World Wildlife Fund (WWF) published a report in 2006 that documented the plunder of natural resources by human activity and warned that the globe itself could be outstripped in its capacity to support life, rendering the earth extinct in under 50 years.

Based on scientific data collected from across the globe, it revealed that more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed by human activity in just over the past three decades, because of, among others, increased emissions of green house gases into the ecosystem.

Unless consumption of natural resources was cut and the destruction of vital ecosystems was stopped, human life and that of thousands of other animals and plants would not be sustainable hence the suggestion that the earth itself could be extinct by 2050. In short, the demise of biodiversity will be the death of life on earth, as we know it.

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Consider some of these water facts, and the implications they have for humanity:

Just this week, Sandia National Laboratories warned more than half the countries in the world could face “freshwater stress or shortages” by 2025. By 2050, that percentage could rise to 75 percent.

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After maintaining a stable and affluent country for decades, Côte d'Ivoire fell to a rebellion in 2002 which split the country in two. This led to many human rights violations, with harassment, child soldiers and executions reported on both the rebels and government. The fighting has claimed "thousands of civilian lives and led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people" with over 40% of the population now in poverty. There already exists an arms embargo ban on rough diamonds because of their contribution to the conflict. However, cocoa is still available to on the international market, with an estimated $118 million already used to fund the conflict on both sides.

One quarter of the people of Côte d'Ivoire work in the cocoa sector, which produced 40% of the world's cocoa in 2006. While the south portion of the country, which is under control by the government, grows approximately 90%, the rebel-controlled north produces the remaining 10%. The Global Witness is an independent non-governmental organization which investigates and campaigns on the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict and corruption. They recently published Hot Chocolate: how cocoa fuelled the conflict in Côte d'Ivoire, a report dedicated solely to the cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire and found "cocoa trade have contributed to funding armed conflict and how opportunities for enrichment from cocoa through corruption and misuse of revenues, both by the government and the rebel group Forces Nouvelles (FN), continue to undermine the resolution of the crisis." Both rebels and the government find opportunity to use profits from the sale of cocoa to directly fund their internal conflict, with the government siphoning $38.5 million directly into the war effort. The study found that when people such as journalists, auditors and independent investigators attempted to expose this embezzlement they have been intimated with threats and attacks. In the north the average revenue from cocoa is approximately $30 million through both sales and taxes. Cocoa from the northern zone is exported to Togo and then sold on the international market.

The report calls for the purchasers of cocoa to use their power and demand more transparency and improved management of cocoa revenue from their suppliers. One such way to ensure the chocolate consumers purchase is not supporting arms supplies or political conflicts is to search for Fair Trade chocolate, which, among others, requires transparency.

This is another example of a country's natural resources fuelling conflict, a scenario that has become all too common. Trade is not a simple exchange of commodities, but has extending ramifications across the people, the country and region and ultimately the world. We must adjust our trade practices to include the human element as an important factor, rather than view supply and demands existence within a vacuum. The report calls for the purchasers of cocoa to use their power. They need to demand more transparency and improved management of cocoa revenue from their suppliers. One such way for consumers to ensure the chocolate purchased is not supporting arms supplies or political conflicts is to buy Fair Trade chocolate, which, among others, requires transparency which prevents groups from funnelling revenue into their wars.