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Baobab trees amoung rice paddies in Madagascar. (Photo by R. Butler)
SECONDARY FOREST PRODUCTS
There is great potential for the development of secondary forest products on a large scale to contribute to local
and national income through the global market. Some forest products can be domesticated and cultivated on a widespread
basis on highly degraded and formerly forested lands. Many of these products are better suited to the tropical
environment and produce greater economic returns at less fiscal and environmental costs.
As discussed earlier, small farmers can be incorporated into the national economy and large-scale agricultural
production by the promotion of small agroforestry plots.
FOODS
There are countless rainforest products that can be harvested sustainably or at least used more efficiently in
the place of the existing products. The keys are to develop these products, bring them to market, and then actually sell them.
Cultivated Foods
Many of the foods we eat today have their origins in the rainforest, including the avocado, banana, Brazil nuts,
cassava/manioc, cashews, chocolate/cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, coconut, coffee, cola, corn/maize, eggplant, fig, ginger,
grapefruit, guava, herbal tea ingredients, jalapeno, lemon, mango, orange, papaya, peanut, pepper, pineapple, potato,
rice, squash, sugar cane, tomato, and vanilla. But there are still many more that have yet to be developed to their
fullest potential: of the 3,000 rainforest fruits, only 200 are regularly used.
Of the estimated 25,000 to 30,000 species of plants that have edible parts, only about 7,000 have been cultivated
or collected over history. Of these, only 20 species provide 90 percent of the food needs, while rice, wheat, and maize
make up more than 50 percent of cultivated foods. Tropical agriculture with conventional crops usually has proven to be
a failure because tropical forest lands are rife with pests, disease, poor soils, drought, and inconsistent rainfall.
Tropical agriculture based on these few crops rarely eases poverty for local people and does not generate a sustained
contribution to national income.
We need to experiment with other plants, especially those that would be better situated to cultivation in the tropics.
For example, the Buruti palm of the Amazon produces a vitamin-rich fruit with a bread-like pith, while two plants
from West Africa produce compounds thousands of times sweeter than sucrose and could be used as natural sweeteners.
Animal-based foods
Similarly, rainforest animals have great potential as semi-domesticated food animals for the tropics. These are
far better suited to the tropical climate and tropical ecosystems than domestic animals brought from more temperate
climates that are destructive of the rainforest lands and species. Using native animals means less environmental
impact, greater diversity of animal-based foods, and a far greater efficiency of production than cattle.
Tropical species with potential as sources of meat include Amazon river turtles (Podocnemus sp), which have long
been harvested (usually unsustainably) from their native habitat for their excellent meat. These turtles
can be easily cultivated in cement ponds located along the floodplains of tropical rivers and raised on aquatic
vegetation and fruit. The turtle produces 22,000 pounds of meat per acre (24,659 kg per hectare) more than 400
times the yield of cattle raised in pastures and in a far less costly manner to the environment.
The green iguana of Central and South America has been over-hunted for its chicken-like meat and is endangered
in some of its range. The iguana has great potential and is already being raised in farms in Central America. Iguanas
can be ten times as productive in terms of yield as cattle on the same land, reducing the need to clear additional
forest areas for pasture. The capybara (the world's largest rodent), chachalacas (like tropical chickens), and paca
(cat-sized rodents) are other New World mammals that could provide sources of tropical meat without major disruption
to the ecosystem. These are just a sampling (from the New World alone) of tropical species that could productively
replace temperate domestic animals in the tropics.
In 1994, wheat grew on 573 million acres (232 million ha) of land around the world. With an average of 2 million
stalks per hectare, the total number of individuals exceeds 464 trillion individuals. Clearly wheat is not an endangered
species, but because of selective breeding toward genetic uniformity, wheat has lost most of its populations and
hence its genetic variability. What is the recourse if a disease breaks out in this gargantuan monoculture? Most
likely scientists will scour the few wild places left on Earth for the remaining wild strains of wheat in hopes
of finding genetic traits that will offer resistance to the pest.
Rotten cacao pods in Sulawesi. Sulawesi is the world's third leading producer of cacao but its crop has been hard hit by cocoa pod borer and disease. Ongoing research on the Indonesian island is looking at ways to control these agricultural pathogens.
In addition to food, rainforests serve as reservoirs of genetic diversity. These wild species have traits that have been inadvertently removed by selective breeding, a process which selects traits based only on their utility to man. Thus domesticated plants and animals are more susceptible to pests
and disease. To protect domestic species from these hazards, they can be bred with wild species that still retain
traits protecting them from agricultural pests.
The most famous example of the value of wild gene pools comes from Asia in the 1970s when the rice crop was struck with grassy stunt virus, threatening the rice crop across
the continent. The International Rice Institute surveyed some 6,273 varieties of rice for attributes against grassy
stunt. Of this array, only one, inhabiting a small Indian valley slated to be cleared and developed, proved to
have the desired qualities. It was crossed with the predominant form of rice, creating a resistant hybrid, and
was subsequently bred across Asia. Had it not been for this tiny reservoir of diversity, Asia would have faced
a deadly human catastrophe. Today the ICCO (the International Cocoa Organization) is seeking out new strains of
cocoa in the Orinoco and Amazon rainforests. The ICCO is searching for varieties that will improve the yield and
resistance of commercially grown cocoa, which has a very narrow genetic base. For example, the entire cocoa agriculture
of Ghana, a major world cocoa producer, is derived from a single pod brought in the 1870s by a visiting blacksmith.
Fossil fuel subsidies "bringing us closer to irreversible climate change"
(11/06/2009) The Green Economy Coalition is urging G20 finance ministers to rapidly put an end to fossil fuel subsidies. In a letter to the ministers the coalition argues that these subsidies are contributing directly to climate change and making it difficult for the world to transition to a greener economy.
Governments, public failing to save world's species
(11/04/2009) According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) 2008 report, released yesterday, 36 percent of the total species evaluated by the organization are threatened with extinction. If one adds the species classified as Near Threatened, the percentage jumps to 44 percent—nearly half.
Gucci drops APP in pledge to save rainforests
(11/03/2009) One of the world's largest and most prestigious fashion brands has stated it will stop sourcing paper from Indonesian forests and will drop Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) as a supplier, which has become notorious for tropical deforestation. The move comes after pressure from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) on the fashion industry to stop sourcing paper from threatened rainforests for their shopping bags.
Will Ecuador's plan to raise money for not drilling oil in the Amazon succeed?
(10/27/2009) Ecuador's Yasuni National Park is full of wealth: it is one of the richest places on earth in terms of biodiversity; it is home to the indigenous Waorani people, as well as several uncontacted tribes; and the park's forest and soil provides a massive carbon sink. However, Yasuni National Park also sits on wealth of a different kind: one billion barrels of oil remain locked under the pristine rainforest.
"Money is not a problem," palm oil CEO tells conservationists during speech defending the industry
(10/26/2009) Earlier this month at a colloquium to implement wildlife corridors for orangutans in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Dr. Yusof Basiron, the CEO of Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), told conservationists and primate experts that the palm oil industry was ready to fund reforestation efforts in the corridors. "We can raise the money to replant [the corridors] and keep contributing as a subsidy in the replanting process of this corridor for connecting forests," Basiron said in response to a question on how the palm oil industry will contribute. "Money is not a problem. The commitment is already there, the pressure is already very strong for this to be done, so it's just trying to get the thing into motion."
