Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 7 (1997), 11.

I am contacting you in behalf of group of people that live in the State of Bahia / Brasil just north of Ilheus . Here we have one of the last remainders of what is here called "mata atlantica" which is an Atlantic Rainforest a very high level of biodiversity compared to other type of forests. Until five to six years ago we had no problem with deforestation since Cocoa was the main economical resource of the region. Cocoa is grown in the shadow of this Atlantic Rainforest which is the reason why we still find big areas of almost virgin forest around this region. In the last few years though, due to a drop of Cocoa prices to nearly a third of its price of 1988 and a desease that has affected almost 85% of the crops, drying out the fruit from inside ,these are being burned down along with the forest that protects it. It is a very desperate scenario.

Now our question is could you give us an answer or if not do you know or could you refer us to any institution or person globaly that could help us find an alternative crop that could be grown under rainforest which could substitute Cocoa in order to give a viable solution in economic terms and preserve the last remnants of this type of forest which once covered practically the whole State of Bahia and neighboring States.

In the name of all of us we thank you very much in advance for your help, looking forward to hearing from you,

Sincerely

Eckart Dross, Email: pangaea@maus.com.ar (To be confirmed?)