Experts predict the world could run out of chocolate within 40 years because cacao plants are struggling to survive in warmer climates.

專家預測稱，由于可可樹生長環境的變化，世界上的巧克力將在40年內消耗殆盡。

The trees can only grow within approximately 20 degrees north and south of the Equator - and they thrive under specific conditions such as high humidity and abundant rain.

可可樹只能在赤道以南或者以北緯度約20度以內的地區生長——且它們需要特定的環境，如較高的濕度和充沛的雨水。

But a temperature rise of just 2.1C over the next 30 years caused by global warming is set to wreak havoc for the plants - and in turn the worldwide chocolate industry, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

但據美國國家海洋和大氣管理局稱，由于全球氣候變暖，導致未來30年氣溫將上升2.1攝氏度，這將給可可樹帶來毀滅性災害，從而影響全球巧克力的生產。

As the mercury rises and squeezes more water out of soil and plants, scientists believe it is unlikely that rainfall will increase enough to offset the moisture loss.

隨著全球氣溫的不斷升高，土壤和可可樹的水分大量蒸發，科學家認為正常的降雨已經無法彌補水分的流失。

That means cacao production areas are set to be pushed thousands of feet uphill into mountainous terrain which is carefully preserved for wildlife by 2050.

如此一來，可可生產區的范圍得不斷向數千英尺高的山上移動，到2050年，可可樹的種植區很可能被迫移至野生動物保護區。

Officials in countries such as C?te d’Ivoire and Ghana - which produce more than half of the world’s chocolate - will face an agonising dilemma over whether to maintain the world’s supply of chocolate or to save their dying ecosystems.

屆時，科特迪瓦、加納等可可的主要生產國家——全球一半以上的可可出自這里——就會面臨困境：到底要確保世界范圍內巧克力的供給，還是要挽救瀕危的生態系統。

Last year experts predicted that the world was heading for a ’chocolate deficit’ as shoppers in developing countries snapped up more of the sweet treat.

由于越來越多的發展中國家的消費者開始熱衷巧克力這種點心，專家曾在去年預測，全球將面臨“巧克力短缺”的問題。

The typical Western consumer eats an average of 286 chocolate bars a year - more if they are from Belgium, the research titled Destruction by Chocolate found.

一篇名為“巧克力的毀滅”的報道稱，西方國家的消費者一人每年平均約吃掉286塊巧克力——如果是比利時的人，還不止這么多。

For 286 bars, producers need to plant 10 cacao trees to make the cocoa and the butter - the key ingredients in the production of chocolate.

生產商需要種植10棵可可樹，才能獲得生產286塊巧克力所需的關鍵原料：可可和黃油。

Since the 1990s, more than a billion people from China, Indonesia, India, Brazil and the former Soviet Union have entered the market for cocoa.

自從上世紀90年代開始，來自中國、印度尼西亞、印度、巴西和前蘇聯等國家的超過10億人也加入了可可消費大軍。

Despite the increased demand, supply has not kept up and stockpiles of cocoa are said to be falling.

然而，需求不斷增加的同時，可可的儲存量卻在下滑。

Doug Hawkins, from London-based research firm Hardman Agribusiness, said production of cocoa is under strain as farming methods have not changed for hundreds of years.

倫敦一家調研公司的道格.霍金斯認為，可可產量變少，是因為過去幾百年來，它的耕作方式沒有發生變化。

He said: ’Unlike other tree crops that have benefited from the development of modern, high yielding cultivars and crop management techniques to realise their genetic potential, more than 90 per cent of the global cocoa crop is produced by smallholders on subsistence farms with unimproved planting material.’

他說，“與其他得利于現代、高產和作物管理技術的作物不同，他們的產量得到了大幅提升，然而，全球超過90%的可可都是由小農戶生產的，他們的種植方式一直沒有升級改善。”

Some reports suggest cocoa growers in the world’s top producer country, Ivory Coast, have resorted to illegally farming protected forests to meet demand - what Mr Hawkins calls ’destruction by chocolate’.

一些報道稱，作為世界上最大的可可生產國，科特迪瓦的種植者為了確保滿足市場需求而在封禁區種植可可，霍金斯稱之為“巧克力毀滅”。

He said: ’All the indicators are that we could be looking at a chocolate deficit of 100,000 tonnes a year in the next few years.’

他說，“所有這些跡象都表明，未來幾年來，巧克力的年供應量將出現10萬噸的缺口。”