From the editor.

• Position: Editorial

In a place where silence reigns in the ocean depths surrounding the remote Isla del Coco in Costa Rica, a group of voracious predators is exercising control over the food chain. They are endangered, however, and if they were to go extinct, ocean systems could collapse. In this issue, Americas is a witness to this story.

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Moving from turbulent ocean waters to the highlands between Bolivia and Peru, we see Aymara and Quechua inhabitants of the area navigate their caballitos de totora (reed boats) on Lake Titicaca. Titicaca, one of the highest lakes in the world, is part of a border that is artificial in cultural terms; life on both sides of the lake is imbued with the legends and myths of the Inca and pre-Inca periods.

Also in the Andes, deep in the rainforests of Ecuador, forests are being emptied of wildlife as vulnerable populations of animals are facing the possibility of ecological extinction. Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, an OAS financed initiative is contributing to the survival of the harmless Antiguan Racer snake and discovering new challenges to maintaining the delicate ecological balance of the island.

In other climates, thousands of coffee producers in formerly conflictive areas like Chiapas, Mexico are finding ways to make a living in ecotourism. And in Colombia, coffee farmers are preparing "the world's best coffee" for the most demanding consumers on the planet.

Americas has sent the best and most intrepid writers and photographers to the coast...