Deforestation

Deforestation

 [|Deforestation - Wikipedia]  Summaries

 [|Rainforests turned into smoldering ruins]

December 6, 2009 Arwa Damon CNN

Indonesia is known for its terrible deforestation and willingness to log. The scenes depicted in this article are gruesome and saddening, maybe post-apocalyptic. But this is "reality in Sumatra," the largest of Indonesia's islands. The Kampar Peninsula, once the most biodiverse of all forests is now fragmented and hellish. Environmentalists blame the billion dollar paper, pulp, and palm oil industries for the despicable degradation of Indonesia's precious forests. These Sumatran forests, 85% of which are now gone, are not only important homes for millions of rare species, but they are also the key to indigenous peoples' livelihoods.

A small town on a riverbank in the Kampar Peninsula, Teluk Meranti, relies heavily upon the forest for its inhabitants' everyday lives. Without the forest, life is intolerable and cruel. It is key that something be done about this, because without these forest climate change will continue to accelerate at alarming rates, biodiversity will never be the same, and the lives of people will be forever changed.

 [|Last of the Amazon]

January 2007 Scott Wallace National Geographic

Wallace starts this short expose on the Amazon deforestation with a profound quote: //"In the time it takes to read this article, an area of Brazil's rain forest larger than 200 football fields will have been destroyed."// These words contain an ounce of truth, which is more than enough to worry. Non-government funded deforestation occurs daily throughout the Amazon region threatening indigenous people and rare species. And at the alarming rate at which this illegal logging is taking place, many estimate the Amazon will be no more in decades to come.

Wallace's use of "proper nouns" in this piece are key. The people and entities affected by those are those he interviewed and researched with great detail. The first he mentions is Jose Rosa, a proud Amazonian landowner. He discovered that people are illegally logging his land and not much is done about it, due to local government corruption and lack of police force. But the "good" police are hopeful, because a new satellite system will be implemented soon so that when these things happen they'll know sooner. One expressed doubt, however, stating that they don't even have internet.

Another story he explains is the story of Sister Dorothy Stang, murdered for protecting the forest. She was a vegetarian and a proponent of human rights and environmental conservation. For that reason, she was shot. Before she was shot, at the age of 73, her goal was to save Lot 55. To this day, its future is still uncertain.

Mato Grasso, a Brazilian State governed by Blairo Maggi ("King of Soy"), is one of the biggest soy producers in the world. This comes, hand-in-hand, with an unsustainable environment. He also created the Maggi Group to help trade the soy. And, as Maggi gets wealthier the environment of Mato Grasso becomes less healthy. To him, deforestation is a "phobia" and an over-exaggeration and Stang's vision is "completely wrong." Despite his backwards mindset, Maggi has prospered and has garnered much support. He does things legally, and in his mind, sustainably. But, the affects of his industry do not go unnoticed by the indigenous people. They drink the pesticide-poisoned ground water. These indigenous people, the Indians, are believed to be able to help end illegal deforestation thanks to their strong willingness to fight back.

Finally Wallace interviews Auricelia Nunes, head of the local Rural Workers Union and her husband Everaldo Pimentel. They live as "traditional farmers" on a nice ranch, but this was not the feature of Wallace's interview. Instead, it was the place Pimentel grew up. Pimentel's father sold the beautiful land to a complete stranger, and before he knew it, there were no trees left.

 [|The Rain Forest in Rio's Backyard]

Virginia Morell National Geographic

Many people are familiar with the Amazon forest in South America, but few know of the equally majestic Atlantic forest of Brazil. However, in recent years, its proximity to big cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have put the forest at risk.

The Mata Atlantica (as the Brazilians call it) once covered about 520000 square miles. Now only 7% of it remains - in fragments. Conservation International also declared it a biodiversity hotspot, and ranked it as one of the top five in terms of endemism. Some of these species include the elusive maned sloth and the golden lion tamarin.

One of Brazil's goals to "fix" the region is to link the fragments of the forest together by creating "new forest" and existing agriculture. This corridor is still considered, but highly doubted to be able to revive the rain forest.

To further worsen things, it wasn't until the 1980's that the Brazilians discovered its high levels of biodiversity, and it wasn't until the 1990's that they began enforcing laws. These laws are fairly strict, but many still chop trees down individually and slowly ("nibbling) which in return slowly ruins the forest's chances at recovering. In fact, the forest's chances at being what it once was are bleak. :(  //"The tragedy of the Mata Atlantica is that so much of its biodiversity has already been lost."//

 [|Indonesia Walks a "Tricky" Path Toward Growth and Sustainability]

March 22, 2010 Jessica Leber The New York Times

Indonesia was once home to current President Barack Obama, so it was obvious he'd visit. His upcoming visit, however, will not be reminisce and talk foreign policy. Instead, the President plans to meet with Indonesian officials to discuss Climate Change and deforestation.

This developing nation is vying for more attention in the U.N. and has declared that it will reduce emissions by 26% to convey commitment, and if enough foreign aid is "donated," that number will increase to 41%, something that my prove difficult for the nation. Indonesia relies heavily upon its landscape, unlike other industrializing nations in the G-20. Logging is economically sound but environmentally detrimental. Government officials, though, are trying to enact plans that "slow deforestation and land degradation." These plans will do nothing to stop deforestation, though.

This is where REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) comes in. REDD is a U.N. proposal meant to cut greenhouse gas emissions by "investing" billions into the prevention of deforestation. Officials hope this money (an estimated $3.5 billion) will help. But hope can only do so much for a nation that relies heavily upon logging, something vital to its economic growth and development.

The government is doing as much as it can, but much of the logging is done illegally, and nothing is being done about it. About 75% of the forest and peatland conversion that has been accomplished recently was illegal. "'Provincial governments are often cozy with industries, and the federal government looks the other way,'" is what one campaigner had to say of the matter. This once again puts emphasis on the inaction. But, pressure has been put on Indonesia to use less destructive methods. It is countries like China and India, however, that pressure Indonesia more for their products, and not to veer towards sustainability.

In conclusion, the government is looking to implement tactics like:

 But the problem remains: What will become of the land that is yet to be cut?
 * intensifying plantings, "producing more product on less land"
 * replant trees and restore peat