In addition to its human consequences, cocaine trafficking damages the environment and threatens important habitats for dozens of migratory bird species in Central America, according to a new study published in Nature Sustainability. Scientists from four U.S. universities, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, combined measures of various landscape characteristics and concentrations of migratory birds in Central America to highlight the unexpected connection between a widespread social problem like cocaine and biodiversity. “When drug traffickers are pushed into remote forested areas, they clear land to create landing strips, roads and cattle pastures,” said Amanda Rodewald, senior director … Continue reading Cocaine Trafficking Endangers Migratory Bird Species in Central America’s Largest Forests