Brazil’s chocolate-producing cabruca forests provide protection for endangered golden-headed lion tamarins.
In a small region of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest along the coast of Southern Bahia, it’s easy to spot cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao), many of which are nestled under the canopy of relatively intact rainforest. Cacao provides the principle ingredient in chocolate, cocoa beans. The system of planting cacao under the shade of natural forest is known locally as cabruca, and is prevalent in Southern Bahia.
Today, Southern Bahia’s cocoa growing region is a mosaic of cabruca forests, mono-crop agriculture, pasture for cattle ranching, and a few remaining fragments of lowland Atlantic Forest. These remaining forests, along with cabruca and some second growth, are home to the endangered golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas), a small arboreal primate endemic to Southern Bahia’s lowland forests.
These beautiful gold-and-black monkeys are declining because of continued habitat loss and severe habitat fragmentation. Populations living in small isolated forest islands are vulnerable to extinction and are apt to lose their genetic variability. Genetic variability is the key to resisting disease and surviving environmental catastrophes, and populations with low genetic diversity become more susceptible to local extinction.
To promote the conservation of this rapidly dwindling environment, researchers at the Smithsonian have begun to collaborate with a local NGO in Southern Bahia, the Institute for the Social and Environmental Studies of Southern Bahia (IESB). IESB is actively involved in helping to create sustainable communities, providing environmental education, and assisting landowners with the creation and management of private reserves. Fortunately for the lion tamarins, as well as many other endangered and endemic species to the coastal forests of Southern Bahia, the cocoa crisis may be slowing its pace. Cocoa prices are again beginning to rise, and newer, disease-resistant varieties are now available. Learn more about these fascinating lion tamarins and the work that is being done to protect them at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park website. |
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