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SAVING RAINFORESTS THAT REMAIN
By Rhett Butler | Last updated July 22, 2012
The third part to resolving the deforestation problem is setting aside land for conservation. As this site has tried
to make clear, conservation will not work without consideration for economic realities. The fate of
parks and reserves rests largely in the hands of local people and only by improving their living conditions can
saving rainforests through any sort of protected-areas system be addressed. Studies have shown that deforestation
and encroachment on parklands generally diminish as the quality of life improves. The previous sections have discussed
the means by which we can hope to elevate living conditions of local people. This final
section focuses on the mechanisms through which we can preserve some remaining areas of forest. There are two main
components: (1) prioritizing, through research and valuation, what areas to conserve, and (2) organizing the conservation
effort.
PRIORITIZING AREAS FOR CONSERVATION
RESEARCH
Despite growing interest and intensive study on tropical rainforests, much still is unknown about the species it
holds, the complex interactions between these species, the effect of the loss of particular species, and the
entire role of the ecosystem. As these forests vanish, in-depth study will be required to maintain the maximum
diversity and sustainable yield. In addition, research will be required to determine the optimum size and location
of reserves in order to ensure the least loss of species
At the least, further research is necessary to prove the economic value of forests in order to make cases against
short-sighted development plans. Research can also provide insights on how to make the sustainable collection of
forest products more efficient and uncover new exploitable sources for food, medicine, and other needs.
DOCUMENTING SPECIES: HOW AND WHY
More than 95 percent of the species on earth remain undescribed at best, unknown in most cases. Of the estimated 5-50
million species only 1.8 have been documented; however of these, many are known only by their scientific name, a few
details about their origins, and maybe several facts about their life histories. At the rate that we are describing species,
it would take some 4,000 years to describe all that exist in the world today. The larger, more conspicuous species,
like birds and mammals, have been mostly documented, although every couple of years a new mammal species is discovered
(about a dozen lemur species since 1986, and four new primate species in Brazil since 1990), and an average of two to three bird
species are found annually. A worldwide species survey would be beneficial.
Examples of New Species Discovery
Every year scientists stumble across species previously unknown to science. Some examples:
The purpose of these surveys is to determine where "hot
spots" may exist. These are places with a great diversity
of species, many of which are endemic or found nowhere else. Currently there are several general levels of survey
including rapid-assessment programs (RAP) and more long-term projects. The rapid-assessment program was created
by Conservation International in an effort to investigate poorly known areas that may be "hot spots."
The targeted area is usually relatively small in area and may be immediately threatened by development. The examining
team focuses on certain well-known groups like mammals, reptiles, and birds, and based on the diversity and endemicism,
decides whether the region is unique enough to be saved. If they judge it to be, the RAP makes its recommendations
to the government and ideally the area is set aside as a reserve. Other surveys, conducted over much longer periods
and larger areas, are designed to learn more about the ecosystem and determine how it should be best used. Often
these areas may contain multiple "hot spots" and may not be immediately threatened by development. The
model for such projects is Costa Rica's INBio, Institute of Biodiversity, which aims to account for all plants
and animals of the country and to use the information to improve the environment and economy. In 1999, an ambitious
expedition lead by conservation biologist Michael Fay set off on foot to survey forest from the Central African Republic across Congo to the coast of Gabon. Exactly 455 days and 2,000 km later, Fay completed the most extensive inventory of the Congo Basin ever made. Data from the "metatransect" was used by three African governments to designate conservation priorities and served as the basis for Gabon's new park system.
THE BIG PICTURE
Besides species surveys, accurate and objective assays are needed to assess the various environmental conditions
pertaining to the rainforest. Annual forest cover, deforestation rates, climate change, siltation, urban growth
and encroaching development, erosion, pollution, and other trends need be recorded to establish baselines to properly assess the
situation. The good news is there are a number of government and private sector Earth observation programs. The best known of these is Landsat, which is run by NASA. Google has helped popularize Landsat images by making them easily accessible via Google Earth.
More articles on remote sensing and conservation >>
Review questions:
- Why is it important to conduct species inventories in tropical forests?
- How can satellites help in rainforest conservation?
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(07/11/2012) Efforts to rapidly and accurately track deforestation and forest degradation in Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru got a boost this week with a special technical training session organized by the Governors Climate and Forest Task Force. The meeting, convened at Stanford University and Google's Silicon Valley campus, paired staffers from government agencies and NGOs in the four tropical countries with technical experts from the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), the Carnegie Institution for Science, the Forum on Readiness for REDD, Woods Hole Research Center, and Google Earth Outreach. The participants received training to augment existing deforestation, forest degradation and biomass monitoring capabilities, which are highly variable both between countries and within sub-national agencies and jurisdictions.
(02/23/2012) Conservationists have converted a remote-controlled plane into a potent tool for conservation. Using seed funding from the National Geographic Society, The Orangutan Conservancy, and the Denver Zoo, Lian Pin Koh, an ecologist at the ETH Zürich, and Serge Wich, a biologist at the University of Zürich and PanEco, have developed a conservation drone equipped with cameras, sensors and GPS. So far they have used the remote-controlled aircraft to map deforestation, count orangutans and other endangered species, and get a bird's eye view of hard-to-access forest areas in North Sumatra, Indonesia.
(01/30/2012) Tropical rainforests store some 229 billion tons of carbon in their vegetation — about 20 percent more than previously estimated — finds a new satellite-based assessment published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The findings could help improve the accuracy of reporting CO2 emissions reductions under the proposed REDD program, which aims to compensate tropical countries for cutting deforestation, forest degradation, and peatlands destruction.
(10/24/2011) High above the Amazon rainforest in Peru, a team of scientists and technicians is conducting an ambitious experiment: a biological survey of a never-before-explored tract of remote and inaccessible cloud forest. They are doing so using an advanced system that enables them to map the three-dimensional physical structure of the forest as well as its chemical and optical properties. The scientists hope to determine not only what species may lie below but also how the ecosystem is responding to last year's drought—the worst ever recorded in the Amazon—as well as help Peru develop a better mechanism for monitoring deforestation and degradation.
(06/02/2011) A new airplane-based remote-sensing and analysis system will enable scientists to catalog tree species as they create three-dimensional maps of tropical forests. Unveiled today at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California by Greg Asner of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, the newest version of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) will offer powerful insights into the composition and biology of tropical forests.
(05/31/2011) Tropical forests across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia stored 247 gigatons of carbon — more than 30 years' worth of current emissions from fossil fuels use — in the early 2000s, according to a comprehensive assessment of the world's carbon stocks. The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by an international team of scientists, used data from 4,079 plot sites around the world and satellite-based measurements to estimate that forests store 193 billion tons of carbon in their vegetation and 54 billion tons in their roots structure. The study has produced a carbon map for 2.5 billion ha (6.2 billion acres) of forests.
(02/08/2011) Perhaps unsurprisingly, the world's best deforestation tracking system is found in the country with the most rainforest: Brazil. Following international outcry over immense forest loss in the 1980s, Brazil in the 1990s set in motion a plan to develop a satellite-based system for tracking changes in forest cover. In 2003 Brazil made the system available to the world via its web site, providing transparency on an issue that was until then seen as a badge of shame by some. Since then Brazil has become recognized as the standard-bearer for deforestation tracking and reporting—no other country offers the kind of data Brazil provides. Space engineer Gilberto Camara has overseen much of INPE's earth sensing work and during his watch, INPE has released several new exciting capabilities.
(09/29/2010) In recent years there has been an explosion in the number of satellite-based monitoring applications and technologies, which is perhaps best exemplified in the eyes of the public by Google Earth, which allows anyone with a decent internet connection to view overhead images of nearly any place on Earth. But these new applications are also helping scientists more effectively monitor environmental change, including the fluctuations in polar sea ice, shifts in oceanic plankton, and deforestation. An important factor in the expanded use of satellite imagery has been the U.S. government's free Landsat Data Distribution Policy, which allows free or inexpensive access to data captured by Landsat satellites, which have been collected data on a regular basis since 1972. But the Landsat program is not presently operating at its full capacity, increasing the risk of a 'data gap' before a new system is in place in 2012.
(01/28/2010) Analysts in Europe and the United States are using high resolution satellite imagery to identify and track shipments of timber illegally logged from rainforest parks in Madagascar. The images could be used to help prosecute traders involved in trafficking and put pressure on companies using rosewood from Madagascar.
(11/29/2009) A new handbook lays out the methodology for cultural mapping, providing indigenous groups with a powerful tool for defending their land and culture, while enabling them to benefit from some 21st century advancements. Cultural mapping may also facilitate indigenous efforts to win recognition and compensation under a proposed scheme to mitigate climate change through forest conservation. The scheme—known as REDD for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation—will be a central topic of discussion at next month's climate talks in Copenhagen, but concerns remain that it could fail to deliver benefits to forest dwellers.
(03/31/2009) Satellites have long been used to detect and monitor environmental change, but capabilities have vastly improved since the early 1970s when Landsat images were first revealed to the public. Today Google Earth has democratized the availability of satellite imagery, putting high resolution images of the planet within reach of anyone with access to the Internet. In the process, Google Earth has emerged as 
(12/22/2008) Scientists have used Google Earth to find a previously unknown trove of biological diversity in Mozambique, reports the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Scouring satellite images via Google Earth for potential conservation sites at elevations of 1600 meters or more, Julian Bayliss a locally-based conservationist, in 2005 spotted a 7,000-hectare tract of forest on Mount Mabu. The scientifically unexplored forest had previously only been known to villagers. Subsequent expeditions in October and November this year turned up hundreds of species of plants and animals, including some that are new to science.
(03/26/2008) Remote sensing is increasingly used as a tool for conservation management. Beyond traditional satellite imagery popularized by Google Earth, new sensing applications are allowing researchers located anywhere in the world to track fires, illegal logging and mining, and deforestation in some of Earth's most isolated regions using a computer or handheld device. The Fire Alert System is one example of an application that is harnessing the power of satellites to deliver key data to conservation managers. Developed by Madagascar's ministry of Environment, the International Resources Group, conservation International using data from the University of Maryland and NASA, the Fire Alert System enables near real-time monitoring of fires anywhere on the island of Madagascar, a hotspot of biological diversity. The system, which sends subscribers regular email alerts on newly-detected burning, will eventually be expanded to include all the world's protected areas, allowing managers to detect not only fires but potentially related activities like road building, logging, and even hunting.
(11/15/2006) Deep in the most remote jungles of South America, Amazon Indians are using Google Earth, Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping, and other technologies to protect their fast-dwindling home. Tribes in Suriname, Brazil, and Colombia are combining their traditional knowledge of the rainforest with Western technology to conserve forests and maintain ties to their history and cultural traditions, which include profound knowledge of the forest ecosystem and medicinal plants. Helping them is the Amazon conservation Team (ACT), a nonprofit organization working with indigenous people to conserve biodiversity, health, and culture in South American rainforests.
