OUR CHOICES AT THE STORE HELP AMPHIBIAN CONSERVATION

This video shows some of the amphibians found in Tamá, Colombia. Amphibians are some of the crown jewels  of this beautiful South American country.

                        

                                      Video uploaded by:  aldemarx el 01/07/2011

Many species of amphibians around the world have already disappeared because of habitat destruction, air contamination and due to an infectious disease called chytridiomycosis caused by a fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis).

We must join efforts to preserve these wonderful animals before it is too late. We can help with simple changes in our habits at home and the store.

The way we choose what we buy at the grocery store or supermarket can indirectly impact upon the lives of these organisms.

Let us take the cup of coffee as an example. Certain coffee varieties (robusta) are grown in huge plantations with no tree cover, which means that the original forest was destroyed to give way to the coffee plants. These are monocultures of sun-grown coffee trees (Fig. 1).

                 Figura 1. A sun-grown coffee plantation. (Source: Hilton Pond Center)

Other varieties of coffee (bourbon) need shade trees (Fig. 2). In these shade-grown plantations, the coffee trees grow under the canopy of larger trees. The shading trees are usually the same ones found in the surrounding forest or the understory of the original forest is cleared and the coffee trees are then planted under the canopy.

       

   Figura 2. A shade-grown coffee plantation. (Source: Tree Frog Coffees, Guatemala)

Nowadays people have realized that shade-grown coffee plantations can be an important tool in preserving the biodiversity. For this purpose, this type of plantation is being promoted in some countries (eg., Costa Rica and Guatemala).

So a cup of coffee coming from a shade-grown plantation is more or less environmentally friendly to the local wildlife as long as the farmers do not use harmful pesticides. Today many coffee farmers have already gone organic.

When you buy a can of coffee at the store, make sure that it comes from such plantations. And if it comes from local farmers´ cooperatives rather than from huge multinationals, your choice is much better. This way you help small farmers and the native fauna as well.