U.S. COULD FIGHT DRUG WAR WITH KILLER FUNGUS

U.N. Urged To Start Tests On Colombia's Jungle Coca Crop

BOGOTA, Colombia -- On a tropical Hawaiian island, a killer fungus
once ravaged a field of coca bushes that Coca-Cola hoped would provide
flavouring for its soft drinks.

The plague in the 1970s ruined Coca-Cola's plan to buy coca outside
the Andean region. But it excited counter-drug experts in Washington,
who later spent millions of dollars, some of it secretly, on a quest
for a biological weapon to destroy the Andean bushes fuelling the
cocaine trade.

Now, under prodding from Washington, a United Nations agency wants to
test the laboratory-grown fungus on a small plot in Colombia, where
much of the world's coca is grown. The proposal has whipped up a minor
tempest.

Opponents say the fungus might be toxic to farmers and wreak havoc on
jungles that are treasures of biodiversity. Advocates say the fungus
may be a "silver bullet" that kills coca plants and leaves other
plants unaffected.

"Our experts tell us that it is worth trying," said Klaus Nyholm,
director of the U.N. Drug Control Program's office in Colombia and
Ecuador.

U.S. scientists say they don't know yet whether the fungus would
safely kill the nearly 150,000 hectares of coca grown in Colombia
without affecting other flora, or even human life.

"The tests show so far that it is a reasonably good control agent. But
I wouldn't extrapolate from that that it will work in Colombia," said
Eric Rosenquist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Research
Service in Maryland. "The ecology is different. There are competing
organisms."

Colombian Senator

U.S. counter-drug experts, though, cite compelling reasons to
experiment further with the fungus, fusarium oxysporum, which is
considered a plant pathogen, or mycoherbicide.

They say the fungus can be attached to seeds and dropped from high
altitude. That beats the current strategy, in which U.S.-financed crop
dusters buzz illegal coca fields at 45 metres or so. Gunmen have hit
spray planes 36 times so far this year, U.S. officials say. Moreover,
planes could fly at night to drop the fungus, using sensors to target
coca fields.

"It looks incredibly promising," said Richard Baum, a policy analyst
at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "However,
we are waiting for the results of tests, and will proceed only if the
scientists working with the government of Colombia tell us that
mycoherbicides are safe."

While aides to Colombian President Andres Pastrana have reportedly
expressed a "keen interest" to the U.N. agency to test the fungus,
Environment Minister Juan Mayr is adamantly opposed.

"I told them, 'Gentlemen, your project is not welcome,' " Mayr
said.

Last year, amid an outcry from environmentalists and ranchers, the
state of Florida shelved a plan to test another strain of fusarium
oxysporum against illegal marijuana crops.

"If it's bad for Florida, why is it good for us?" said Senator Rafael
Orduz, who called a hearing on the plan to test the fungus in early
June.

For most of the last decade, the U.S. government has used chemical
herbicides against coca plants in Colombia, fighting a losing battle.

A hunt for a biological alternative to chemical herbicides against
coca began in earnest in 1987, with secret U.S. funding and classified
research.

The research quickly focused on the fungus which was identified
through DNA testing as the cause of the wilt in Hawaii a decade earlier.

U.N. Official

Coca-Cola has relied on the coca leaf for flavouring since 1905,
according to Rafael Fernandez, a company spokesperson. But the cocaine
content is taken out under a process controlled by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration.

The focus on the fungus gained new impetus between 1990 and 1992, when
an outbreak hit Peru's Upper Huallaga Valley, its largest source of
coca. The fungus wilted tens of thousands of hectares of coca.

As Washington's interest in the fungus grew, U.S. scientists tested it
to see whether it would target only coca - or harm other plants as
well.

"Over 100 plant species have been tested for susceptibility to this
pathogen. None have been adversely affected," said a report released
last month from U.S. drug expert Barry McCaffrey's office.

The fungus is among the most common on Earth. Hundreds of strains
exist, each attacking a specific plant. Virtually all cultivated
plants have a fusarium specific to it.

Proposed use of the fungus has generated cries of alarm from concerned
lay people over what they view as experimental biowarfare. Some fear
the fungus could mutate and threaten Colombia's delicate Amazon
region, one of the most diverse regions on Earth, or release toxins
that could sicken humans with weak immune systems.

Legal concerns have also arisen over the proposed testing.

Orduz, the Colombian senator, said he is unhappy with clauses in the
U.N. proposal that make Colombia's government liable should any
problems arise during testing, while it forgoes any intellectual right
to the results.

"The feeling I get from our contacts is that the Colombians feel that
this is politically - well, not dangerous - but sensitive," said
Nyholm, the U.N. agency director.