Tiny bird pinup in drugs war

Until recently, the gorgeted puffleg was rather obscure - until four years ago it did not officially exist.

But although the tiny hummingbird was discovered only in 2005, in a small and remote region of rainforest in southwestern Colombia, it is about to take centre stage in the war on drugs as governments around the globe alert the younger generation to the dangers of cocaine.

Experts believe the bird is one of several hundred species that will become extinct within decades if Colombia's rainforests continue to be razed to allow coca cultivation.

Other animals under threat include the harpy eagle, titi monkey, golden poison frog, tapir, spectacled bear and gorgona blue lizard.

All appear in information packs given to European schoolchildren.

Colombia, one of the largest environmental hubs on the planet, with a territory of more than 1 million square kilometres, has been warning about the dangers of "ecocide" caused by the country's drug cartels for years.

As one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, it is home to 50,000 plant species and 18 per cent of the world's bird species.

But now it is trying to make children relaise that the threats facing its rainforests are a global issue that will have an effect on climate stability.

The move is a tacit admission that the past strategy of highlighting the cocaine trade's links to violence and kidnappings has struggled to leave much of an impression on the drug's users.

"The environment is an issue that is important to everyone," said Colombia's Environment Minister, Carlos Costa Posada.

"We are tired of using images of violence. It is all people think about when they think about Colombia - people don't want to come here for tourism. We are not saying this issue [cocaine's role in the destruction of the rainforests] is the most important issue, but it is something people can identify with."

Cultivation of illicit crops has led to destruction of 2.2 million hectares of tropical forest in Colombia, an area slightly larger than Wales. For every hectare of coca grown, three of forest are cut down. This means that for each gram of cocaine used, 4sq m of rainforest are cleared.

The gorgeted puffleg, only 90mm long, is particularly vulnerable. It is found only in 1200ha of rainforest, 100ha of which disappear every year because of coca cultivation.

"We have around 400 species that are facing extinction," Costa Posada said.

Cocaine production creates other problems for Colombians. The jungle laboratories used to refine the coca leaf into powder require significant amounts of chemicals that end up dumped into local water sources.

Among them are some that are highly toxic and resist biodegradation.

The British Home Office Minister Alan Campbell, who has recently returned from a fact-finding mission to Colombia, said: "Most of the cocaine coming into the UK comes from Colombia."

He said that it was important to "refresh" the message about the harm cocaine can wreak. "We need to get people here and in Europe aware their actions will have a wider impact. Maybe people will not listen to a middle-aged minister saying drugs are harmful, but the message may carry more impact if they know the harm they are doing to the environment."

In conjunction with the Colombian Government, Britain is backing "Shared Responsibility", a global campaign to highlight what it says is "the environmental catastrophe caused by illicit crop cultivation felt around the globe".

The campaign gives children interactive games showing how cocaine production is putting the world's rainforests at risk.

Costa Posada acknowledged focusing on young children represented a new development in its awareness campaign, but one that could prove highly effective in the long run.

"You have kids telling off parents for leaving the lights on or not taking out the recycling. When the time comes to act, adults sometimes don't think, but children do."

- OBSERVER