NCJ Number
199608
Date Published
March 2003
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This preliminary report presents the findings from the coca survey in Colombia for 2002.
Abstract
In 1999, Colombia requested the assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in establishing a national integrated Monitoring System for Illicit Crops (SIMCI). The goal of the project was to gain greater precision in measuring the extent of illicit crop cultivation in Colombia. This report presents the preliminary findings of the SIMCI concerning the illicit coca bush cultivation in Colombia during 2002. The SIMCI monitors illicit coca bush cultivation based on the interpretation and digital processing of Landsat and Spot satellite images of the entire territory of Colombia. Key findings include the fact that at the end of 2002, 102,000 hectares of coca bush were cultivated in 21 out of 32 Colombian departments, which reflects a decreased of approximately 43,000 hectares from the end of 2001. The area known as Guaviare has become the most vital coca cultivation department in the country with approximately 27,000 hectares of coca cultivated in 2002. The estimate cocaine output of 102,000 hectares is about 480 metric tons. Information about illicit opium poppy cultivation is also included in this report, with about 4,200 hectares of opium cultivation underway in Colombia in November 2002.