Rainforest in the Daintree of Australia. (Photo by N. Butler)
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ORGANIZATION
To best meet the complex requirements for rainforest conservation, it is imperative that we balance conservation
efforts between the local, national, and international sectors. Empowerment over forests and their resources should
begin on the local level of individual communities with municipal governments overseeing parks. State agencies—with
guidance and assistance from intergovernmental institutions and non-government organizations (NGOs)— need to help
formulate broader conservation strategies and provide expertise in protecting and managing protected areas. Partnerships
between participants are necessary to fuse scientific, economic, and social information and formulate an overall
plan for the use and conservation of tropical rainforests.
Today many government agencies responsible for biodiversity conservation in the developing world find themselves
financially strained. In addition, in an era of increasing democratization, these organizations are under mounting
pressure from locals demanding access to the large tracts of otherwise productive land held in socially exclusive
reserves. To best address these financial and social pressures, other organizations—foreign governments, intergovernmental
institutions, NGOs, and "green" groups—must step up and provide expertise and financial assistance. However,
government agencies cannot expect to be bailed out completely. They will need to become more accountable to the
needs of local people and to establish measurable objectives, which can be evaluated on a regular basis. In short,
these agencies must increase their productivity and become accountable to their shareholders much like publicly
traded companies.
Governmental Agencies and Policy
Until recently, most governments have sided with the interests of rapid forest exploitation using subsidies
and economic incentives to accelerate the process and earn quick returns. The interests of the local people have
been largely ignored, as have the environmental consequences. These methods are economically flawed because they fail
to weigh the environmental costs of deforestation ranging from soil
erosion to disruption of weather cycles, to drought and floods, to outbreaks of disease. For example, India estimates that it loses 10 percent of its annual
income to environmental degradation, much of this from deforestation-induced soil erosion. If governments starting treating their forests as depreciable natural capital instead of
non-renewable income, they could better determine the costs of deforestation.
Some governments are now beginning to listen to scientists, economists, human-rights activists, indigenous peoples,
and environmentalists, and are adopting pro-environment stances. Developed, industrialized nations see their
chance to help the cause by donating financial support and technical expertise to help initiate new conservation
policies.
Developed nations
Some governments are willing to give loans and even cancel debts owed by tropical nations in exchange for environmental
protection (essentially debt-exchange programs). For example, the British government recently assigned $150 million
to preservation and sustainable development of tropical forests around the globe. Germany cleared Kenya of
its $400 million debt when Kenya agreed to pass environmental legislation.
In the late 1990s, Germany spearheaded efforts by industrialized countries to protect rainforests. In 1996, Chancellor
Helmut Kohl spoke out against the inaction of the rest of the G-8 in not intervening in the increased deforestation
of the Amazon rainforest. Germany is one of the most environmentally progressive of the industrialized countries.
In May 1998, the G-8 announced it would encourage developing countries to protect their forests by offering aid
to countries that made forest preservation a priority.
In his budget for fiscal 2001, President Clinton proposed $150 million in funds to assist developing countries
preserve their tropical forests while strengthening their economies. Under the budget, $100 million would go towards
conservation programs (through the U.S. Agency for International Development—USAID), while $37 million would be
slated for debt-for-nature swaps under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act.
Developed nations can also provide their conservation expertise to developing countries and assist in the planning
of new protected areas. Technology transfers to improve reserve management and monitoring could also be beneficial
in setting aside rainforest for preservation.
Review questions:
- Why do government agencies responsible for biodiversity conservation in the developing nations need reform?
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CONTENTS
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
INTERACT
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Recent news
Tropical ecologist: Australia must follow U.S. and EU in banning illegally logged wood
(02/09/2012) Australia should join the widening effort to stamp out illegal logging, according to testimony given this week by tropical ecologist William Laurance with James Cook University. Presenting before the Australian Senate's rural affairs committee, Laurance argued that the massive environmental and economic costs of illegal logging worldwide should press Australia to tighten regulations against importing illegally logged timber at home.
Majority of protected tropical forests "empty" due to hunting
(02/08/2012) Protected areas in the world's tropical rainforests are absolutely essential, but one cannot simply set up a new refuge and believe the work is done, according to a new paper in Bioscience. Unsustainable hunting and poaching is decimating tropical forest species in the Amazon, the Congo, Southeast Asia, and Oceana, leaving behind "empty forests," places largely devoid of any mammal, bird, or reptile over a few pounds. The loss of such species impacts the whole ecosystems, as plants lose seed dispersers and the food chain is unraveled.
New rainforest and indigenous reserve established in Peru
(02/07/2012) On February 4th, the Peruvian government and a small indigenous group created a new Amazon reserve, dubbed the Maijuna Reserve. Located in northeastern Peru, the 390,000 hectare (970,000 acres) reserve is larger than California's Yosemite National Park and over three times the size of Hong Kong.
Guyanese tribe maps Connecticut-sized rainforest for land rights
(02/07/2012) In a bid to gain legal recognition of their land, the indigenous Wapichan people have digitally mapped their customary rainforest land in Guyana over the past ten years. Covering 1.4 million hectares, about the size of Connecticut, the rainforest would be split between sustainable-use regions, sacred areas, and wildlife conservation according to a plan by the Wapichan tribe that will be released today. The plan says the tribe would preserve the forest from extractive industries.
Supernatural beliefs keep hunting sustainable on Indonesian island
(02/02/2012) How do indigenous communities hunt without pushing target species to local extinction? In other words, how have communities retained sustainable practices over countless generations. One answer is given in a new study by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Center for International Research in Agronomy and Development (CIRAD): supernatural beliefs. Looking at a community of indigenous people on the Indonesian island of Seram, researchers found that supernatural hunting beliefs ensured animals never vanished for good.
More news on rainforest conservation
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