Updated February 14, 2025 at 11:56 AM ET
CUNDINAMARCA, Colombia — Buying flowers on Valentine's Day is a classic gesture of love. But the beauty of these bouquets comes at a cost.
In Colombia, high in the Andes Mountains, a delicate cloud forest is being chipped away at, fragmented and polluted, say environmentalists in the region — all for the green leaves that pad out flower bouquets sold primarily in the United States.
The rate at which trees are being cut down in this fragile ecosystem — home to many species including sloths, hummingbirds and rare orchids, is "getting faster," according to Patricia Rodríguez, of the environmental organization Fundación Étika Verde. "The green foliage industry has become big business here," she says.
Rodríguez lives in the Andes mountains of Cundinamarca, outside of the Colombian capital of Bogotá. More than 7,500 feet above sea level, the thick vegetation emerges out of the mist. Cloud forests are among the most biodiverse places on Earth, and scientists say Cundinamarca is home to at least two dozen species found nowhere else in the world.
A cacophony of birdsong comes from the treetops and orchids add splashes of color, their petals bright purple, white and yellow.
Much of the cloud forest has been stripped over centuries for agriculture and beef production. And today, alongside the fields of cattle, the trees give way to fields of monoculture crops of eucalyptus, ferns and other green foliage. Grown under plastic sheets, these white patches dot the landscape.
This year just for Valentine's Day, Colombia exported 35,000 tons of flowers and foliage, according to, Ascoflores, the Colombian association for the trade. Colombian airport authorities say cargo planes made over 500 flights to export the goods. Some of these go all over the world, to Russia, France and the United Kingdom. But the vast majority — over 70% — are exported to the United States.
Colombia has dominated the flower industry for decades. The lower plains around Bogotá are home to farms growing roses, carnations and other blooms. But, experts say, growing the foliage for bouquets at these higher Andean altitudes has become a bigger business in more recent years.
For many in this rural area with few employment opportunities, it provides a valuable livelihood.
"When I started I had nothing," says Marcos Bernal, 70, who manages a flower and foliage farm. "But with this I have been able to put both my daughters through university."
The farm Bernal manages has expanded about sixfold in recent years. Most of the land being used for this crop was already in use for other agriculture.
Bernal points to trees higher up the hillside and says the owner of this farm has chosen to protect the patch of forest that exists on their land. Bernal says, however, some farmers do cut into the cloud forest to make more space. "They are interested in the money," he says.
There are laws in Colombia to protect forests like these, and the government has managed to reduce the overall levels of deforestation. But several experts told NPR, at least in this area, the laws are poorly enforced. The local authority and Colombian Environment Ministry did not reply to NPR's request for comment.
"We're seeing the degradation of a paradise," says Cato Tafur, an environmental activist who lives with his family in the cloud forest, surrounded by trees and streams. He says the foliage farms draw on groundwater and pollute rivers with runoff carrying pesticides and fertilizers. But it's hard to campaign against an industry that is a main employer for people in the region.
Rodríguez, who with her organization has been campaigning for the protection of the cloud forest, is appealing to local authorities to conduct a study on the environmental impact of the foliage industry.
She pulls up a wide-shot photograph of a mountain rang in the area. It shows the cloud forest interrupted by huge patches of land that has been stripped bare.
"You can clearly see the problem," she says. "I want to send the message: Every bouquet you buy for your table, you're destroying a piece of forest."
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