Threats to Forest Ecosystems - Assignment Example

THREAT TO FORESTS INTRODUCTION: The world population is increasing at faster pace. Our environment has played a major role to accommo the growing demands of the increasing population. With the beginning of the new millennium there has been felt a need to protect our environment for our future benefits. For that purpose the Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit held in Rio promised to enforce sustainable development plans to protect our environment and to meet the needs of the growing population. It was believed that “No nation can achieve this on its own”. The purpose however could be achieved through global partnership of rich and poor countries. The Agenda 21 highlighted the need to alleviate poverty, change methods of production and consumption and addressing various issues to promote sustainable development. In this light let us review the efforts of some of the rich and poor countries of the world towards protecting our environment (Earth Summit, 1997). United States of America: According to the National Atlas of the United States (2000) United States is a country rich with forests. About one third of the country is covered with forests which comprises of about 747 million acres of the land. Fortunately to some extent the country has been able to preserve its forests for the past 100 years. This has been primarily due to reversion of marginal farmland in the east, increased plantation in the south and control over forest fires. However the country has faced problems due to urbanization, increased agriculture, reservoir construction and natural disasters. Approximately 48 lower states of America have experienced deforestation due to human interruption to such an extent that forests have lost their originality. With the increase in the population there has been a significant loss of the original forest and the current situation shows that the century old forest covers only 7% of the forest area. In the east the forest covers about 384 million acres area and includes broadleaf and coniferous forests. In the west the forest covers an area of 363 million acres of predominantly coniferous trees. A lot of forest area is owned by private people as well. About 10 million people own about 422 million acres of forest area (National Atlas of the United States, 2000). Nogueroun (2002) states that forests in the United States have played a major role in boosting the country’s economy. Forests are used for production of timber and non timber products such as medicinal herbs, berries, mushrooms. Timber industry relies totally on Forests. Non timber industry is more prominent in the south and as such it is helping people at the regional as well as international level. Forests provide jobs to timber industry and forest industry. At the same time they are also used for recreational purposes that include hunting and fisheries. Forests provide a natural habitat to a variety of species of plants and animals. The United States has played a major role in supporting the Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit held in 2002. Not only has the country managed to preserve the forests within its boundaries, it has also helped the poor countries as was the demand of Agenda 21. United States have provided funds to poor countries to preserve its forests. In Colombia USA funded the aerial spray program to destroy the coca crop which is one of the major causes of deforestation. At the national level sustainability education has been declared important at all levels of studies (USPESD, n.d.). Colombia: The website of Mongabay.com (Updated 2006) gives a detailed account of the environmental profile of the country. Colombia is a small country but is rated as second most biologically diverse country on Earth. It is home to 10% of world’s species. Colombia is blessed with variety of ecosystem that includes rich tropical rain forests, coastal cloud forests and open savannas. The country has 51, 220 species of plants of which 30% are endemic. Only 10% of the country’s area comes under protected areas. Forests in Colombia are under threat of extinction due to human development. As estimated by the UN in 2003 approximately 200,000 hectares of natural forests are lost annually. This figure does not include the 100,000 hectares lost illegally by poor people. Approximately 80% of the country is covered with primary forests and a large portion of it has already been lost. The major reasons of deforestation are agricultural activities, mining, logging, mining, energy development, construction of infrastructure, agriculture at larger scale and cocaine farming (Mongabay.com, Updated 2006). The rainforests on the Pacific Coast are subject to disintegration due to gold mining and palm oil plantations. According to the estimate of lost forest it is stated that in the decade on 90s approximately 80,000 hectares of forest was destroyed for gold mining which also polluted the water reserves with mercury and siltation. Much of Colombian forest has been the victim to coca cultivation. Coca is used in cocaine and as such poor people of Colombia cultivate it and sell it illegally in the market to make both ends meet. For that purpose a lot of forest area has been spoilt to prepare land for coca cultivation (Mongabay.com, Updated 2006). Increasing demand of palm oil has also resulted in deforestation. “Rapid expansion of Colombias monoculture palm oil production, driven by surging demand for biodiesel, has already resulted in widespread violence, illegal land appropriation and large-scale deforestation (Kass et. al., 2006)”. At the government level a lot of effort has been made to stop the process of deforestation by stopping the cultivation of coca. For that purpose aerial sprays have been done on coca crops to destroy them. However lots of other plants are also killed by this process and at the same time its futility becomes evident as farmers continue to grow crops. The sprays have also forced many farmers to relocate their crops towards dense forest areas which further endanger the plantations. The March 2005 report by Associated Press states that coca farming is being shifted towards the extensive rainforests of the Choco state, a place known for being the biodiversity hotspot. The poor farmers have started clearing out the forest and killing the wild life to overcome the shortage of food. Coca cultivation thus has serious ecological impact since each acre of coca crop requires clearing of four acre of forest area. At the same time dumped chemicals pollute the water reservoirs of the country. Kass et al. (2009) are of the view that Colombian laws are not strong. In 2008 the government adopted General Forestry law which gave rights to timber interests. The law was met with severe criticism and was declared unconstitutional (Mongabay.com, Updated 2006). Keeping in view the Agenda 21 on the Earth Summit the United States has played its role in eradicating coca production in the country. However the efforts have been seriously criticized since United States itself is the largest consumer of cocaine and the dropped prices of the cocaine products is indicative of the fact that cocaine is easily available in the country. So far the attempts made by the United States have proved futile in the country. In 2005 massive aerial spray for killing the coca crops was carried out with aid from the United States. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy stated that the program failed to reduce the area of coca crop under cultivation. In 2004 coca was cultivated at an area of 281,694 acres which was 281,323 acres in 2003. Although billions of dollars have been spent on eradicating coca cultivation still its production has doubled since 1990s which means that more forest area is used (Mongabay.com, Updated 2006). Logging is another illegal trade in the country. Tress are cut down illegally by poor people and sold in the local and international market. Poor laws and violence in the country has helped this trade to flourish (Mongabay.com, Updated 2006). However due to poverty in the region all the efforts at the national and international levels have failed and the country’s forests are still under threat of extinction from the local people who have no other way to earn a living by destroying the trees for coca cultivation and logging trade. The Democratic Republic of Congo According to the website Mongabay.com, (Updated 2006) the Democratic Republic of Congo is rich with tropical rain forests that covers the area of more that 100 million hectares. The forests in the east are known for their diversity and for being among the few forests to have survived the ice age. The forest occupies about 45% of the total country’s area. The country is known for having more than 11,000 species of plants. Despite this richness the forests in Democratic Republic of Congo are under serious threat from human suffering and violence in the region. This is especially evident in the areas that share its border with other neighboring countries. The effects of the second war in Congo have been devastating on the environment. Millions of refugees spoilt the natural reserves of the country by harvesting the trees and killing the wild life in the protected areas. It is estimated that some 36 million trees were spoilt during the war period. As such apart from other reasons, refugees have been declared a major reason for deforestation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Mongabay.com, Updated 2006). The economy of the country is largely dependent on environment. The country makes profit from extracting the natural resources such as timber harvesting and mining. 60% of the country’s forest is suitable for logging. Minerals such as cobalt, diamonds and Gold are also found in the country. Before the war the country was making profit from tourists who came to visit the protected areas of the country. The tourism industry has declined since then as the tourists do not consider Democratic Republic of Congo to be a safe place for foreigners (Mongabay.com, Updated 2006). What is being done currently? The agenda 21 of the Rio Summit clearly stated that sustainable development was the need of the hour to protect the future of the world. The government has taken some measures to protect the forests of the country in collaboration with the rich industrial countries of the world. The government has made several plans to conserve forests and to balance the needs of the displaced population. In 2002 the government imposed a ban on logging concessions. To fulfill that purpose Democratic Republic of Congo was supported by a grant from the World Bank to control logging concession, police existing forestry concessions and to develop plans for sustainable development in the country. Democratic Republic of Congo also joined the Coalition for Rainforest Nations and won grant to protect the forests in the country (Mongabay.com, Updated 2006). How can the forests be saved? Forests can be saved through joint efforts at the national and international levels. Sustainable development education is very important and must be made mandatory at all levels. Secondly the governments need to look at alternative methods to boost economy. Thirdly the governments need to identify the problems within their respective countries to identify the root cause of environmental degradation. If the problems are addressed amicably the environment can be saved from degradation. The biggest problem in DR Congo is poor control of the government over forests. DR Congo exports approximately 200,000 cubic meters of timber annually. The government generates foreign revenue of approximately 49 million dollars but receives only 1.8 million dollars in tax and duties. The government needs to root out the corruption and eliminate poverty which forces the poor people to sell timber illegally. At the same time effective measures need to be taken to address the problem of refugees who have taken refuge in the forest areas and thus spoil the forests for their personal interests. D R Congo needs to boost its economy by preserving its natural resources, making itself safe from violence and corruption and by promoting tourism industry. Once the economy is stable the forests will also be safe from the poor people (Mywire, 2009). DR Congo must benefit from the Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit which states that developed countries must support the poor countries to protect the forests in their countries. In Colombia the major reason behind deforestation is poverty. Poverty forces the cultivation of illegal drugs which causes deforestation as the land is prepared for it. The government needs to boost its economy through proper ways. At the same time the government needs to promote sustainable development plans. Growth at the cost of environment must be discouraged. Construction of roads such as Pan-American Highway has caused severe criticism since it involves cutting down of trees for speedy economic trade. The project is unfortunately funded by the Japanese. At this point it becomes important for the national and international governments to realize the cost of construction at the expense of environment. It becomes the duty of the developed countries not to fund such projects. The government needs to think of alternative ways to prevent forests and boost economy at the same time. If the government is able to tackle the problem of poverty and illegal drugs it can save forests of the country (Deforestation in Colombia, n.d.). Conclusion: The Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit is a positive way to deal with the problem of human development. However to achieve the purpose the poor countries need support from the developed nations such as the US which is making efforts to make a difference in the world. The efforts may not be fruitful in some countries but they do make a significant impact in some other countries for which the United States needs to be praised. References: “Colombia: Environmental Profile.” Mongabay.com. (Updated in 2006). Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20colombia.htm “Deforestation in Colombia”. (n.d.). Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://www.american.edu/TED/coldefor.htm “Democratic Republic of Congo: Environmental Profile.” Mongabay.com. (Updated in 2006). Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://www.mongabay.com/20zaire.htm “DR Congo signals reversal of forest reforms: NGOs,” Mywire, (2009). Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://www.mywire.com/a/AFP/DR-Congo-signals-reversal-forest/9295562 “Earth Summit”. United Nations Department of Public Information. (1997). Pg. 2. Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/envirp2.html “Forest Resources of the United States.” National Atlas of the United States, (2000). Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html Kass, S.L., McCaroll, J.M. “US-Colombia Trade Pact: Environmental, Labor Rights.” New York Law Journal. (2009). Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://www.clm.com/publication.cfm/ID/203 Nogueroun, R. “Low –Access Forests and their Level of Protection in North America.” Global Forest Watch, (2002). Pg. 1. Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://www.globalforestwatch.org/english/us/pdf/NA_Low_Access_Forests.pdf “United States Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development”. (n.d.). Retrieved on March 15, 2009 from http://www.uspartnership.org/main/view_archive/1 Read More