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View of the Tembeling River and surrounding rainforestin Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia. (Photo by R. Butler)
Non-governmental Organizations
Non-governmental organizations are a driving force behind conservation efforts today. These non-profit groups
fund and support all aspects of conservation from initial research to protected-area initiatives to implementation
through park management and community-based conservation schemes to alliance building between government agencies
and private interests. They support and coordinate grassroots movements, promote communication between all parties,
and sponsor education initiatives in both developing and developed countries.
Grassroots Movements
With the recent worldwide trend of governmental decentralization, control of forest resources is increasingly turned
over to local governments and non-governmental agencies. One result from decentralization is that forestry decisions
can be made on a local level, more in relation to local conditions and the benefit of local peoples. In recent
years, numerous local groups have assumed the role of promoting local sustainable use that more directly benefits
those living in and around the forests.
Local grassroots movements, where they exist, are often the most successful form of action. These movements are
sometimes able to create enough of a disturbance to delay loggers and developers from exploiting forest lands valued
by local people. Grassroots movements usually result from new or increased presence of pressures on the forest
from commercial interests. These movements put up protests, work to reform local laws and education, and are quite
often the site for innovation and experimentation for new ideas in forest conservation.
As a general rule, small grassroots projects have been more successful than foreign conservation projects directed
from a distance. There is good reason for this success, since local organizations are better able to weave conservation
projects into the local fabric of life, and their projects tend to be substantially smaller. These small projects
should serve as a model for the larger national and international projects. Before adopting a conservation or land-management plan, it should be proven to work on a local level. Otherwise the chances of success are small.
In the past, these small movements were sometimes brutally suppressed by the government. Nevertheless, small conservation
groups work feverishly around the globe. Greenbelt movements are strong in several tropical countries, resulting
in the reforestation of former forest lands. Among the most successful groups are the rubber tappers of Brazil.
Because the rubber tappers do not have title to the forest, they are working to set up "extractive reserves"
—protected areas where forest products are sustainably harvested by indigenous communities.
The Central American Tropical Agriculture Research Institute (CATIE) operates on the premise of educating local
peasants about sustainable use of the rainforests. The project conserves the forests by showing the residents the
economic benefits of leaving the ecosystem intact by collecting forest products in 11 categories: construction
material, dyes, fibers, food, livestock feed, medicines, natural insecticides, oils, ornamentals, and resins. In
addition to CATIE, there is a second Central American foundation working to educate locals about how to tap the
riches of the forest without damaging it; this is known as FUNDECOR (Foundation for the Development of the Central Volcanic
Mountain Chain). FUNDECOR (also see "other rainforest products" above) has contracts with more than 90
landowners to sustainably manage 30,000 acres (12,120 hectares) of forest. Engineers draw up management plans for
the landowners, suggesting which trees to cut, and train local loggers to fell trees in a direction that will cause
the least damage to the surrounding vegetation. The procedure cuts out the middle men so there are more profits
for the locals.
Indonesian government suspends license of logging company in controversial forest area
(11/19/2009) The Indonesian government today temporarily suspended the license of Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited (APRIL) for developing an area of forest and peatland in Sumatra pending a review of the company's permits, reports Greenpeace.
Finnish paper company to sever ties with logging firm linked to rainforest destruction in Indonesia
(11/13/2009) Finnish paper company UPM-Kymmene will stop buying paper pulp from Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited (APRIL) due to concerns over the company's poor environmental record, reports Greenpeace. UPM-Kymmene contact's represents 4 percent of APRIL's total pulp production, worth over US$55 million annually, according to the environmental group.
Blackwashing by NGOs, greenwashing by corporations, threatens environmental progress
(11/12/2009) Misinformation campaigns by both corporations and environmental groups threaten to undermine efforts to conserve biodiversity and reduce environmental degradation, argues a new paper published in the journal Biotropica. Growing concerns over climate change and unsustainable resource extraction have put companies that exploit the environment in the spotlight. Some firms have responded by taking measures to reduce their environmental impact. Others have alternatively engaged in sophisticated marketing campaigns intended to mislead consumers on their environmental performance, maintaining that environmentally-destructive practices are instead benign. At the same time some activist groups have been guilty of exaggerating claims of environmental misconduct in order to boost support for their campaigns and therefore their fundraising efforts.
Prime Minister of Kenya urged to ban lion-killing pesticide after child dies from ingestion
(11/10/2009) On Monday October 26th a three-year-old girl mistakenly ate the pesticide Furadan (also known as carbofuran) in western Kenya. Her father, a teacher at a primary school, said that he had no knowledge of how dangerous the pesticide was, which he had purchased to kill pests in his vegetable garden.
Important safeguards to protect rainforests lacking in REDD negotiating text
(11/06/2009) Important safeguards to protect natural forests are still lacking in negotiating text on REDD, a proposed mechanism for mitigating climate change by paying developing countries to keep trees standing, reports an alliance of activist groups.
