Report: Cocaine Production Increases Destruction of Colombia’s Rainforests

Scientists from Stony Brook University in the United States are reporting new evidence that cultivating coca bushes, the source of cocaine, is speeding up the destruction of rainforests in Colombia.

In a report published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the group of scientists led by Professor Liliana Davalos say coca-growing also threatens the region's plant and animal diversity.

Davalos and her colleagues say that the pace of deforestation in the South American state has accelerated in the past 20 years, even though population growth has slowed and the economy has shifted from agriculture to other revenue sources.

During that time, the cultivation of coca for cocaine production has increased.

The report suggests that establishing special protected areas would help reduce the destruction of forests and protect biodiversity in coca-growing regions.

Scientists say data from 2002-2007 show that forests close to newly developed coca farms are likely to be cut.

The report says that in 2000, Colombia produced 75 percent of the world's coca.

Loss of rainforests worldwide is linked to climate change.