Legal and illegal coffee beans are usually exported separately.
True
False
Nestle accepts that it might have bought illegal coffee without knowing.
True
False
Most of the park is covered in coffee plantations.
True
False
The officials are forcing the farmers to grow coffee outside the park.
True
False
There are only a few tigers in the park, but there are lots of rhinos.
True
False
The tigers and rhinos are protected by the coffee plantations.
True
False
According to WWF, more than three
hundred thousand tons of tainted coffee left Indonesia in 2005. It says
coffee grown illegally inside the national park is being sold to local
traders who mix it with legally grown beans before exporting it to
countries like Japan, Italy and the US.
The report says several well-known brands are involved. One company,
Nestle, issued a statement saying it regrets such unacceptable
activities and never willingly purchases coffee from dubious sources.
But, the company said, it's often difficult to determine the precise
origin of its coffee.
The head of the park told the BBC that some sixty thousand hectares -
around a fifth of the park's total area - had been taken over by
illegal plantations, most of them producing coffee. The park, which
covers three hundred thousand hectares, is policed by only sixty
rangers, he said, and around fifty community workers. Stopping the
expansion of the plantations is all but impossible. Instead, he said
officials are trying to entice farmers to move outside the park and to
raise public awareness of the problem.
The area is home to some sixty tigers and around the same number of
rhinos. Both species are endangered and park officials say destruction
of their natural habitat by farmers is making them easier targets for
hunters.