Illegal coffee threatens wildlife
The World Wildlife Fund says coffee, which is being grown illegally
inside Bukit Barisan Selatan national park on Sumatra Island is being
sold by well-known international coffee companies. Park officials are
concerned about the possible effects on the endangered animals they are
trying to protect. Lucy Williamson reports from Jakarta.
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.