parks and that consumers were unwittingly fueling illegal deforestation and contributing to financing armed conflict in Colombia. Dejusticia’s ¿Carne Deforestadora? (2022) was among the first studies to diagnose the supply chain bottlenecks preventing effective action on this issue.

Following these investigations, and after years of work by the Colombian Foundation for Sustainable Development (FCDS), a cattle traceability initiative was introduced in Congress in 2022. After multiple debates in both chambers the bill was finally approved by Congress in May of this year.

Reactions to the enactment of the law

EIA and Dejusticia applaud the law as a major step to halt deforestation caused by cattle ranching, which could serve as a model for other countries.  

“Colombia is setting an example for the region and the rest of the world. This law is a victory for forests, for the communities that protect them, and for consumers who demand that their beef does not contribute to deforestation and illicit economies.” said Susanne Breitkopf, Director of Forest Campaigns at EIA-US.

“This law is a critical step toward transforming supply chains and assuming responsibility for future generations. The Amazon shows that tackling deforestation is not only about protecting forests, but also about safeguarding the knowledge and practices that have made its extraordinary biodiversity possible,” said Paulo Ilich Bacca, Environmental Director at Dejusticia.

Next Steps

The enactment of the law will trigger a series of actions to be undertaken by both the National Government and the public and private sectors:

Within the first 6 months, the National Government must, among other things:

• Design and implement supplier capacity building and consumer information programs to guarantee deforestation-free products (Art. 7)
• Regulate the conditions for a “Deforestation-Free Producer” certificate (Art. 9)
• Provide funding for the integration of information systems and the implementation of High Surveillance Zones in Active Deforestation Hotspots (Art. 12)

Within 12 months:

• Regulate procedures for the National Cattle Identification and Information System (SINIGAN) and the National Animal Identification, Information and Traceability System (SNIITA) to collect information for identifying cattle in deforested areas (Art. 2)
• Issue regulations on due diligence instruments for deforestation-free cattle ranching, with participation from actors across the supply chain (Art. 11, Par.)

Within 18 months:

• The National Government must have in place a plan for the gradual integration and interoperability of all information systems (Art. 3, Par. 3)

Within 24 months:

• Slaughterhouses, processing and butchering plants, cattle auctions, traders, and live cattle exporters will be required to implement due diligence policies and best practices guaranteeing deforestation-free supply chains (Art. 11)

If effectively implemented, these measures represent a powerful tool to make Colombia’s beef supply chains deforestation-free. 

Recommendations to the incoming National Government:

• Commit to the effective implementation and development of the obligations established under the Law.
• Ensure that, in the regulation of Article 2 regarding access to information for civil society and forest-dependent communities, and while respecting the right to personal data protection, publicly disclosed information is sufficiently detailed to identify different links in the supply chain and deforestation patterns, recognizing the value of public oversight of the system. This should be interpreted in light of legal obligations regarding access to public and environmental information held by both the State and private actors, in accordance with the provisions established by the Transparency Law, the Escazú Agreement, and Constitutional Court Judgment T-534 of 2024.
• In the due diligence regulations, include information disclosure requirements  for large retail chains and supermarkets — which are currently not covered by Article 11 of the law (on due diligence policies and best practices guaranteeing deforestation-free supply chains) — following the precedent established by the Constitutional Court in Judgment T-534 of 2024.
• Create a public accountability mechanism for the private sector — particularly for exporters and slaughterhouses — that includes the publication of due diligence reports accessible to the public.
• Establish, through a participatory process, social safeguards for constitutionally protected groups linked to cattle ranching activities, with the aim of promoting gradual productive transition schemes that are respectful of human rights.

Press Contacts:

Dejusticia: Mariana Escobar Roldán, Communications Coordinator at Dejusticia: [email protected]
EIA: [email protected] 

Additional media coverage: La Silla Vacía, The Associated Press and Mongabay