Conservation of Tropical Forests of Paraguay - Case Study Example

CONSERVATION OF TROPICAL FOREST Introduction The globe’s tropical forests are remarkably diverse. They range from lush rain forests, steamy jungles to dry savannas and forests and they offer habitat to millions of species of animals and plants (Mastrantonio and Francis, 2000). Approximately, the tropical forests once covered 6.2bilion hectares (15.3 billion acres), but at present, they have been lessened through clearing and cutting at a rapid rate which is aimed at creating more room for agriculture due to the increased population (Mastrantonio and Francis, 2000). Between the years 1985 and 1990, 85 million hectares (210 million acres) of tropical forests were cleared (Mastrantonio and Francis, 2000). This assignment will scrutinize, evaluateand report on the conversation of tropical rainforests, indicating how an understanding of ecological economics can assist in understanding why this is an issue and what policy responses may be suitable. Outlining the issue It is apparent that the world’s tropical rainforest, especially that of South America and Paraguay offer a rich source of globe’s biodiversity. However, this biodiversity has been threatened by human actions which include forest clearing and cutting in order to create more room for agriculture and farming. This is also aimed at meeting man’s dire need of valuable products and also to keep in pace with the amplified population. The issue of concern in this case is the fact that despite the increased international concerns regarding the conservation of tropical rainforests, they continue to be destroyed at a higher rate which exceeds 32,000 hectares (80,000 acres) every day (Mastrantonio and Francis, 2000). This has been linked with various global impacts including species extinction, reduction of carbon sinks, loss of renewable resources and significant ecosystem services, and climatic change. Application of concepts from ecological economics to analyze and explain the issue In 1970s, the field of ecological economics was established based on the criticisms of classical economics who wanted to make the environment a branch of economics (Costanza, 1991; Field and Field, 2008). Ecological economists deem the world and its ecosystems as the wider system, while the human economy is just but a subset (Costanza, 1991). The field encompasses the investigation of the metabolism of the community, specifically, the analysis of energy flows and other materials which find their way into or out of the economic system. Ecological economists consider human activities as a feature of natural activity. Similar to other living creatures, human beings obtain resources from the environment and produce waste products which include the plants and animals. Various studies have been carried out to find the linkage between economy and environment, with much concern to environmental quality, sustainability, material flows and energy and economic development (Daly and Farley, 2004; Field and Field, 2008). Various concepts from ecological economics have been employed by scholars in analyzing various environmental issues. One major concept used by ecological economics is natural capital. In addition to labour and capital, the two major factors of production which has gained much focus from classical economists, ecological economists have broadened on the concept of land, and renamed it natural capital (Daly and Farley, 2004). They define natural capital as the entire endowment of resources and land that are available to individuals. These include water, air, forests, fertile soils, mineral resources, fisheries, and the ecological life-support systems. Ecological economics put forth that natural capital must be considered as significant as humanmade capital as a foundation for production (Daly and Farley, 2004). In addition, accounting of natural capital, its deterioration and improvement should be carried out and mirrored in the national income accounting. This raises a significant economic implication; preservation of the value of capital which is a fundamental principle of practical economic management. Over time, it is generally appropriate to enhance productive capital, a procedure termed by economist as net investment (Costanza, 1991). Economists compare this with a country whose productive capital lessens with time and calls it a country in economic decline. It is apparent that a country cannot account for loss of standing forest, neither in terms of ecological value nor as an economic resource (Field and Field, 2008). This means that, the destruction of rainforests cannot be accounted for in the national accounting equation and therefore, the issue will continue to persist as long as effective policies on conservation are not developed and implemented. Depletion and repletion is another concept of ecological that has been used by scholars to analyze and explain the issue of destruction of rainforests and how international attempts to conserving the environment has yield no fruits. It is apparent that contemporary societies have used up resources which will turn out to be inaccessible to forthcoming generations (Costanza, 1991). Some species have become extinct due to human actions such as cutting and clearing forests. This issue however has not been resolved despite the high international attempts to preserve species. In order to solve this issue, governments and other agencies should create repletion benefits and impose strict laws against depletion. Repletion credits can be offered to individuals for planting trees and such fees are the funds obtained from depletion of the resources (Costanza, 1991). Ecological economists also integrate the concept of long term sustainability. It is apparent that efforts are done to limit the degradation of or loss of natural capital, and capitalizein its renewal and conservation (Harris, et al., 2001). This means that individuals can neither carry out any economic activity which may significantly modify natural resources nor employ any depletable resource. In the contemporary globe, with a population of over six billion people, highly industrialized and speedily industrializing, this is apparently an impossible act (Harris et al., 2001). In contrast, ever-increasing generation of waste and uncontrolled use of resources is unacceptable. In our case, it would be satisfactory to clear forests in an area and plant trees elsewhere to ensure that the general stock of forest remained continuous (Field and Field, 2008). However, this is not the case in the contemporary society; people cut down trees for industrial use, for timber and also to expand on agricultural land without substituting with others (Mastrantonio and Francis, 2000). This as a result implies that the concept of long term sustainability can never be achieved unless effective policies are put in place (Daly and Farley, 2004). Policies that have been advocated/implemented to address the issue and their appropriateness It is apparent that past efforts to conserve rain forests have failed and this has been evidenced by the augmented rate of forest clearing. In most countries, closing of forests as reserves and untouchable parks has not discouraged deforestation by developers and illegal loggers. In addition, the situation has been worsened by corruption. Evidently, tropical rainforests can only be protected if its value is linked with economic benefits (Daly and Farley, 2004). Both the governments and the local people should see the tangible economic benefits in terms of financial returns in order to substantiate the costs of sustaining forests. Currently the advocates of biodiversity protection who include the government and other agencies have put forth and/or implemented various policies linked to the conservation of rainforests. These policies are deemed to reduce, prevent or even reverse the impacts of destruction of rainforests. Currently, most people are using the methods of rehabilitation and ecotourism to conserve the tropical rainforests (Mastrantonio and Francis, 2000). Ecotourism involves giving individual tours around the rainforests and illustrating to them what is lost through deforestation. Through this, individuals are also taught on the impact of forest destruction and how they canconservation can assist in alleviating such effects. Also through this, individuals will be assisted to rebuild and restart forests at specific areas. Actually, this is an appropriate measure in that conservationists will gain information which will enable them to focus more on their conservation attempts and also, through enlightenment, the community will play a significant role in conservation of tropical rainforests. The use of carbon credit has also been advocated as a way of conserving rain forests. This is an economically beneficial method and it has been advocated by the Kyoto Protocol. In this protocol, nations should lessen their carbon dioxide emissions by five percent below the levels of 1990 by 2012 (Mastrantonio and Francis, 2000). Nations can attain this mandatory reduction in emissions by ensuring that they offset those emissions in various ways. Studies have proven that the increased carbon emissions in the contemporary society have been linked with deforestation. As a solution then, countries need to advocate for reforestation and conservation of the rainforests, and sure nations will obtain credits. In my perspective, although this policy will assist in conservation of rainforests, it is not a suitable measure. The question is how the carbon credit will benefit the local people or the developers who want to improve their own lives?It is apparent that people will only act in ways which will provide them with economic benefits. This means that receiving those carbon credit will be a hard task as people will continue to cut down trees unless the governments uses internal measures to alleviate the act. It is apparent that this problem can be slowed down, stopped or even reversed if appropriate means and policies are employed. Furthermore, the solutions should be feasible and should rely on developing a novel conservation policy which is founded on the principle of sustainable usage and growth of rainforests. Studies have also found that the basic steps of saving tropical rainforests include teaching people on the significance of the environment, restoring damaged ecosystems, encouraging individuals to live in a manner which does not harm the environment, establishing parks to protect wildlife and rainforests and supporting organizations which support environmental conservation(Mastrantonio and Francis, 2000). Conclusion It is evident that efforts have been put forth by international organizations and governments with an attempt to conserve tropical rainforests. However, this has not yielded any fruits as the forests continue to be destroyed at a higher rate which exceeds 32,000 hectares (80,000 acres) every day. This has been linked with various global impacts including species extinction, reduction of carbon sinks, loss of renewable resources and significant ecosystem services, and climatic change. The fact that this issue has been explained using the concepts of ecological economics which include natural capital, long term sustainability and depletion and repletion indicates that this is a serious issue. However, various policies including carbon credit, ecotourism and rehabilitation, and teaching people on the importance of rainforest have been advocated and implemented in order to save out biodiversity. References Costanza, R, 1991. Ecological Economics. New York: Columbia University Press. Daly, H. and Farley, J. 2004. Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications. Washington: DC, Island Press. Field, B.C and Field, M.K., 2008. Environmental Economics, 5th Ed, Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Harris, J M., Wise, T.A., Gallagher, K.P., and Goodwin, N.R. 2001. A Survey of Sustainable Development: Social and Economic Dimensions. Washington: Island Press. Mastrantonio, J.L. and Francis, J.K. 2000. A Student Guide to Tropical Forest Conservation. http://www.fs.fed.us/global/lzone/student/tropical.htm#TROPICAL [Accessed September 24, 2011]. Read More