Ituri Forest in Congo - Essay Example

?Running head: ITURI FOREST IN CONGO Ituri Forest in Congo Introduction The Ituri Forests expand over 24,000 sq. miles of area and are one of the most exquisite, variegated strips of landscapes present in the world. Situated in Central Africa, under the control of the Northern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ituri Forests have been occupied by several wildlife and plant varieties and not to forget, the 40,000-year-old inhabitants- Mbuti and Efe. Of late, the exposure about the land and its usefulness has spread across rapidly and people have started to exploit the natural aspects illegally, unmindful of the negative impacts it could have on the place. Activities like logging of trees, exploitation of land in search of minerals like gold have brought the condition of the place to a distrait. On the other hand, the natives hunt on the forest elephants and perform various other activities to sustain their life. There is a fine line of difference between upholding the natural aspects of the forest and fulfilling the needs of all the stakeholders. A research including the perspectives of all the stakeholders involved is required in order to establish that line of difference. Background of Ituri The forest got its name from the famous Ituri River. Confined within the boundaries of the Uganda borders and the open regions of Savannah, Ituri forest along with its rivers ends up on the banks of the Zaire River. The forest is composed of very hilly regions covered with dense vegetation and the average altitude across the hills is around 800 meters. The dense vegetation includes trees of hardwood type, predominantly spread across several acres of the land. The forest is abundant in its natural resources and thus provides immense opportunities for economic exploitations. (Ituri Forest, 2011) Stakeholders Mbutis The natives are the major stakeholders involved in modifying both economic and environmental perspectives of the forest. The Mbutis, formerly known as the Pygmies, have sustained their life in these dense forests for several generations. Although, at present, their population is standing around a meager 40000, they still play a major role in determining the usage of this forest area. The Mbutis primary mode of subsistence has been through hunting. Although, the reasoning for their hunting expeditions have all been closely connected to their economical subsistence, the current trends of hunting by the Mbutis, does not restrict to that reason alone. Other economic aspects are brought into the picture, bringing up different stakeholders, interested in various products of hunting. There is a wide market opened for trading forest products especially the meat of deer, monkeys and forest elephants. The contemporary trends in trade market suggest that there is a growing demand for the Antelope meat. Commercial organizations and other entrepreneurs are targeting the high commercial value for Antelope meat and hence, irrespective of the treacherous conditions of the forests, they travel up all the way to exchange flour, rice and other food products with Mbuti for Antelope meat. Since commercial hunting provides them the necessary means to sustain a forager’s life, there hunting expeditions continue to grow in the Ituri forest. Apart from this, they cultivate vegetation and extract minerals from the land and exchange it for food products. But, the resources of minerals and trees have attracted other stakeholders to make use of these resources for commercial purposes. The places once exploited only by these natives have become a source for many. As a result, there protein supplier’s role that they have been pursuing for more than 2000 years is dwindling rapidly. Immigrated settlers The exploitation started in the 1940’s itself when the Belgians opened up the roads for easy transport and since then, several acres of land have been wiped out of trees for cultivation and agriculture. One major consequence because of these circumstances is the depletion of traditional trade between the Mbutis and the villages. The migrations are happening at rapid pace and unlike the past, most of them are clearing land for permanent settlement. The major reasons for such a change can be: Presence of rich volcanic soils, a source for rich cultivation and production The ignorance of the natives, failing to hold on to their lands allowing the immigrants to easily acquire them Inability of the government to uphold laws that could restrict the immigrants from clearing up lands The origin place of the immigrants and the unequal distribution of lands existing in their place could also be considered as a major reason for their immigration. The result of such immigration acts is the formation of several local villages surrounding the forest, maintaining their living through the clearing of lands of the Ituri forest. The Mbutis sustained their lives through many sources of food and hence the clearing of forests were done only on a minor scale. But, agriculture being the only known profession for the immigrants, they have cleared up large areas of land for cultivation. In addition, being commercially exposed to economic opportunities, their cultivation mainly focuses on goods that have excessive trade value. One effect of such cultivation is complete wipe off of the natural growing plantations from this region. The Mbutis, though initially gained a lot of economic prospects during the early migration, their continuous displacement has led them to be termed as unworthy trade partners and thus reducing their scope of commercial trading. Mining prospects and its stakeholders A major draw of the Ituri forests was discovered in year 2000 when the districts were found to have sources of coltan, a mineral which is a primary component for preparing military artilleries and for developing electronic products. As a result, globalization of the Ituri forest was increased twice its previous pace and the forest saw a rapid growth in its communication facilities. Once the boom for coltan ended, the Ituri forests and surrounding districts became widely known for its reserves of minerals, especially gold and diamond which attracted several miners and countries to fight for it. Countries like Uganda and Rwanda entered into war for controlling possession of these reserves. Such exploitations have its share of impact on the immigrant populations as well as natives. Each act of the stakeholders has had an equal amount of effect on the agendas of other stakeholders too. Especially, the Mbutis have been the biggest losers of food sources by these wars and mining activities. Logging of trees Tree logging is another commercial prospect that has been utilized by many entrepreneurs. The reason for tree logging to grow at such a rapid pace is because of the presence of some high valuable hardwood trees that are in great demand across the world. Since tree logging as an industry provides opportunity for employment and work, it has attracted the entrepreneurs to involve the natives and immigrants as employees. This provides a mutual benefit prospect for both the entities involved. The natives and immigrants get an additional source of sustenance and the entrepreneurs get huge profits with cheap labor. Coffee Plantations and its effects on immigrants and the natives Another major commercial prospect in these landscapes is the cultivation of coffee. Unlike other coffee producing countries, here coffee cultivation is done in hundreds of hectares - most of it was started during the Belgian invasion in the second half of the twentieth century. As of now, irrespective of the dwindling prices of the coffee beans, large areas of land are continuingly cleared in expectations of future prospects. Some of the reasons for the immigrants to continue with coffee plantation include: It’s a major cash crop and it allows the immigrants to increase their commercial trading and improve their economy. Lack of intervention from external people as they are more concerned about the high valued minerals. The presence of native farmers is also very less in coffee plantations, the main reason being the lack of knowledge about coffee productivity among the Mbutis. All these factors have allowed the immigrants to make the development of cash crops as one of their primary agricultural prospects. Environment and Wildlife Preservation groups The acts of all these immigrants on land clearing, the natives on hunting wildlife and the entrepreneurs on mining lands as brought in another stakeholder, interested in the conservation of the Ituri forests. Organizations like the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have taken great efforts to conserve the natural resources of the region under consideration. The primary reason for their unyielding involvement is to preserve the natural resources and wildlife for the future generations. According to their opinion, As the region is abundant with human poverty, the tendency for humans to hunt on these mammals is very high. The political rules and protection is not strict enough to control these malpractices Due to continuous growth of coffee plantations, large numbers of hectares of land get cleared and there are no steps taken to revitalize the forest in response to such clearing acts. And hence, the forest is always under depletion. Unsustainable and uncontrollable hunting, increase in mining and forestry, occupation of lands, depletion of trees and destruction of the ecological cycle of life. The organization on its part, has taken several steps to promote equal opportunities for all stakeholders involved and at the same time conserve the resources. There are also several studies conducted on how to promote both the commercial aspects of logging and hunting and at the same time conserve the forest. Some of the ideas that were suggested by these research groups include implementing selective logging techniques, shift based agriculture that are done on a smaller scale etc.(WCS 2011) Conclusion Several stakeholders are involved in the utilization of the resources of the forest. Each has their own reasoning for their activities. The important characteristic of the entire reasoning is the intertwining aspects of each of the requirements of the stakeholders. On one hand, the commercial hunting of the Mbutis is sharply decreasing with the continuous aggravation of the lands by the immigrants. On the other hand, the mining prospects are further increased with the lack of implementation of rules by the government. The economic stakeholder’s viewpoints directly confront with the local stakeholders viewpoints and with the intervention of the wildlife conservatory organization, the cloud of haziness is further enhanced in answering the questions asked on the future of Ituri forest resources. References WCS, 2011. Ituri Forest, Congo (DRC). Retrieved from http://www.wcs.org/where-we-work.aspx Ituri Forest. (2011). In Encyclop?dia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/298079/Ituri-Forest Read More