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TROPICAL RAINFORESTS - SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT (Reducing Debt (A lot of…
TROPICAL RAINFORESTS - SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
Important to Protect Tropical Rainforests
To preserve biodiversity - maintaining the high diversity of plants and animals is valuable to both people and the environment
Products are sourced from the rainforest
Rubber
Coffee
Chocolate
Medicine
Sustainable development → long-term economic benefits, e.g. through developing ecotourism
Help reduce the greenhouse effect, by reducing CO2 emissions (from burning etc.), and allowing the trees to continue absorbing CO2
Some impacts of deforestation could affect all countries, not just the countries where the deforestation is happening, e.g. climate change
Rainforests also help regulate the climate and water cycle - without them the risks of drought and flooding in certain areas can increase
Selective Logging
Only some trees (e.g. just the older or inferior ones) are felled - most trees are left standing
Less damaging to the forest than felling all the trees in an area. If only a few trees are taken from each area the overall forest structure is kept - the canopy's still there and the soil isn't exposed. this means the forest will be able to regenerate so it can be used in the future
The least damaging forms are 'horse logging' and 'helicopter logging' - dragging felled trees out of the forest using horses or removing them with helicopters instead of huge trucks
EXAMPLE: Helicopter logging is used in the Malaysian state of Sarawak
Replanting
This is when new trees are planted to replace the ones the ones that are cut down
This means there will be trees for people to use in the future
It's important that the same types of tree are planted that were cut down, so that the variety of trees is kept for the future
In some countries there are laws to make logging companies replant trees when they clear an area
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is tourism that minimises damage to the environment and benefits the local people
Only a small number of visitors are allowed into an area at a time. Environmental impacts are minimised, e.g. by making sure waste and litter are disposed of properly to prevent land and water contamination
Ecotourism provides a source of income for local people, e.g. they act as guides, provide accommodation and transport. It can also raise awareness of conservation issues and bring in more money for rainforest conservation
If people are employed in tourism, they don't have to log or farm to make money, meaning fewer trees are cut down. If a country's economy relies on ecotourism, there's an incentive to conserve the environment
Ecotourism has been very successful in Costa Rica (a country in Central America). It is the largest source of income for the country and has led to 21% of the country being protected from development
International Hardwood Agreements
Hardwood is general term for wood from certain tree species, e.g. mahogany and teak. The wood tends to be fairly dense and hard - it's used to make things like furniture
High demand for hardwood from consumers in richer countries means that some tropical hardwood trees are becoming rarer as people are chopping them down and selling them
There are international agreements in place to try to reduce illegal logging, and promote hardwood from sustainably managed forests
EXAMPLE: The Forest Stewardship Council® is an organisation made up of businesses, non-governmental organisations (such as Greenpeace) and individuals from all over the world.
They mark sustainably-sourced timber products with their logo so that consumers can choose products that are not contributing to unsustainable deforestation
Education
Education of the international community about the impacts of deforestation can encourage people to buy products that are certified from sustainably managed source
Some local people don't know what the environmental impacts of deofrestation are. Local people try to make money in the short-term (e.g. by illegal logging) to overcome their own poverty
Educating local people about the impacts of deforestation and ways to reduce the impacts decreases damage to the rainforest environment
Also, educating local people about alternative ways to make money that don't damage the environment as much, e.g. ecotourism, means they aren't dependent on unsustainable options in order to make a living
Reducing Debt
A lot of tropical rainforests are in lower income countries
Lower income countries often borrow money from wealthier countries or organisations (e.g. the World Bank) to fund development schemes or cope with emergencies like floods
This money has to be paid back with interest
These countries often allow logging, farming and mining in rainforests to make money to pay back the debt
So reducing debt means countries don't have to do this and the rainforests can be conserved fot the future
Debt can be cancelled by countries or organisations, but there's no guarantee the money that would have been spent on repayments will be spent on conservation instead
A better solution is a conservation swap, where part of a country's debt is paid off in exchange for a guarantee that the money is spent on conservation
Rainforests can be managed in a way that's sustainable, i.e. in a way that allows people today to get the things they need, but without stopping people in the future from getting what they need
Conservation
Many countries have set up national parks and nature reserves within rainforests. In these areas damaging activities, e.g. logging, are restricted. However, a lack of funds can make it difficult to police the restrictions.
As a result, some countries have set up funds which overseas governments and businesses can invest in. The countries get the money in exchange for rainforest conservation
The money can be used to enforce restrictions on damaging activities and to promote sustainable use of the rainforests
EXAMPLE: Norway has paid $1 billion into Brazil's Amazon Fund to be used for conservation