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Lessons from the Mayas
The great Maya civilization of southern Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala reached its golden age around A.D. 250. The
civilization flourished for more than 600 years, producing impressive architecture, painting, and pottery, and making
advancements in mathematics and astronomy. Giant metropolises, like Tikal, Piedras Negras, and Uaxactùn,
were built and vast areas of forest were cleared. Then, inexplicably, the Maya civilization declined. The civilization
fell 67 percent between 830-930 A.D. from a peak population density of 2,600 people per square mile in cities, and 520-1,300
people per square mile in rural areas. Archaeologists have spent decades trying to unlock the downfall of the
civilization, and today many believe that the Mayas' exploitation of their environment may have played a major
role. As they cut their forests, soil erosion destroyed their agriculture. They hunted their game, until it was
too scarce to support the rapidly increasing population. The Mayas reached a point when they could no longer feed
their population and the civilization declined. Reduced food availability would result in migration away from urban
centers and possibly a collapse in civil order.
Today, almost 1,100 years later, we are facing many of the same problems as the Mayas: forest loss, soil erosion,
overconsumption, declining freshwater supplies, and overpopulation. It's to be hoped that our civilization can learn from
the downfall of the Mayas and work to develop a more sustainable society.
"Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site. "Jungle" is generally not used.
Recent news
Beef consumption fuels rainforest destruction (02/16/2009)
Nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results from cattle ranching, according to a new report by Greenpeace. The finding confirms what Amazon researchers have long known – that Brazil's rise to become the world's largest exporter of beef has come at the expense of Earth's biggest rainforest.
How to save the Amazon rainforest (01/04/2009)
Environmentalists have long voiced concern over the vanishing Amazon rainforest, but they haven't been particularly effective at slowing forest loss. In fact, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars in donor funds that have flowed into the region since 2000 and the establishment of more than 100 million hectares of protected areas since 2002, average annual deforestation rates have increased since the 1990s, peaking at 73,785 square kilometers (28,488 square miles) of forest loss between 2002 and 2004. With land prices fast appreciating, cattle ranching and industrial soy farms expanding, and billions of dollars' worth of new infrastructure projects in the works, development pressure on the Amazon is expected to accelerate. Given these trends, it is apparent that conservation efforts alone will not determine the fate of the Amazon or other rainforests. Some argue that market measures, which value forests for the ecosystem services they provide as well as reward developers for environmental performance, will be the key to saving the Amazon from large-scale destruction. In the end it may be the very markets currently driving deforestation that save forests.
Amazon rainforest damage surges 67% in 2008 (12/20/2008)
The area of rainforest in the process of being deforested — razed but not yet cleared — surged in the Brazilian Amazon during 2008, according to new figures released by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The announcement comes shortly after the Brazilian government reported a 4 percent increase in forest clearing for the year. Using an advanced satellite system that tracks changes in vegetation cover INPE found that 24,932 square kilometers of Amazon forest was damaged between August 2007 and July 2008, an increase of 10,017 square kilometers -- 67 percent -- over the prior year.
Cutting deforestation can fight climate change, reduce poverty and conflict (09/24/2008)
Forest conservation can play a critical role in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate poverty, said a prominent group of politicians, development experts, and environmental NGOs meeting in New York City to discuss U.S. climate policy.
Future threats to the Amazon rainforest (07/31/2008)
Between June 2000 and June 2008, more than 150,000 square kilometers of rainforest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon. While deforestation rates have slowed since 2004, forest loss is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This is a look at past, current and potential future drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
