In an unprecedented move, the Colombian government will more than double the size of its largest national park to protect biodiversity and uncontacted hunter-gatherer tribes in the Amazon region along the western edge of the Guiana Shield. The expansion of Chiribiquete National Park from 1.3 million to 3 million hectares (5,000 to 12,000 sq miles), scheduled for March, will create a protected area the size of Belgium and make the park, with its immense waterfalls, rapids and table-top mountains, or tepuys, the largest in the Amazon. Jaú National Park in the Rio Negro watershed of Brazil has been the record-holder until now, with 2.7 million hectares (10,000 sq miles). Conservationists are delighted. They say a larger protected area is needed to preserve... [Log in to read more]