The fires displace wildlife and human settlements alike.

At the opposite end of the country, in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, unlawful drug traffickers damage precious reef nurseries by irresponsibly steering ships and dumping cocaine in the tropical waters.

Tons of clandestine narcotics shipments require collusion from local community members as deliveries utilize and covertly defile natural, protected areas. One such area is the Isla Tiburón in the Gulf of California, where Conca?ac (Seri) indigenous proprietors have seen the trade mounting for several decades. But these cases represent only a smattering of the environmental impact of drug lords.

The black market in narcotics wreaks havoc with the ecosystem. This happens wherever illegal substances are produced, where they are processed, along their shipping routes, in the drug-money laundering process, and in the operations to squelch the underground economy. Not to mention the establishment of furtive channels for species trafficking along the way.

Over the years, some statistics have been revealed about the dastardly effects of allowing this corruption to continue draining natural resources. But by and large the problem is being overlooked. Wallace J. Nichols, founder of the international Ocean Revolution program for budding conservationists, calls drug corruption the elephant in the corner of marine conservation.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recognizes that smuggling lanes for arms and narcotics are also being used to carry out prohibited trade in wildlife. Why wouldn?t they, when the illegal trade in wildlife worldwide is estimated at more than US$10 billion annually? That?s according to the Washington-based Monitor consortium of conservation groups. Some sources say more money is being made off species trafficking than off drug trafficking.

By the same token, drug traffickers use legal wildlife shipments to conceal their illegitimate cargo. They?ve killed animals by forcing them full of cocaine or heroin. At least one drug-smuggling ring is known to organize hunts of protected jaguars and deliver the trophies to the United States.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged that smugglers frequently trade drugs for endangered species. But the U.N. 2006 World Drug Report completely ignores the effects narcotics traffic has on nature and the question of how it impedes conservation. This is especially worrisome for Latin American countries where much of the narcotics and protected species originate.

These conditions create unfair competition that stunts the legal wildlife trade on which many Mexican and other Latin American communities depend. In addition, drug cartels inhibit enforcement of species-protection laws with threats and bribes that undercut inspection efforts.

LUCRATIVE DRAW

The lucrative nature of the drug trade draws people away from more sustainable occupations, such as tourism or small-scale agriculture. In the wake of drug planting, federal counter attacks on narcotics plantations sully land, water and air even further. Laundered drug money is poured into condominium high rises or other construction projects that ruin the scenery and the health of ecosystems.

Hazardous waste remains from the pesticides and chemical precursors necessary to commercialize illegal narcotics. For example, every pound of methamphetamines made in Mexico for U.S. consumption leaves behind five to seven pounds of toxic substances such as sodium hydroxide (drain opener lye), hydrochloric acid, hydrogen sulfide, and toluene.

As if the health risks from taking drugs weren?t enough, the additional perils of these residues set up innocent bystanders for burn damage from corrosive and flammable materials. Children exposed to chemicals in clandestine drug laboratories suffer kidney, spleen, and liver damage. They exhibit emotional and behavioral problems as well.

The links between drug and wildlife contraband should be a binational concern for Mexico and the United States.

According to a U.S. State Department report of March 2006, Mexico is: the principal transit country for 70 to 90 percent of cocaine entering the United States; the supplier of 30 percent of the heroin; and the largest outside source of marijuana and methamphetamine. The United States has as many as 13.6 million illicit-drug users, depending on the year of data collection.

Of course, everything in the underground is hard to pin down, but that doesn?t mean we should bury our heads in the sand and let it go unchecked.

If narcotics are decriminalized, then the black market might cave in, and along with it the smuggling relationships that undermine conservation efforts. In the meantime, the best hopes for holding it at bay are grassroots community-based initiatives, accompanied by high-level regional cooperation. A comprehensive effort would cover everything from beefing up inspections programs to warning consumers against purchasing wildlife products of dubious origin.

A concerted campaign would strike a blow at syndicated global crime, giving legitimate developing economies a boost and helping preserve the world?s natural heritage. In the process, it would provide a step toward some greater modicum of national security.

talli@hughes.net