|
|
|
         
|
Destruction of the Rainforest: What's Happening and What Can We Do? Any discussion of tropical plants requires a look at the rapid destruction of their native lands. Tropical rainforests of the world are being cut down, bulldozed and burned at an incredibly rapid rate-100 acres a minute. That's roughly the equivalent of 70 football fields every 60 seconds. Or to bring it home, an area the size of San Francisco, approximately 31,000 acres, is destroyed every five hours. What's Happening? The forests are being destroyed by industrial interests, including timber, cattle, oil and mining. In Asia, Africa and South America, logging is a major industry. Trees are used for paper products, furniture, lumber, pencils and more. The methods for harvesting these trees are extremely destructive and huge areas are destroyed at once by the heavy machinery used to harvest specific trees. Much of the beef used by American fast food restaurants, frozen food producers and pet food manufacturers comes from the rainforest areas of Central and South America. To create pastures for grazing, huge tracts of forested land are set on fire to clear them. Ranchers then grow grass for their cattle. The soil isn't nutritious enough to sustain the pastureland for long, and after a few years, more forest must be cleared to make way for new grazing areas. Oil drilling is another major factor in the destruction of the rainforests. Trees are cut down and millions of acres of rainforest are cleared to make room for oil roads, pipelines and machinery. Additional complications arise when oil spills occur, polluting the soil and rivers. Strip mining is another contributor to the loss of rainforests. The Amazon rainforest is home to one of the world's largest iron ore reserves as well as gold, semiprecious and precious stones, and bauxite (used to produce aluminum). Strip mining is a common mining practice that clears enormous areas of land every year. In addition, further destruction is caused by the pollution generated by these mining operations as their constant flow of water runoff carries the waste mercury, oil and other pollutants used in mining operations into rivers and streams. On a smaller scale, family farmers and loggers feel they have no option but to deforest in order to feed their families. Many of them rely on the slash and burn method to clear the land and provide soil nutrients. But this provides only a short term solution. The hot and humid conditions of the rainforest dramatically accelerate the decomposition process and the nutrients from the burned flora are typically used up by crops within three years. The farmer is then forced to move on, clearing more acreage. Erosion and the loss of valuable top soil is another consequence of this mass deforestation. Forests can act like giant sponges absorbing enormous quantities of rain. Without the abundant plant life, the rains simply wash away the valuable topsoil, and sometimes cause catastrophic flooding. At the political level, the rainforest countries, like Brazil, Malaysia and Ecuador have weak economies and big national debts. The World Bank estimates that half the population of the tropics is living in poverty. Of course, the rainforest is seen as a financial resource by these countries, yet some people feel that the policies of governments and multinational banks encourage practices that produce short term profit and long term destruction. Sadly, this same destruction occurred here. We have only 3% of our temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest. In California, we have only 2% of our old-growth redwood forest left. Throughout the US, we have only 4% of our virgin forests left. What Are We Losing? We're losing animal and plant species at the rate of six extinctions every hour worldwide. We're losing possible medical cures before scientists have a chance to discover them. From heart disease, to cancer, to glaucoma, many of the important medicines used today come from rainforest plants. At this rate of extinction we may just possibly lose something of vital importance. Rainforest plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. We're losing this valuable source of air as the rainforests are eliminated. And finally, indigenous people are being pushed out of their ancestral homes. Their culture is being lost as well as their intimate knowledge of uses of rainforest plants. The Good News Awareness of the problem is becoming widespread and changes are occurring. An environmental group in the US successfully organized a boycott of a fast food chain that was the largest importer of Central American beef. The hamburger company stopped using imported beef. Because of an organized consumer letter writing campaign, one of the large home improvement stores has stopped buying old-growth timber. Many other stores now only sell sustainable harvested timber. Preserves and sanctuaries are appearing throughout the world's rainforests. The Kuna Indians, of Panama, have created a 5,000 acre biological research park. The rubber tappers of Brazil have forced the government of Brazil to declare a large tract of forest as a preserve for their work and collecting nuts and fruits. What We Can Do Buying teak and mahogany furniture, using only one side of a piece of paper, driving when we can walk, all these things contribute to the destruction of the rainforests. We can become conscientious consumers. There are a number of things we can do to help the situation:
In all things you do, practice the environmentally sound use and reuse of our resources. This will not only have a positive impact on the tropical rainforest but on all the ecosystems of the world. << back to Activities Index |
