An environmental group in Colombia is leading a project to save wild areas in the San Lucas Mountains with the help of coffee growers.
Since 2016, San Lucas areas have been threatened by mining and coca(古柯) planting. Gold miners and coca growers make more money than coffee farmers. Now the group WebConserva helps link coffee farmers with coffee processors from around the country in order that they can earn more. At the same time coffee farms can serve as borders around forests to protect the biodiversity within.
To date, the project includes 10 families who farm 400 hectares of coffee plants. WebConserva said it hopes, in time, 200 families will be included. At that level, 20, 000 hectares of untouched forest could be protected. The families promise not to cut down trees to expand their crops or to hunt wild animals. In return, they receive $300 for 125 kilograms of coffee.
Arcadio Barajas is among those taking part. His coffee farm sets up a barrier between cattle farms and forests where wild animals live, thus reducing the possibility of conflict between cattle farmers and wild animals. "Cutting down the forest to plant coca and killing wildlife were against my faith, and now I feel that growing coffee lets me be a good guard of the land," he said.
Arnobis Romero is a former coca grower and miner. "Many families depended on illegal activities to support their children years ago. Now, we feel it a duty to look after this biodiversity and to leave it for future generations," he said.
Activists want San Lucas to be protected as a national park, but the process has been slow. Carlos Valderrama, director of WebConserva, hopes the project can build production system that will last far into the future. "It protects forests, biodiversity and ecosystems at the same time as improving coffee growers' quality of life," he said.
