Prospects for commercial tree farming in Colombia

Abstract

Over the next few decades, the area of planted forests required to satisfy worldwide demand for fiber, timber, and environmental services will need to increase by tens of millions of hectares (Mha). As no single nation can accommodate this expansion, planting sites in multiple countries must be identified. One prospective location is Colombia, which boasts nearly 26 Mha of land suitable for commercial tree planting, fair-to-excellent growth rates for major industrial species, good professional expertise, seaports on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and low-to-moderate land prices. Yet, despite these outstanding assets, tree plantations in Colombia cover only 542 thousand hectares (ha), with almost 90 percent located in three distinct regions: the Andean, Orinoco, and Caribbean. Constraints to commercial tree farming in Colombia include cultural preferences for non-wood products in construction and domestic applications, low capacity for processing industrial roundwood, and lack of reliable wood supplies needed for firms to scale up operations. While land prices are attractive in the remote Orinoco Region, they are considerably higher in more accessible regions, such as the Andean and Caribbean, which are closer to markets, mills, and ports. These factors along with security problems, low levels of formal land titling, and property rights issues in rural areas can complicate operations and add risk to investments in plantation forestry. With land for tree planting at a premium and increasing global demand for wood, fiber, and carbon sequestration, Colombia’s plantation sector stands to profit, provided it can successfully address the barriers to its growth.

Modeling dominant height growth of teak plantations in the Caribbean region of Colombia

“…This result is promising and demonstrates the high potential for the reforestation with teak plantations in the Caribbean region of Colombia. In addition, more than 2 million hectares of land have been identified in this region with high suitability for commercial reforestation (UPRA 2014; Davis et al 2024). Forest-based investments should be focused on sites with high productivity, ensuring high profitability.…”

“…Colombia could be a major player as a supplier of teakwood. In Colombia, almost 25.9 million hectares of land have been identified for the establishment of forest plantations (Davis et al 2024). This suitable land is mainly distributed in three regions: Andean (33%), Orinoco (32%) and Caribbean (18%) (Davis et al 2024).…”

“…In Colombia, almost 25.9 million hectares of land have been identified for the establishment of forest plantations (Davis et al 2024). This suitable land is mainly distributed in three regions: Andean (33%), Orinoco (32%) and Caribbean (18%) (Davis et al 2024). However, to date, only 542,000 hectares are covered by commercial forest plantations, with teak being the fifth most planted species, covering 40,295 hectares mainly in the Caribbean and Andean regions (Ministerio de Agricultura 2023).…”

“…Although this species was first planted in the Caribbean region of Colombia more than 80 years ago, only about 19,000 hectares of teak plantations have been established in this region to date (Ministerio de Agricultura 2023). This region is promising for the establishment of new commercial teak plantations due to its proximity to export ports, relatively flat topography with minimal elevation changes, which favors silvicultural practices, and climatic conditions suitable for teak growth (Davis et al 2024). Furthermore, some studies have shown that teak plantations are an attractive forest-based investment in Colombia, with returns on investment higher than those reported for countries such as Indonesia and Venezuela (Restrepo et al 2012).…”