Opponents of a plan to use biological agents against Colombia’s 740,000 acres (300,000 hectares) of coca crops are claiming victory following a decision last month by Colombia’s Environment Minister to squelch the controversial program. Scientists and concerned citizens from dozens of non-governmental organizations in Europe, Latin America and the United States joined forces last year to warn that biological coca controls would threaten human health, livestock, and biodiversity in the Amazon region, where most of the coca is grown. Now they’re exulting following the government’s formal decision to back down. “I hope this will be the end of a dangerous program that poses real threats to the rainforest and human health,” says Darío González, an agronomist who directs the non-governmental Institute of Development... [Log in to read more]