Are protected areas actually protecting our biodiversity?
Currently, there are 1,391 protected areas in Colombia, with many human activities taking place both within these areas and at their borders (buffer zones). Kristian Rubiano, a doctorate student at Facultad de Ciencias Sociales (Faculty of Natural Sciences), mapped 51 protected areas to determine trajectories in land use change. The results, which were presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the Asociación para la Biología Tropical y Conservación (ATBC), showed that protected areas are partially fulfilling their role in ecosystem conservation.