News Excerpt:
Cocaine traffickers have put two-thirds of Central America’s key habitats for threatened birds under threat, study finds.
Key points:
- This study underscores the devastating impact of "narco-driven" deforestation on bird habitats in Central America.
- Cocaine trafficking is increasingly endangering rare tropical birds as drug cartels move into remote forest areas to evade law enforcement crackdowns.
- This study is the first to quantify the impact of habitat loss on bird populations.
- Over half of the Nearctic-Neotropical migratory species have more than one-quarter, and 20% of species have over half of their global population in areas threatened by narco-trafficking.
- The study's findings reveal that 67 species of migratory birds that breed in the US and migrate to Central America during the winter are at greater risk.
- Among the most threatened are the endangered golden-cheeked warblers, with 90% of their population residing in at-risk forests.
- Additionally, 70% of golden-winged warblers and Philadelphia vireos are affected by this habitat destruction.
- Researchers used remote sensing to identify unique patterns of deforestation attributed to narco-trafficking and found that 15–30% of annual deforestation in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala can be attributed solely to the movement of cocaine.
US drug policy:
- For the past 40 years, US drug policy has failed to diminish the global reach of illegal drug networks. Instead, it has forced traffickers to operate further into remote forests.
- In these areas, traffickers build landing strips and roads for transporting shipments, establish cattle pastures to launder money, and assert control over territories.
- This shift is pushing them into forests with high conservation value, which are often home to Indigenous peoples. As a result, the policy is impacting some of the most vulnerable human and ecological populations.
Role of local population:
- Indigenous populations are often pressured into accepting payments and assisting with trafficking logistics, with resistance frequently leading to land seizures and violence.
- The supply-side focus of both domestic and international drug policies exacerbates the issue by neglecting the under-resourced rural communities, which facilitates trafficking and increases "land-based money laundering and agri-business expansion."
Way Forward:
- It has been shown that empowering rural landholders and Indigenous people to take back control of their lands and efficiently manage their resources deters narco-trafficking.
- Resolving unclear land ownership issues, enhancing forest monitoring, and providing employment and opportunities for the local community can alleviate this problem.
- These efforts not only aid conservation but also promote peace and security.
