The Rainforest cREMedia 1994 All Rights Reserved. DEBATES Pressures on the rainforests Huge tracts of forest are disappearing at a phenomenal rate. Not only does it affect the culture and lifestyles of indigenous people, it contributes to plant and animal species extinction, loss of sustainable food and medicinal products, long term loss of income, changes in climate, soil erosion which causes river siltation and ultimately in some areas to loss of life through major landslides and flooding. These are only a few of the serious consequences that will continue if rainforests are destroyed at the present rate. Logging/clear cutting Loggers only want high quality timber. Woods like mahogany, teak and rosewood are prized in furniture-making. Many other items are produced from these woods including floors, boats, doors and shipping containers. Other woods like balsa and sandalwood are also extracted from tropical rainforests. Extensive logging has already meant that some areas in South East Asia and Africa must now import timber. Badly managed logging operations means many more tropical countries will have to import timber in the near future. Clear-cut logging involves removing all vegetation from a small area. Strips of forest ranging between 75 and 100 ft wide are cleared. They are often no wider that a natural gap formed by storm damage and seed-dispersing animals and wind play an important part in reseeding the cleared area. Thus the area is allowed to regenerate naturally. Plantations To meet the demand for timber and forest resources some companies have turned to tree plantations. Cultivating one or two trees of the same type is believed to aid productivity levels but several plantations have been completely destroyed by disease and pests. When biological diversity is lost from an area trees are less likely to be able to resist insect infestation and fungal infections. Some experts advocate planting fast growing trees as part of reforestation projects. Restoring forest cover quickly allows animals and birds to continue to move about freely. This in turn aids in dispersing the seeds of a wide variety of tropical species and, given the time to develop, will result in a new rainforest. Unfortunately it is rarely given the time to re-establish before secondary growth is cut down for fuelwood, crop growing or pasture. Mining Although not the main cause of deforestation, mining contributes much forest destruction in Brazil, Papua New Guinea, the Phillipines and Indonesia. Access roads created by mining companies destroy huge tracts of previously untouched rainforest providing entry to thousands of illegal migrant gold miners, called garimpeiros. As well as extracting minerals, the miners cut large areas in the forest to be used as airstrips. The situation was redressed slightly in South America when in 1990 Brazil's president, Fernando Collor de Mello ordered his troops to dynamite more than 100 of the miners' airstrips. Miners have introduced new diseases to which natives have no immunity and many have died as a result. Many tribes have suffered further atrocities, such as murder and rape, at the hands of miners. Until 1990 when they were expelled from Yanomami territory, one Yanomami indian died every single day. Excess water from the high pressure water operations used to extract minerals forms pools where mosquitoes breed causing malaria which is a very serious problem in mining areas. Oil The discovery of oil and its extraction is responsible for the depletion of large areas of rainforest. Mis-managed oil drilling produces widespread contamination. Pollution from waste products such as cyanides and sulphates, and large spillages of oil often prove fatal for nearby plants and animals. Indigenous people and oil workers can also experience respiratory problems caused by air pollution. Dam building Each day water flowing through the Amazon river and its tributaries accounts for one fifth of the whole world's freshwater making it a vital source of energy. Electricity is more efficient than charcoal or wood but harnessing this power means flooding thousands of acres of virgin rainforest to build hydroelectric dams. Building dams is an extremely costly operation and governments hire huge international companies to carry out the work. In time the banks at the sides of the reservoirs become so badly eroded that they fill up the reservoir with silt causing extensive damage to the dam and render it useless. One dam in Colombia only lasted for 15 years due to silt choking the dam's machinery whilst another in the Phillipines has had its life expectancy reduced by half. Some gases make the water acidic which corrodes the dam's equipment. The still reservoir waters provide an excellent breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitos and the proliferation of algae and water weeds cause further damage to machinery and suffocation of aquatic life. Cattle ranching Burning down the rainforest for cattle ranching is a major cause of deforestation, particularly in Central and South America. Because of an already impoverished soil it requires approximately 6 acres to raise just one animal. Substantial areas, therefore, are needed for cattle to graze. In the past easy loans given to ranchers by the World Bank and attractive subsidies provided by the governments of rainforest countries have in no small measure contributed to the explosion in the numbers of cattle ranchers today. Beef production in some Central American countries has tripled in the past 30 years. It is cheaper for the United States to import beef from Central America for use in fast food restaurants and pet food than it is to produce it domestically. Most of the beef produced in Central and South America is imported to the United States. Slash and burn farmers Thousands of peasants have migrated into the rainforests, some with a small amount of financial backing from their governments. In countries where no government assistance is available the movement into the forests is often a question of survival for its poor. Their situation is desperate. Large areas of forest have succumbed to a farming method called 'slash and burn' agriculture. Trees are cut down and set on fire to clear the land. As used by migrant peasants this is a destructive farming practice. Crop productivity is short-lived mainly because the soil is so poor but also because the settlers do not have the knowledge to manage it properly. During this time they also remove the limbs of surrounding trees to make charcoal to sell or to be used as fuel for cooking and warmth. Today the number of subsistence farmers in the rainforests far outnumber indigenous people and that number is escalating. Population The continuing rise in population levels has a devastating impact on rainforest. Millions of destitute peasants seeking to support themselves and their families migrate into the forests. Generating jobs and a fair income in developing countries is not easy. A peasant may only receive between $30 and $60 for the endangered Phillipine mahogany, or lauan, tree that has taken a week to remove from the forest. The same tree when turned into furniture might fetch thousands of dollars in the United States, Europe or Japan. There are timber companies who pay as little as $5 for tropical hardwood trees. Some Governments and environmentalists are working together with indigenous people and subsistence farmers to create markets outside of rainforest countries for sustainably harvested resources. For example, several small projects have been started to add value to wood before it leaves its country of origin. One method of adding value to wood is to persuade rainforest inhabitants to make quality furniture and wood by-products, such as parquet fooring, from alternative hardwood trees to those which are endangered. These can then be sold at a higher price that they would have received by selling raw logs. Japan is the major importer of raw logs, the majority coming from Borneo. In 1992 the state government of Sabbah banned the export of raw logs. Only processed logs can now be exported. Selective logging and strip felling Only high quality lumber is of value to loggers but when an area of rainforest is cleared to obtain these prized trees a great many others are destroyed in the process. Alternative removal methods are being tried in some areas. The trees in a given area are counted and a management plan works out how many can be removed from that particular area per year without harming the ecological balance. Chainsaws or specially designed saws, at the site of the tree cut the timber into manageable pieces. The logs are hauled out upward by winches and ropes, or helicopters. Elephants may be used to drag the logs through the forest to collection points on the road, thereby minimising damage. Unfortunately when loggers move on, migrant settlers take advantage of newly opened roads and burn the remainder of the vegetation to clear the land for farming. Strip felling to remove valuable hardwoods is clearcutting on a smaller scale. It involves removing all vegetation from a smaller area. Strips of forest ranging between 75 and 100 ft wide are cleared. These are often no wider that a natural gap formed by storm damage. Seed-dispersing animals and wind play an important part in reseeding the cleared area. Thus the area is allowed to regenerate naturally. Debts for Nature Tropical rainforests are mostly located in developing countries which between them have debts of over $1 trillion. Some developing countries are aware of the need to preserve their forests for long term reward but do not have the financial back-up. Debts-for-Nature swaps were first proposed in the 1980s by Dr Thomas E Lovejoy whereby conservation groups such as Conservation International , purchase, at a reduced cost, some of a country's debt from the lending banks and lending nations. In return the debtor country's government guarantees to undertake local projects to protect its rainforest. Over $59 million has been generated for conservation efforts since 1987. For example, a Debt-for-Nature swap in 1989 between Madagascar and the World Wildlife Fund amounting to $3 million is being used in an educational programme which teaches ecology as part of the school curriculum in that country. This is only one of many projects aimed at helping rainforest countries. Reserves and Parks Extractive reserves are legally protected zones which do not allow deforestation practices. The inner zone is an area in which seringueiros and indigenous people are given the freedom to harvest the forests rich resources without causing harm to the environment. They can sell their products in local markets and abroad. Research scientists and tourists are visitors of the outer zone providing an additional source of income without harming the rainforests. In the Amazonian rainforest alone seven and a half million acres have been set aside as official extractive reserves. The first extractive reserves were established in the Amazonian rainforest in 1988. Today, in that area, seven and a half million acres have been set aside as official extractive reserves. Establishing extractive reserves and National Parks is an important step in protecting the rainforests. Korup National Park in Africa contains rainforest which may be 150 million years old. It has the largest variety of plant and animal species in West Africa. Half of Cameroon's bird species are found there. Agroforestry Agroforestry involves growing several species of tree and crops side by side which provides the small farmer with a diverse supply of fuel, medicine, food, tools and construction materials. Animals are also sometimes raised to provide food and crop manure. For hundreds of years indigenous people have grown an enormous variety of crops and trees in their garden plots. Destitute peasants often don't possess this knowledge. Various educational programmes on agroforestry and initiation projects providing start-up loans are being set up in various countries to help the poor. Its success to some degree depends on land tenure. In developing countries the vast majority of land, in some cases as much as 99%, is owned by the government and a few wealthy landowners. When farmers are left to work the land using agroforestry technology, without fear of eviction or huge rent increases, this method of farming provides all the resources needed by farmers and their families to meet their daily needs. Millions of acres of pristine rainforest have been turned into tree farms. Growing one or two trees of the same type is believed to increase productivity but several plantations have been completely destroyed by disease and pests. When biological diversity is lost from an area, trees are less likely to be able to resist insect infestation and fungal infections. The answer may be to plant quick growing trees, helping to restore forest cover. This allows animals and birds to move about freely, and aids dispersal of a wide variety of tropical seeds, laying the foundation for new rainforest. Floresta Ecotourism Nature tourism is growing at a rate of 25-30 per cent a year and already accounts for 15% of the tourist market. Ecotourism can benefit a developing country in many ways. The host country may receive a share in the tour operators profits by funding of conservation projects in that country. Increased tourism leads to the creation of jobs and income for local people in catering for visitors. Governments of rainforest countries may be encouraged to do more to save this valuable resource when they see the foreign income it generates. Sadly, unless the influx of visitors into this fragile landscape is controlled it could lead to severe environmental disturbance. The Ecotourism Society, founded in 1990, is an organisation working to ensure that rainforest habitats and local people are protected. What can we do? Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. Edmund Burke Do you think our rainforests are worth saving? There are many ways in which we can help. Here are just a few to start with but they WILL make a difference. The animation on this page shows you what YOU can do to help.