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How cattle ranching is destroying the Amazon rainforest

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25 Facts About the AMAZON RAINFOREST | 25 FACTS

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Jungle/Rainforest Deforestation Animation By Sim

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This was an animation I created for a Flash project at Uni to spread the message of the devestating effects of deforestation. Enjoy!

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Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon jumped almost sixfold in the March-April period, led by the destruction of trees in Mato Grosso, the country's biggest soybean-producing state.

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World Wildlife Fund - The leading organization in wildlife conservation and endangered species.

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This month - after months of negotiation and uncertainty - the Brazilian government, the soy industry and civil society organizations, including Greenpeace, indefinitely renewed an agreement keeping huge swathes of Amazon rainforest from being destroyed for soybean farming. This is big news for the Amazon, for Indigenous Peoples, for farmers, for business and for all of us around the world fighting to end deforestation.

The agreement - called the soy moratorium - is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between civil society, industry and government. It has already produced a spectacular drop in Amazon deforestation. And now the moratorium will last until - as the renewal document says - it is no longer needed.

Here's how this unlikely agreement is tackling one of the biggest threats to the Amazon.

From campaigning to collaboration.

A decade ago, the Brazilian Amazon was in a full-blown soy crisis. From 2004 to 2005, the rainforest was being destroyed at the second highest rate ever recorded, due in large part to a rising demand for land to grow soy and cattle. The outlook for the Amazon seemed bleak as the global demand for soy skyrocketed.

But in 2006, everything begun to change. That year, Greenpeace released a report exposing the links between deforestation in the Amazon, soy and meat (between 70 percent and 90 percent of the world's soybean crop is used as animal feed). The Greenpeace research showed that companies like McDonald's and other fast food and supermarket chains were serving meat likely fed soy grown on destroyed Amazon rainforest.

After massive outcry from people all over the world demanding action to ensure that their products weren't connected to Amazon deforestation, the industry had to respond. The soy moratorium was their answer to that pressure. Together, the soy industry and civil society organizations led by Greenpeace hashed out this powerful agreement.

At the core of the moratorium is a simple idea: that companies wouldn't buy soy from soy traders who get their supply from farmers who clear the rainforest, use slave labour or threaten Indigenous Lands. The agreement is proof of what can be accomplished when civil society and companies work together.

Over the last few years there have been extensive and difficult negotiations about extending that moratorium each time it needed renewal. But every year since it was first established, the moratorium has continued. And - as of this week - I can say with confidence that it will continue to fight deforestation until there is a permanent solution to stop forest destruction.

What the moratorium has accomplished so far.

Because of the moratorium, the threat of soy is no longer seen as a major driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Through satellite monitoring and aerial surveying, the moratorium monitors 76 municipalities responsible for 98 percent of the soy produced in the Amazon region. This way, the Soy Working Group can tell when new deforestation is occurring for soy and who is behind the destruction.

It's because of this vigilance that even as Brazil's soy production has gone up dramatically, deforestation for soy has remained low. Since 2006, the amount of land soy occupies in the Amazon region is up 260 percent, but only a bit more than one percent of that soy is being grown in newly deforested areas.

What's next in the fight to stop Amazon deforestation.

The moratorium has done a great job of preventing soy expansion in the Brazilian Amazon. The indefinite renewal of the soy moratorium is also a sign of what partnerships between industry and civil society can achieve to save our planet. As political uncertainty grows in Brazil, the agreement can provide the market with strong guarantees that Brazilian soy is forest friendly.

But while the moratorium is widely credited as a major factor in the reduction of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon in recent years, the fight to end Amazon destruction is far from over.

The Amazon still faces catastrophic mega-dams, illegal logging operations and other commodities driving deforestation - like cattle. And Greenpeace will need your support every step of the way to take on these challenges. After all, the soy moratorium was only possible because people around the world demanded it!

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10 Years Ago the Amazon Was Being Bulldozed for Soy - Then Everything Changed

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This month - after months of negotiation and uncertainty - the Brazilian government, the soy industry and civil society organizations, including Greenpeace, indefinitely renewed an agreement keeping huge swathes of Amazon rainforest from being destroyed for soybean farming. This is big news for the Amazon, for Indigenous Peoples, for farmers, for business and for all ...

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In the last few years, soy production has become a major force in the destruction of rainforests and other critical ecosystems, most notably in Brazil. The US imports little soy from Brazil, since the US is a major soy producer.

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Simply put, we cannot survive on this planet without forests. In a sense, they breathe for the Earth, absorbing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, and producing the oxygen we require in return. And by storing that carbon, forests help to regulate the global climate, absorbing nearly 40 percent of the fossil-fuel emissions we humans produce.

Forests also provide fuel for cooking and warmth, medicinal plants, food, wildlife habitat, clean water, spiritual and cultural touchstones, and for many, the means to earn a living. Approximately 70 percent of terrestrial animals and plants make their homes in forests, while more than 25 percent of the world's people-nearly 1.6 billion-rely on forest resources for their livelihoods, with 1.2 billion of them using trees to generate food and cash. The economic value of these ecosystem services has been estimated at $33 trillion per year, twice the GDP of the United States.

Yet despite all that forests do for us, they continue to be sacrificed to unsustainable human consumption-at our own peril. Each year we lose 32 million acres (13 million hectares), 26 times the size of the Grand Canyon, or 60 acres per minute. To regenerate the resources we're already consuming, we'd need 1½ Earths, yet our demand is still growing. No matter how you slice it, the math just doesn't add up. Our current consumption levels cannot be sustained.

As long as there are human beings on this planet, there will be a demand for wood, pulp, and other forest resources, and there will be businesses that endeavor to meet that demand. Furthermore, those people who live and work in forests will always need to feed their families and put a roof over their heads; the stark inequities in our global economy increase the economic desperation that fuels illegal logging and poaching. The only realistic way to conserve our forests is to apply sustainable forest management practices-a conservation-and-livelihoods approach that the Rainforest Alliance has led since the late 1980s, and one that's already proven successful on nearly half a billion acres of land around the world.

What does "sustainable forestry" actually mean?

For many, the term "sustainable forestry" may seem like an oxymoron. How can logging ever be sustainable when, by definition, it requires that trees be cut down? The complete answer is complex, but if we had to reduce it to one word, it would be "balance." The hallmark of sustainable forestry, from a purely ecological perspective, is the extent to which forestry practices mimics natural patterns of disturbance and regeneration. Sustainable forestry balances the needs of the environment, wildlife, and forest communities-supporting decent incomes while conserving our forests for future generations. There are many practical steps that a community or business can take to protect the health and longevity of a forest while still profiting from the production and sale of timber and other forest products, such as nuts, fruits, oils, and plants.

Forestry worker, Jair Tintinago, sits next to his work at a certified pine tree farm in Colombia.

In 1993, the Rainforest Alliance co-founded the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international body that develops and maintains the most globally respected standard for managing forests, and we certify forestry businesses that meet the standard's strict environmental, social, and economic criteria. We also award FSC Chain-of-Custody (CoC) certificates for the tracking of certified wood and other raw materials from forest to manufacturer to store shelf, confirming that an item that bears the FSC and Rainforest Alliance Certified trust marks actually contains certified products. These seals allow conscientious consumers an easy way to spot and support responsible producers.

Beyond sustainable forest certification, the Rainforest Alliance also provides training to forest communities around the world in methods designed to conserve forests, safeguard wildlife, protect workers, and-critically-to support their efforts to earn a living as responsible forest stewards. We link them to buyers who are interested in sourcing certified forest products; offer training in business skills, such as bookkeeping and other organizational tasks; and assist them in obtaining financing so that they can reinvest in their enterprises and continue to prosper. The Rainforest Alliance is the leading FSC certifier of forests managed by communities and indigenous groups.

The global FSC standard is comprised of ten principles that cover a range of environmental, social, and economic criteria. Although there are regional variations in how the standard is applied-to address the unique needs of forests, peoples, and economies in different parts of the world-the basic tenets of sustainable forestry remain the same:

Establish protected areas & conserve biodiversity

A forest's biodiversity-including its water resources, soils, plant species, and animal populations-must be conserved. This means that forest managers minimize erosion and protect waterways; avoid the use of chemical pesticides; properly dispose of waste; conserve native tree species and maintain genetic diversity on their land; set aside part of their properties as protected areas where logging is prohibited (including forestland that is steeply sloped, provides habitat for critical wildlife species, and/or serves a culturally or spiritually significant function in the local community); and take other steps to ensure the integrity of the forest. Researchers have found that UNESCO World Heritage Sites and other protected areas benefited from having FSC/Rainforest Alliance Certified forestry businesses as neighbors. And separate studies in Africa and Asia found that certified enterprises did a better job than their noncertified peers of protecting great apes and other mammals.

Prevent forest conversion & protect High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF)

The FSC standard requires that forest managers protect natural forests against deforestation, reduce the risk of fires, and take particular care to protect "high conservation value forests." The latter term is used to describe forests that contain significant concentrations of biodiversity; are located in or include rare or endangered ecosystems; are critical providers of ecosystem services; or are fundamental to meeting the basic needs or defining the cultural identity of forest communities. In Guatemala's culturally and ecologically significant Petén region, researchers found that over a 20-year period, actively managed FSC-certified forests experienced substantially lower rates of deforestation than nearby protected areas, and forest fires only affected 0.1 percent of certified land area, compared to 10.4 percent of protected areas.

Have a management plan & harvest accordingly

Aerial view of Carmelita, a working forest concession in Petén, Guatemala

Logging activities can take many forms, from selective harvesting to limited, small-scale clear-cutting, which, in temperate forests, can mimic natural disturbances such as fires or landslides. To become FSC-certified, forestry operations must put into place a clearly mapped management plan that specifies the number of trees that can be harvested per acre, and the frequency at which this can occur, based on the growth and regeneration rates of the species found in that ecosystem. The goal is to harvest in such a way that allows these species the chance to regenerate, and ensures that the forest's overall ecological health is maintained, restored, or even enhanced.

Tree plantations have a role to play

Sustainable forestry focuses on keeping natural forests standing, and only in extremely limited cases may a tree plantation that resulted from forest conversion after November 1994 even apply for FSC certification. However, the establishment of plantations on already deforested or degraded land can improve the health of an ecosystem and help to meet some of the demand for forest products, taking pressure off of natural forests. To earn FSC certification, plantations must operate according to a management plan that promotes the protection, restoration, and conservation of natural forests.

Use reduced-impact logging techniques

Many people associate logging with the image of a bulldozer leaving behind a denuded landscape, but it is possible to harvest timber without causing collateral damage to other parts of a forest. Reduced-impact techniques allow loggers to fell and extract trees in a manner that reduces damage to other trees in the stand. This approach also minimizes erosion, waste, and carbon emissions.

Train employees & keep them healthy

A forestry business that does not protect its workers is not only unethical, but also unsustainable. Well-trained and healthy employees are essential to ensuring that these enterprises function safely and efficiently. In an examination of community-run forestry businesses in Brazil, certified enterprises did a far better job of protecting their workers than their noncertified peers. Members of certified enterprises were four times more likely to have taken part in a safety course; 94 percent of these businesses offered regular medical exams to their workers; all of the certified enterprises properly washed and stored their protective gear; and 100 percent-four times as many as noncertified enterprises-offered medical attention to their employees when they were injured on the job.

Respect local communities & foster economic development

Sawmill training at a certified forestry operation in Cameroon

For forestry businesses to be sustainable, they must operate in harmony with their surroundings. This means more than just the natural ecosystems in which they are located; it also applies to the human neighbors with which they co-exist. It means that a certified business must contribute to the social and economic development of a community by offering its members opportunities for employment and compensating indigenous groups for the traditional knowledge that they share regarding forest species and operations. These are not only socially responsible steps, but they also benefit the environment. Providing jobs to local people, for example, can eliminate the incentive to engage in profitable but destructive activities such as wildlife poaching and illegal logging.

Boost income and profitability

Sustainable forestry should have a positive economic impact on its practitioners. The steps that help a business earn certification are the same that require the active management of its forestland, teach employees how to work safely and efficiently, and reduce staff turnover, so it's no surprise that these steps can also lead to economic growth. Despite the earnings variations reported, a study of 11 FSC-certified forestry enterprises around the world found that FSC-certified wood generated price premiums of up to 50%, and the enterprises that benefited the most tended to be community and small-scale producers in the tropics. And in Mexico, a large FSC-certified community forestry enterprise that received technical assistance from the Rainforest Alliance increased its production volume, while staying within the parameters for sustainable harvesting; created an additional 286 jobs (a 12 percent increase over the baseline); and earned a 10 percent price premium for the wood that it sold to a certified buyer.

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Simply put, we cannot survive on this planet without forests. In a sense, they breathe for the Earth, absorbing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, and producing the oxygen we require in return. And by storing that carbon, forests help to regulate the global climate, absorbing nearly 40 percent of the fossil-fuel emissions we humans produce.

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In the Amazon basin, only a few species contain valuable timber, much less than many areas of the world. When land is cleared, settlers will sell the valuable timber and burn the remains to enrich the soil. In forests managed for continuous logging, however, logging areas are managed on rotations, where specific parcels can be selectively cut every 20-40 years. Most logging activity is concentrated along highways and major rivers, such as near the river port of Pucallpa in Peru and Santarém in Brazil. Logging also follows highways construction, along roads such as the Trans-Amazon in the north, the soy highway in Mato Grosso, and the newly completed inter-oceanic highway between Brazil and southern Peru in the state of Madre de Dios.

In the Brazilian Amazon, logging operations have often occurred on forest land claimed by ranchers and speculators. In these cases, landowners would sell extraction rights to loggers, using the revenues to finance conversion to cattle ranching. Logging on these private lands is difficult to regulate; the forest code requires that Amazon properties maintain 80% of their land in forest cover (read more about Brazil policies on the Brazil - governance page). Significant amounts of logging also occur on indigenous and community forest lands.

Some logging in the Amazon basin functions on a concessions system, where a logging company is granted production rights on public land for a fee. These systems often manage forests by dividing harvest areas into yearly rotations, and placing a limit on the minimum diameter that can be harvested, often around 50 cm diameter. In the Amazon basin, Brazil and Peru have recently reformed concessions to encourage long term, sustainable yield managed by environment and forest ministries. However, logging in areas with unclear tenure often results in unsustainable practices, as loggers have little incentive to manage the land for long term. Brazil's concession policy of 2000 was regarded by many as unprofitable and risky for logging companies, especially in a climate of widespread illegal harvest. Others contend that regulations favor large companies at the expense of local landowners, as the permitting process can be long, costly, and require paperwork in distant provincial capitals. In 2010, Brazil had leased a very small amount of private concession forest, and instead announced plans to sell large forest areas.

The most valuable timber species in the Amazon basin is mahogany ( Sweitenia macrophylla), a timber highly valued for its color and quality. A single tree can sell for more thousands of dollars in a US market, and the US has traditionally been the largest mahogany market. In 2001, Brazil banned mahogany trade following allegations of illegal activity. Following this, mahogany was listed in 2003 as CITES II, an international trade regulation that restricts trade so that it does not harm the ecosystem where the species is harvested. Following the CITES listing and mahogany ban in Brazil, illegal trade shifted to other countries with weaker forest governance, like Peru. In 2007-2008, Peru signed a free trade agreement with the United States, and stipulations of the trade treaty supported increased enforcement of trade of mahogany and other CITES listed timber species. Nevertheless, illegal logging has continued in Peru and has been the subject of several investigative analyses.

Besides mahogany, a small percentage of total wood production from the Amazon is traded on international markets. Amazon wood is often used domestically for building material; plantation wood is more likely to be used for charcoal or exported as pulp. However, these figures obscure the fact that the majority of exports are thought to be illegal. In Peru and Brazil, several reports have disclosed massive volumes of illegally traded wood. In Brazil, the Brazilian Environmental Authority (IBAMA) monitors logging permits and trade, and frequently intercepts illegal shipments. Certification programs such as FSC and PEFC, as well as legality verification laws such as the US Lacey Act and the FLEGT of Europe seek to ensure minimum standards and reward well managed forest operations - read more on the forest certification page.

Unsustainable logging causes significant ecological damage to the Amazon forests. Selective logging that is poorly practiced can cause significant damage on surrounding trees, lianas, and epiphytes. Gaps caused by tree felling can open space for light demanding trees but have also been found to increase rates of edge effects, plant disease, and fire. Satellite imagery has discovered significant levels of overall selective logging, previously unregistered in country deforestation maps. Selectively logged areas do not necessarily lead to eventual forest clearing, but still represent a significant source of carbon emissions and biodiversity loss. However, many conservation groups advocate sustainable logging in the Amazon as a means to maintain standing forest and prevent forest conversion to soy or cattle ranching. Reduced impact logging, certified forestry, and logging in coordination with agroforestry, collection of non-timber forest products, or payments for environmental services are management systems that attempt to combine conservation with economic activity.

Sources:
Asner, G. P., Knapp, D. E., Broadbent, E. N., Oliveira, P. J., Keller, M., & Silva, J. N. (2005). Selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon. Science, 310(5747), 480-482.

Bergamini, A., Scheidegger, C., Stofer, S., Carvalho, P., Davey, S., & Dietrich, M. et al. (2005). Performance of Macrolichens and Lichen Genera as Indicators of Lichen Species Richness and Composition.Conservation Biology, 19(4), 1051-1062. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00086.x

Bradford, S. (2012). How illegal logging in Brazil's Amazon turns 'legal'. BBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-20408238

Butler, Rhett. (2010) "Brazil to auction off ;large blocks of Amazon rainforest for logging." Mongabay.com

EIA. (2012). The Laundering Machine. Retrieved from: https://eia-international.org/report/the-laundering-machine1

Fearnside, P. M. (2003). Conservation policy in Brazilian Amazonia: Understanding the dilemmas. World development, 31(5), 757-779.

Gutiérrez-Vélez, V. H., DeFries, R., Pinedo-Vásquez, M., Uriarte, M., Padoch, C., Baethgen, W., ... & Lim, Y. (2011). High-yield oil palm expansion spares land at the expense of forests in the Peruvian Amazon. Environmental Research Letters, 6(4), 044029.

Kaimowitz, D. (2003). Forest law enforcement and rural livelihoods. International Forestry Review, 5(3), 199-210.

Laurance, W. F., Laurance, S. G., Ferreira, L. V., Rankin-de Merona, J. M., Gascon, C., & Lovejoy, T. E. (1997). Biomass collapse in Amazonian forest fragments. Science, 278(5340), 1117-1118.

McDermott, C., & Cashore , B. (2009). Forestry Driver Mapping Project: Global and US trade report. GISF Research Report, (012).

Veríssimo, A., Barreto, P., Mattos, M., Tarifa, R., & Uhl, C. (1992). Logging impacts and prospects for sustainable forest management in an old Amazonian frontier: the case of Paragominas. Forest ecology and management, 55(1), 169-199.

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In the Amazon basin, only a few species contain valuable timber, much less than many areas of the world. When land is cleared, settlers will sell the valuable timber and burn the remains to enrich the soil. In forests managed for continuous logging, however, logging areas are managed on rotations, where specific parcels can be selectively cut every 20-40 years.

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When the Ashéninka community in Peru need wood for a new paddle they search for the right tree, usually a Remo Caspi or Paddle Wood tree. They take care to select not just the right kind of tree-paddle wood is known for being flexible and light-but the right tree itself. This sustainable, thoughtful logging has kept the rainforest protected for hundreds of years. Sadly most trees being cut down in the Amazon are not so carefully selected. HOW LOGGING ACTUALLY WORKS: MACHINES CUT DOWN ALL TREES RAZING AREAS. Even when loggers come in to cut down certain kinds of trees-for example costly rosewood- all of the other trees in the area are frequently cut down as well-either at the same time or later on once loggers have cut down all the more profitable trees in the area. When exotic woods are found in Indigenous areas, these communities are especially vulnerable as powerful companies pressure governments to give them permits to log while illegal loggers enter and cut down trees without bothering to obtain permits. Something in your house is made with illegally obtained wood. It might be your laminate flooring, office paper, dining room chairs or your guitar. Illegal logging is a $100 billion global industry. With one of the planet's largest intact rainforests and corruption throughout the government, Peru is the land of opportunity for illegal loggers. In fact 80% of Peru's timber comes from illegal logging. Other rainforest countries' illegal exports are not far behind. Forest crime isn't an isolated event, it's an everyday event! Usually, loggers fell trees from protected land and then mix the logs in with wood obtained from legal concessions. However, the vast quantities of illegal timber being sold make it impossible for governments not to know that much of the wood they approve for export or import is illegal.

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logging -Save the Rainforest- Rainforest Foundation US

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When the Ashéninka community in Peru need wood for a new paddle they search for the right tree, usually a Remo Caspi or Paddle Wood tree. They take care to select not just the right kind of tree-paddle wood is known for being flexible and light-but the right tree itself.

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Illegal mining in Amazon rainforest has become an 'epidemic'

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Campaigners release map showing scale of pollution and damage to environment caused by small-scale miners

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Mining's Big Environmental Footprint in the Amazon

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Mining's Big Environmental Footprint in the Amazon

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Mining Technology | Mining News and Views Updated Daily

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The Amazon rainforest in South America has large quantities of copper, tin, nickel, bauxite, manganese, iron ore and gold, making it attractive to mining companies all around the world. But as the governments of the eight countries that cross the Amazon eagerly try to capitalise on this wealth, concern is growing over the deforestation caused by, amongst other things, mining.

Until recently, mining operations were thought to have only a small comparative impact upon the rainforest, which covers 40% of South America. Estimates previously put the figure at just 1%-2%; however, a new study published by researchers at the University of Vermont (UVM) is as much as ten times that. This is, in part, because for the first time, the researchers looked at the overall impact of all mining operations, and the results are cause for grave concern.

The Amazon rainforest is of great global importance, with just one if its roles being as a carbon sink that absorbs 2.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Deforestation has already had a massive impact on this, the biggest rainforest in the world, with only 80% of the original landmass remaining. Since the 1970s, more than 1.4 million hectares of forest have been cleared, predominantly due to the logging trade, conversion to cattle pastures and agricultural infrastructure.

The hidden impact of mining

Published in Nature Communications, the Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon report examines the broader effects of an entire mining operation, as opposed to just the area cleared for the pit. "This topic has received little attention because mining is often considered a small-scale cause of deforestation compared to other land uses," explains Laura Sonter, lecturer at the UVM Gund Institute for Environment and lead author of the paper. " Mines take up less than 1% of the total land area, compared to pasture (60%-70%), agriculture (20%) and logging (2%-3%). But we found that mining was often the root cause of these other sources of deforestation."

Over the past decade, the rising price of gold has led to a new rush to mine in the Amazon and increased illegal mining operations in Peru, Columbia and Brazil. In Peru alone, at least 64,000 acres has been stripped for gold mining, much of which is illegal. Deforestation for mining purposes, especially illegal operations, is more complete than that caused by the logging trade, for example, as not only is the forest burned down, stripping away the earth and making regrowth much harder, but also rivers and streams often become contaminated by mining waste such as mercury.

But whilst governments do fight the deforestation caused by illegal mining, operations which are relatively centralised to the mining area, they also welcome large legitimate mining operations with infrastructure that stretches far beyond the pit.

"We assessed both the deforestation within mining leases and indirectly occurring outside them throughout the world's largest remaining tropical rainforest - the Brazilian Amazon," says Sonter. "We found off-lease impacts extended 70km from mining leases to cause 12 times more deforestation off-lease than within."

Using satellite imagery, Sonter and her team mapped the 50 largest mining sites in the Amazon over ten years. During this time, they found that 11,670km² of forest was lost to mining activities and surrounding infrastructure in Brazil alone. "In total, mining-induced deforestation caused 9% of all Amazon deforestation during the decade between 2005 and 2015. This is much more forest loss than we previously thought the mining industry caused and has huge impacts on native biodiversity, carbon storage and climate regulation, as well as having serious social and cultural implications for the people who live in those areas.

"A range of different factors cause mining-induced deforestation," Sonter explains. "For example, establishing a new mining operation in a region requires require a lot of extra infrastructure, such as roads and railways to transport the mined ore. Building roads, in turn, provides new access to areas that may have been inaccessible to farmers in the past."

Protecting the Brazilian rainforest

The study is likely to bolster the argument for stricter environmental regulations in Brazil in particular. Current regulations are limited to actual mining, but as mines provide jobs communities grow, as does the demand for meat and fresh produce in the area. However, at present, forest land cleared to provide roads, worker housing, and associated activities such as agriculture is not considered in the licensing process.

Mining companies are keen to expand into the Amazon, and the Brazilian Government aims to facilitate this, as the study claims that "throughout Brazil, mining leases, concessions, and exploration permits cover 1.65 million km² of land, of which 60% is located in the Amazon forest".

In 2017, Brazil's President Michel Temer tried to abolish the national reserve status of the 4.6 million hectare Renca preserve by presidential decree. This would have opened up the land for mining, particularly for two Canadian companies, but protests were widespread and a federal judge annulled the move. However, the Brazilian Union's General Advocate is planning to appeal the decision.

Efforts to decrease deforestation are underway, and the INPE (Brazil's space agency) recently found that the rate of deforestation in Brazil decreased by 6,624km² between August 2016 and July 2017. "The result indicates a decrease of 16% compared to 2016, the year that we determined 7,893km², and also a decrease of 76% compared to that recorded in 2004, the year the Federal Government launched the Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation Amazon, currently coordinated by the Ministry of Environment," the INPE said.

But Sonter is quick to remind us that this is a relatively small success, saying that "while deforestation declined between August 2016 and July 2017, it was still higher than rates during the five years preceding (2011 to 2015)". "To slow deforestation and conserve Amazon forests," she says, "we need to understand and address the remaining sources of forest loss."

Whilst efforts are to be encouraged, whether or not deforestation has already made irreparable damage to the Amazon is unclear, that "will depend on the strength of Brazil's environmental policies and other economic factors", says Sonter. "A step in the right direction would be to systematically incorporate indirect deforestation into mining environmental impact assessments and mitigation requirements."

The Amazon is not just rich in minerals and opportunities, it is a vital carbon store as well as being home to indigenous peoples, animals and plants, many of which have extraordinary medicinal qualities, and as such, it must be protected. As mining companies seek to expand into the wilds of the forest, we must ensure this is done in a sustainable fashion which takes into account the environmental impact of the entire operation.

"We hope the mining industry will take responsibility of their environmental footprint to assess and mitigate the full extent of deforestation related to their activities," says Sonter.

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Mining's big environmental footprint in the Amazon

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The Amazon rainforest in South America has large quantities of copper, tin, nickel, bauxite, manganese, iron ore and gold, making it attractive to mining companies all around the world. But as the governments of the eight countries that cross the Amazon eagerly try to capitalise on this wealth, concern is growing over the deforestation caused by, amongst other things, mining.

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from research organizations

Sprawling mining operations in Brazil are destroying much more of the iconic Amazon forest than previously thought, says the first comprehensive study of mining deforestation in the world's largest tropical rainforest.

The research, published in Nature Communications, finds that mining-related forest loss caused roughly 10 percent of all Amazon deforestation between 2005 and 2015, much higher than previous estimates.

Surprisingly, roughly 90 percent of deforestation related to mining occurred outside the mining leases granted by Brazil's government, the University of Vermont-led study finds. Mining-induced deforestation was 12 times greater outside the mine lease areas than within them, extending as far 43.5 miles (70 km) beyond mine borders.

"These results show that mining now ranks as a substantial cause of Amazon forest loss," says Laura Sonter of UVM's Gund Institute for Environment. "Previous estimates assumed mining caused maybe one or two percent of deforestation. Hitting the 10 percent threshold is alarming and warrants action."

Mining infrastructure is a key form of off-lease deforestation, researchers say. This includes worker housing and new transportation routes -- roads, railways and airports. Built by mining companies or developers, these routes also enable other forms of deforestation, including agriculture, which remains the leading cause of Amazon forest loss.

"Our findings show that Amazon deforestation associated with mining extends remarkable distances from the point of mineral extraction," says Gillian Galford of UVM's Gund Institute and Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

The findings come as Brazil's government considers legislation that would further ease environmental regulations and lift restrictions on mining in protected and indigenous areas. Currently, when companies apply for mining leases, they do not need to account for any damage their operations may cause offsite, researchers say.

For the study, researchers tracked landscape changes around the Amazon's 50 largest active mines, analyzing 10 years of deforestation data from Brazil's Space Agency (INPE).

"We hope these findings help government, industry and scientists to work together to address this issue," says Sonter, who led the study as a UVM postdoctoral researcher, before joining the University of Queensland (Australia).

Rainforests provide many benefits, including helping to regulate the planet's climate, housing rich plant and animal biodiversity, and soaking up carbon dioxide, researchers say. They note that global efforts have successfully helped to curb other causes of Amazon loss, such as agriculture and cattle.

Key minerals targeted by mining companies in the Amazon include iron ore for steelmaking and bauxite to produce aluminum.
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Vermont. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Laura J. Sonter, Diego Herrera, Damian J. Barrett, Gillian L. Galford, Chris J. Moran, Britaldo S. Soares-Filho. Mining drives extensive deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Nature Communications, 2017; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00557-w

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ecology research; nature; extinction; mining; environmental science; rainforests; surveillance; land management; retail and services

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New Amazon threat? Deforestation from mining: Surprising amount of rainforest loss occurs on -- and off -- mining leases

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Sprawling mining operations in Brazil have caused roughly 10 percent of all Amazon rainforest deforestation between 2005 and 2015 -- much higher than previous estimates -- says the first comprehensive study of mining deforestation in the iconic tropical rainforest. Surprisingly, the majority of mining deforestation (a full 90%) occurred outside the mining leases granted by Brazil's government, the new study finds.

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Take a minute to look around the room you're in and notice how many things are made out of paper. There may be books, a few magazines, some printer paper, and perhaps a poster on the wall. Yet, if you consider that each person in the United States uses 749 pounds (340kg) of paper every year (adding up to a whopping 187 billion pounds (85 billion kg) per year for the entire population, by far the largest per capita consumption rate of paper for any country in the world), then you realize that paper comes in many more forms than meets the eye.

World consumption of paper has grown 400 percent in the last 40 years. Now nearly 4 billion trees or 35 percent of the total trees cut around the world are used in paper industries on every continent. Besides what you can see around you, paper comes in many forms from tissue paper to cardboard packaging to stereo speakers to electrical plugs to home insulation to the sole inserts in your tennis shoes. In short, paper is everywhere.

Where Does the Paper Come From?

So where does it come from? Most people can guess that trees are the staple of any paper product. But did you know that until the middle of the 19th century, the main ingredient of paper was cloth rags? And while trees have since become a vital component in the creation of paper, many manufacturers today are beginning to use recycled waste combined with tree pulp to decrease the number of trees that need to be cut down and keep up with the growing demand for paper. Also, many environmentalists who believe that the world's forests are being cut down faster than they can grow are pointing to the continued success of wood-free paper made with other plants such as hemp and a similarly fibrous plant called kenaf.

The First Paper...

The first paper-like substance was invented by the Egyptians over 6,000 years ago. Papyrus, which is the root of our English word paper, was made by weaving reeds or other fibrous plants together and pounding them into a flat sheet. The Greeks and the Romans also used this technique, although some Ancient Greek paper makers were the first to create a kind of parchment paper made out of animal skins. Chances are, Aristotle, Socrates and other Greek philosophers originally wrote their books on the skins of dead cows.

But paper as we know it wasn't made until 105 AD, when a Chinese court official named Ts'ai Lun mixed mulberry bark and hemp with water and scraps of cotton and linen cloth (i.e. rags). This concoction was mashed into a pulp and pressed into mats that were left in the sun to dry. Rags were the basis for paper for the next 1700 years.

As the Chinese culture flourished and expanded to the edges of the Asian continent, paper went along with it, first to Korea and Japan and then to the Arab world which included Egypt and Morocco. Yet, it wasn't until 1009 AD that Papermaking reached Europe by way of Spain, where the first European paper mill was set up by Arabs in Xativa, near the Mediterranean port city of Valencia.

After that, the Italians and the French became notable paper makers and dominated the paper industry in Europe from 1250 to 1470 AD. After the invention of the moveable type printing press in 1453 by the German inventor Johannes Gutenberg and the subsequent boom in literacy rates in the 16th century, paper for books grew in demand. Paper mills began opening all over the European continent and eventually reached the new world where the first American paper mill opened in Philadelphia in 1690. That increase in demand and the upsurge in papermaking began to tax the raw materials used to make paper (which was still largely made with rags) and manufacturers began searching for alternatives. It wasn't until 1843 that ground-wood (or pulp) harvested from trees became the papermakers material of choice.

The Modern Industry

Today, the world consumes about 300 million tons of paper each year. Most of that paper is made from virgin pulp, but recycled paper accounts for 38 percent of the world's total fiber supply and non-wood fibers from plants like hemp or kenaf make up 7 percent. The U.S., which contains only 5 percent of the world's population, uses 30 percent of all paper. In that country, the forest and paper products industry generates $200 billion dollars in sales every year, accounting for 7 percent of the total manufacturing output of the United States. About 28 percent of all wood cut in the U.S. is used for papermaking.

Having come a long way from using rags and mulberry bark, papermaking has become a sophisticated science. Once a tree is cut down, it goes to a mill where it is debarked and then chipped into tiny fragments by a series of whirling blades. These fragments are then "cooked" in a vat with water and several chemicals, including caustic soda and sodium sulfate, to make a gooey slurry known as pulp. In the final stages, additives such as starch, China clay, talc and calcium carbonate are added to the pulp to improve the strength and brightness of the paper. Then the pulp is bleached to a white color using water and chlorine before being pressed into rolls and dried.

The Environmental Impact

Unfortunately, the papermaking process is not a clean one. According to the U.S. Toxic Release Inventory report published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pulp and paper mills are among the worst polluters to air, water and land of any industry in the country. The Worldwatch Institute offers similar statistics for the rest of the world. Each year millions of pounds of highly toxic chemicals such as toluene, methanol, chlorine dioxide, hydrochloric acid and formaldehyde are released into the air and water from papermaking plants around the world.

Papermaking also uses up vast quantities of trees. But trees are a renewable resource, which means that once one is cut down another can be planted in its place. In fact, much of the wood used by paper companies in the U.S. comes from privately owned tree farms, where forests are planted, groomed and thinned for harvest in 20 to 35 year cycles, depending on the tree species. Around the world, tree farms supply 16 percent of all wood used in the paper industry, while the bulk comes from second growth forests. Less than 9 percent of the wood used to make paper is harvested from old growth forests, which are impossible to replace because of their maturity.

Yet, while tree farms or plantations help feed the demand for wood, they can't provide the plant and animal diversity found in natural forests. Plus, according to a 1996 report from the U.S. Forest Service, the rate of harvest for softwood trees in the southern United States outpaced growth for the first time since 1953.

Alternatives to Cutting Down Trees

For these reasons, there is a growing chorus of entrepreneurs, environmentalists and inventors who are coming up with ways to make paper without having to use as many chemicals or so many trees. Recycling is by far the most common way to help save a tree. According to the Worldwatch Institute, recycling efforts around the world recovered about 110 million tons, or 43 percent, of all paper used. About 60 percent of all paper in the United States was kept out of landfills in 2009 and in 2010, 77 percent of all papermakers in the U.S. substitute some recycled paper for virgin wood in the pulp-making stage. And 115 mills use only recycled waste as their primary source of raw material.

Others point to agricultural waste as a stand in for wood. Agri-pulp, as it's called, is wheat, oat, barley and other crop stalks left over after harvesting. Combined with recycled paper and other fillers, some paper makers are finding that agri-pulp paper makes fine stationery.

Hemp is a wood substitute that has a rich history in the papermaking industry, from paper's origins in China in the first century AD to the Declaration of Independence, which was written in the 18th century on hemp paper. Hemp is now used to make rope and clothes as well as paper. Unfortunately, it is illegal to grow hemp in the U.S. because it is a non-intoxicating variety of cannabis sativa, the same plant marijuana comes from. For that reason, hemp must be imported for use in the U.S.

Kenaf is also known as an excellent tree-substitute in making paper. This 4,000-year-old hibiscus plant - an annual, non-wood fiber plant related to okra and cotton - is native to central Africa and can grow up to 18 feet tall in a four -to-five month season. Like hemp, kenaf is naturally whiter than wood and can be bleached with hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine.

One of the major reasons paper mills are hesitant to convert to using kenaf or hemp to make paper is because they are not set up to process anything except trees. Converting a paper mill to process these wood pulp alternatives would cost tens of millions of dollars and major coordination with their suppliers and customers.

Still - like the conversion of radio to television as the major entertainment source in the 1950s and 1960s - such a conversion from trees to non-wood source materials in the papermaking process can ultimately provide extraordinary economics for the manufacturers and the consumers. It's simply a matter of the different groups within the industry agreeing on how to best make it happen. And it's going to take consumers like you and me to start buying recycled products as well as alternative pulp.

What's certain is that with so much of our daily lives dependent on the material, paper is here to stay. Even email and the Internet haven't slowed this demand. And yet, as research advances and the environmental impact lessens, perhaps we'll be able to live comfortably with paper for the next six thousand years.
Updated September 10, 2011 by Susan Colby
Did You Know...

The first paper merchant in America was Benjamin Franklin, who helped to start 18 paper mills in Virginia and surrounding areas.

Wood pulp is found in rayon material, laundry detergent, tires, and transmission belts.

The trees used to make paper in the United States come mostly from softwood forests-mostly pine-in the South and West.

In 1883 Philadelphia resident Charles Stillwell invented a machine to make brown paper bags so folks would have something to carry their groceries home in. Today more than 10 million paper bags are used annually in supermarkets throughout the country.

In 2010, recycled paper averaged 334 pounds for every person in the U.S. Hemp was grown commercially in the United States until the 1950s.

The single oldest living thing on Earth is a tree, a 4,700 year-old bristlecone pine tree in Nevada. It was growing when the Egyptians built the pyramids.

There are 747 million acres of forest land in the United States.

More than 2.3 billion tree seedlings are planted in the United States each year.

Other Sources:
The European Paper Industry American Forest and Paper Association The American Tree Farm System Environmental Protection Agency The Worldwatch Institute Boise Cascade Paper: Sustainability Policies About the Kenaf Plant Rainforest Action Network
Conservatree

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Take a minute to look around the room you're in and notice how many things are made out of paper. There may be books, a few magazines, some printer paper, and perhaps a poster on the wall.

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Deforestation and the Role of Paper Products

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Deforestation and the Role of Paper Products

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Great ideas are started on paper. The world is educated on paper. Businesses are founded on paper. Love is professed on paper. Important news is spread on paper. Justice is rendered on paper. Rights are guaranteed on paper. Freedoms are declared on paper.
All of this was written on the packaging of a ream of paper I just added to my printer as I started this piece, and it is hard to argue with the importance this medium has had with respect to the development of humankind.

At the same time, paper comes from tree fibers, either from the growing forests or recovered paper. Global deforestation and forest degradation are problems of a global scale, but before addressing the extent to which the insatiable use of paper and the industry behind it is responsible, here's a little context as to the state of the world's forests.

To start with, about a half of the forests that once covered the earth are gone. Every year, another 13 million hectares disappear ( although afforestation adds another eight back), and the World Resources Institute (WRI) estimates that only about 22 percent of the world's old growth forests remain intact.

On the upside, temperate forests in the northern hemisphere are actually expanding, while on the downside, tropical forests and some temperate forests in the southern hemisphere are shrinking. According to the University of Michigan, two percent of the forest in Amazonia is lost annually, and with it, the ecosystem services the forest supplies.

Those ecosystem services are vital. Wherever forests are found, they provide carbon sequestration, protection against floods, landslides and soil erosion, as well as harboring a rich bio-diversity of plants and animals, and raw materials for medicines, to name but a few things; not to mention the 300 million people that call forests their home around the world. So, as the forests shrink and degrade, where does the focus of the problem fall?

I spoke to Nigel Sizer of the World Resources Institute (WRI), and asked him if he could rank the number one threat to global forestry and, without pause, he replied, "The answer to that is very simple. By far the most significant threat to forests is the expansion of agriculture and agricultural commodities," adding, "the expansion of soy and pasture land, palm oil production and other agricultural activities accounts for probably about 80 percent of tropical deforestation." The paper and pulp industry is a part of that picture too, but Sizer says this is only a small part and very localized, mainly to parts of Indonesia.

But it is not just clear-cutting forests for agriculture that we need to be concerned about. Tropical forests are also subject to selective logging - where specific types of trees are harvested to make products such as plywood, particle board and other solid wood products. This practice doesn't clear forests completely, but as WRI's Sizer explained to me, "It's like a sponge - you poke holes in the canopy and it [the forest] dries out more quickly - and that makes it more prone to fire," a major problem in an ecosystem not naturally fire-prone, and not at all adapted to it. When fire does occur in tropical regions, that land is often lost to forestry and is re-purposed as agricultural land. Sizer adds, "There is a complex interplay between the logging industry and agriculture. Often the same company might be doing both; logging first, then using cash to invest in clearing the remainder for agriculture."

As devastating as this is for the forests themselves, Sizer told me that there is a very real threat that a condition called "Amazon die-back" could occur - a situation where forest degradation leading to moisture loss, in turn causes changes to weather patterns through a series of positive feedbacks. The impact is felt in the forests, but the effects are felt further afield, too. The fear is that a chain reaction could be triggered causing weather pattern changes across the whole of South and possibly even North America, if not globally.

But forest loss is not inevitable. Sizer told me, "Brazil has seen an 80 percent drop in deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon since 2004." He added, "That's an extraordinary achievement." Furthermore, the Brazilian government is intent on bringing that down to zero and shifting to a net re-greening of the country's Amazon region going forward.

As is often the case, correction comes down to providing the right incentives. Sizer told me Brazil has invested heavily in remote sensing technologies, allowing them to clamp down on illegal forest logging within days - bolstering their enforcement efforts. On top of this, the removal of harmful subsidies for inefficient cattle ranching has reduced pressure to convert forest land to pasture, while local government subsidies have been made available so that municipalities are better able to manage forestry properly.

What this illustrates is that forest loss is not an inevitability. If they are managed responsibly with a long term perspective, the resource will continue to thrive. And despite the concerns with respect to delicate tropical ecosystems under threat, it has to be recognized that back here in the U.S., much of the damage to natural forests has already been done. According to the University of Michigan, since 1600, 90 percent of virgin forest in the lower 48 states has been cleared away and threats to forestry remain today. Activities in the past may have decimated old growth forest, and today, proper management and responsible forestry practices are as important here as anywhere else. So what are the threats in the USA?

WRI's "Southern Forests for the Future" website identifies that the biggest threat to U.S. forests is suburban encroachment. The U.S. forest service estimates that between 1992 and 2040, 31 million acres of forest land will be lost to development.

But the impact of the paper industry cannot be ignored, especially when today, the southern United States forests are home to the world's single largest pulp and paper production region in the world.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), globally around 40 percent of the annual industrial wood harvest is processed for paper and paperboard. This figure includes both industrial roundwood and sawmill by-products, and the volume has doubled since the 1960s.

But though that is a huge proportion, Sizer told me, "Most of the pulp and paper in the world comes from plantation-grown wood - fast growing wood with harvesting cycles ranging between five and 20 years," adding, "These are fast growing and well-managed plantations that are on land which was cleared of forest a long, long time ago." The point being, a large wood harvest doesn't necessarily mean further decimation of existing natural forests. But is this the case?

In the U.S., the Dogwood Alliance, an organization focused on protecting southern U.S. forests, has spent the last 15 years putting relentless pressure on the paper industry (and downstream, on the paper-consuming industries) by way of using, in their words, "A combination of grassroots pressure and skillful negotiations to reach corporate boardrooms in a way that makes a difference on the landscape." In one of their reports, they identify that 5-6 million acres of U.S. southern forests are cut down each year to make paper and wood products, and they have clearly placed the paper industry in their crosshairs as being a major threat.

But is this statement accurate? Counter-evidence is easy to find.

Researchers at the USDA Forest Service Products Laboratory (FPL) found that the lowest rates of deforestation occur in regions with the highest rates of industrial wood harvest and forest product production. The research suggests that an economically sound forest products industry promotes forest preservation. Furthermore, U.S. Forest Service data support this economic and land use reality. The number of forested acres in the U.S. South rose from 211.1 million in 1987 to 214.6 million in 2007 (latest data available. (Source: U.S. Forest Service, Forest Resources of the United States, 2007, page 158)

An economic counter-argument is that demand for paper and other forest products provides an incentive to keep growing, harvesting and regenerating planted forests for continuous, sustainable use. Intensive planted forest use helps set aside valuable natural forests for conservation and limited commercial use. With a goal of turning adversaries into allies, the Dogwood Alliance has pointed the way for this important industry in the American South, to leave a smaller impact on natural forests. They advocate for paper producers and landowners to work together to manage forests more responsibly and urge production to come from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified sources, stating that this ensures a paper product was produced in a responsible and sustainable manner. Also Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is a recognized North American forest certification program endorsed by PEFC (a global umbrella organization called Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification). According to Dovetail Partners, changes in major certification programs in recent years (like FSC and SFI) make it increasingly difficult to differentiate between certification systems in North America.

As of April this year, Dogwood Alliance had entered into dialogue with several major paper companies "to map endangered forests and forests with high conservation value, to discourage the future conversion of natural hardwood forests to pine plantations, to expand FSC certification in the U.S. and globally, and to fund restoration and conservation of key forests in the South." Dogwood Alliance focuses on the paper and biomass industries as key players in the deforestation debate, while other NGOs like WRI see other issues (like development) as more pressing.

At the end of the day, the paper industry need not be a cause of natural forest degradation, or deforestation, and through proper management with independently certified forestry standards, such as FSC and SFI, the supply of paper, fundamental to humankind's development over the years - can remain so responsibly into the future.
Image Credit: Nicholas A. Tonelli
Phil Covington holds an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School. In the past, he spent 16 years in the freight transportation and logistics industry. Today, Phil's writing focuses on transportation, forestry, technology and matters of sustainability in business.

Follow Phil Covington @PhilCovBlog

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Deforestation and the Role of Paper Products

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Great ideas are started on paper. The world is educated on paper. Businesses are founded on paper. Love is professed on paper. Important news is spread on paper. Justice is rendered on paper. Rights are guaranteed on paper. Freedoms are declared on paper.

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Why Indonesian Rainforests?

When taking a birds-eye view of the three major tropical rainforests in the world, Southeast Asia's rainforests, and those found in Indonesia in particular, are ground zero for biodiversity loss, exploitation of forest peoples, and climate emissions from deforestation. Containing the largest expanse of rainforest in all of Asia, Indonesian rainforests are home to hundreds of distinct groups of forest peoples with their own Indigenous languages and over 3,000 animal species including critically endangered Sumatran tigers, pygmy elephants, java rhinoceros and orangutans.

As recently as the 1960's, about 80 percent of Indonesia was forested, but with one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, less than half of the Indonesia's original forest cover remains. The main drivers of deforestation and land grabs from forest peoples in Indonesia are the forest products industry - including pulp and paper and other forest products like plywood - and oil palm plantations.These products are mainly produced to feed international demand for these commodities.

Although estimates vary, studies suggest that about one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of Indonesian rainforest is cleared and lost each year, with about 70% occurring in forests on mineral soils and 30% on carbon-rich peatland forests. The scale of destruction of Indonesia's rainforests is having globally significant impacts on the climate system. Indonesia's rainforest and peatland ecosystems store billions of tons of carbon, and their destruction releases huge emissions into the atmosphere. Indonesia is now the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after the U.S. and China. However, unlike these nations whose emissions are largely due to burning fossil fuels, 80% of Indonesia's emissions profile is from rainforest and peatland degradation and loss.

Why Pulp & Paper?

Pulp from cleared rainforests and the pulp wood plantations that replace them is made into cheap copy paper, books, tissue, packaging, toilet paper and even luxury shopping bags. It is also used to make rayon, a fabric found in a wide array of clothing and apparel and sold to consumers in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) and Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), Indonesia's largest and second largest pulp and paper companies, have historically been responsible for most of the rainforest loss from pulp and paper. Asia Pacific Resources International Limited and its affiliates like Toba Pulp Lestari, which makes pulp for rayon, are clear cutting and draining huge areas of Indonesia's diverse rainforests and peatlands.

These logging giants then convert the degraded land into monoculture acacia and eucalyptus pulp wood plantations to make paper products and apparel. This deforestation is devastating communities and their livelihoods and driving species like the Sumatran tiger toward extinction. The Indonesian pulp and paper sector is one of the biggest threats to the remaining large peatland and natural forest landscapes in Sumatra and Borneo. Market and investor pressure and public profile are helping to catalyze shifts in Indonesia's political economy by pushing private and government pulp and paper sector interests to develop alternative business models. These models prevent further conversion of rainforests and peatlands to pulpwood plantations, respect and uphold the land and human rights of forest communities, and remedy the legacy of rights violations and deforestation caused by the industry.

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Pulp and Paper - Rainforest Action Network

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When taking a birds-eye view of the three major tropical rainforests in the world, Southeast Asia's rainforests, and those found in Indonesia in particular, are ground zero for biodiversity loss, exploitation of forest peoples, and climate emissions from deforestation.

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Most the the paper produced in the world comes from clearcuts like this one in British Columbia, Canada. Standing in the middle of this tragedy is Jeff Lockwood, Rainforest Relief Vice President and Northwest Chapter Director.

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Mining for gold can conjure up quaint images of rolled up pants, a pan and sieve and the sound of water flowing over pebbles boulders and splashing against the rocks. In the Amazon, miners are more likely to be waist deep in polluted water laced with dangerous chemicals. Mining in the Amazon begins with detonating explosives on riverbanks and digging deep craters in areas cleared of forest. Mining the gold for just one wedding ring can damage a river forever as mercury and cyanide are released into the river along with twenty tons of sediment produced by blasting the riverbank. The pits left are often 30 feet deep. After the pit has been created miners use pressurized water to wash away the earth. Finally they drain the area using flat sieves that sift out tiny gold flakes. It is here that miners frequently use mercury or other dangerous chemicals to help separate the gold from the rest of the silt. The gold and much mercury bind in an amalgam making the gold easier to extract however some of the mercury remains and eventually returns to the waterway. In Peru, much of the rainforest being mined illegally. Estimates are that 20% or more of the gold coming from Peru is illegally mined. Local government officials are often corrupt and complicit, turning a blind eye to illegal and dangerous mining practices, unregistered mining concessions, and illegal mining on State and Indigenous land. Gold mining is largely unregulated throughout the rainforests where miners can quickly set up, blast riverbed, and extract gold, leaching toxic chemicals into the waterways before anyone knows they are there.

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Mining -Save the Rainforest- Rainforest Foundation US

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Mining for gold can conjure up quaint images of rolled up pants, a pan and sieve and the sound of water flowing over pebbles boulders and splashing against the rocks. In the Amazon, miners are more likely to be waist deep in polluted water laced with dangerous chemicals.

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As the world seeks to slow the pace of climate change, preserve wildlife, and support more than eight billion people, trees inevitably hold a major part of the answer. Yet the mass destruction of trees-deforestation-continues, sacrificing the long-term benefits of standing trees for short-term gain of fuel, and materials for manufacturing and construction.

We need trees for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that they absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale and the heat-trapping greenhouse gases that human activities emit. As those gases enter the atmosphere, global warming increases, a trend scientists now prefer to call climate change.

There is also the imminent danger of disease caused by deforestation.

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Deforestation and Its Effect on the Planet

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As the world seeks to slow the pace of climate change, preserve wildlife, and support more than eight billion people, trees inevitably hold a major part of the answer. Yet the mass destruction of trees-deforestation-continues, sacrificing the long-term benefits of standing trees for short-term gain of fuel, and materials for manufacturing and construction.

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SEASON ONE

SEASON TWO(Beware of spoilers!)

To hear the rest of season two, sign up at http://pinna.fm. The first month is free and they have lots of additional content for kids ages 3-8. Or, a nine-CD boxset is now available of the entire series. Copies are available at CDBaby.

SEASON THREE (Beware of spoilers!)

To hear the rest of season three, sign up at http://pinna.fm. The first month is free and they have lots of additional content for kids ages 3-8. Or, a nine-CD boxset is now available of the entire series. Copies are available at CDBaby.

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SEASON ONE SEASON TWO(Beware of spoilers!) To hear the rest of season two, sign up at http://pinna.fm. The first month is free and they have lots of additional content for kids ages 3-8. Or, a nine-CD boxset is now available of the entire series. Copies are available at CDBaby.

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By Jodi Helmer * Originally Published on Fix.com

How a Popular Product Leads to Deforestation

Your favorite pizza dough, detergent, lipstick, chocolate, and biodiesel have something in common: Most of these products contain palm oil.

Palm oil comes from the fruit on tropical oil palm trees. Producing the edible oil wreaks havoc on the environment, leading to deforestation, habitat degradation, and loss of animal habitat. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that an area about the size of 300 football fields is cleared each hour in tropical rainforests for palm oil production.

The History of Palm Oil

Palm oil trees grow well in tropical climates with lots of heat and rainfall, including countries in Africa, Asia, North and South America. Worldwide, 50 million tons of palm oil are produced every year, making it the most widely traded vegetable oil in the world. The majority of the edible oil is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Palm oil is popular because it is cheap to produce and can be used in a number of different applications. It has a high melting point and no trans fats, making it a popular cooking oil. Despite being an oil, it is semi-solid at room temperature. Thanks to its high fat content, palm oil is also used in non-food products that are designed to moisturize, such as shampoo, lipstick, and moisturizer.

The other reason palm oil dominates the marketplace is that there are few viable alternatives.

Environmental organizations like Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund have admitted that finding an alternative crop is not a practical solution and instead advocate for industry reforms. In the meantime, palm oil production is laying waste to the environment.

A 2016 Greenpeace report found that in Indonesia alone, palm oil has led to the loss of 31 million hectares of forest (more than 76 million acres), an area equivalent to the entire country of Germany.

Environmental Impacts

Palm oil production and deforestation go hand in hand.

To build palm oil plantations, producers clear trees in tropical rainforests, destroying the biodiverse regions. Deforestation is a significant contributor to climate change; when the forests are lost, carbon is released into the atmosphere, causing global warming.

Removing the native forests often requires burning timber and forest undergrowth, putting significant amounts of smoke into the atmosphere.

In Indonesia and Malaysia, much of the land is on tropical peat soil. This rich soil sequesters carbon. Clearing the land releases that carbon into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change.

Despite the environmental impact, the Indonesian government plans to convert 45 million acres of rainforest into palm oil plantations by 2020. The tropical nation has already allowed the deforestation of 25 million acres of peat lands to make room for palm oil plantations.

Wildlife Impacts

Animals living in the biodiverse regions where palm oil is produced are at risk.

Deforestation causes animals to lose their homes. During the production process, animals are often injured or killed. Orangutans and Sumatran tigers are at risk of extinction and several others species, including the Sumatran rhinoceros, sun bear, and clouded leopard, are also suffering because of palm oil production.

Cutting down forests also puts animals at risk of poaching. The World Wildlife Federation reports that the roads built to provide access to vehicles and equipment also provide access for poachers who kill mother orangutans and sell their babies on the illegal wildlife market. Some are sold as pets and others are used in wildlife tourism parks. Animals that wander into villages while fleeing the destruction are often killed.

Choosing Palm-Oil-Free Products

It's possible to choose products without palm oil to protect the environment - but identifying which products contain the destructive ingredient is harder than it seems. On labels, palm oil might be listed as palm kernel, palm kernel oil, palm fruit oil, palmate, palmitate, palm olein, stearate, stearic acid, ethyl palmitate, or several other iterations.

You can also look for products made with sustainable palm oil.

In 2008, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil developed a certification for sustainable palm oil. To date, 68 growers and 281 palm oil mills producing 11.37 million tons of palm oil have been RSPO-certified.

The criteria require that palm oil does not come from fragile ecosystems or forests containing significant concentrations of biodiversity, including endangered species. Production must not impact forests where local communities depend on the forest to meet their basic or cultural needs.

To qualify for certification, producers must show minimal use of pesticides and fires, fair treatment of workers, and fulfill a requirement to consult with local communities before the development of new plantations on their land.

Palm oil is a versatile ingredient in myriad products, but as this article has shown, the bad outweighs the good. Shop intelligently and avoid products that contain palm oil, or shop only for certified sustainable palm oil from now on.

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Infographic: The Enormous Damage Palm Oil Causes to the Environment and Animals

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By Jodi Helmer * Originally Published on Fix.com Your favorite pizza dough, detergent, lipstick, chocolate, and biodiesel have something in common: Most of these products contain palm oil. Palm oil comes from the fruit on tropical oil palm trees. Producing the edible oil wreaks havoc on the environment, leading to deforestation, habitat degradation, and loss of animal habitat.

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A report for the Bank of England, which considered using palm oil in the production of the new £20 note, explained: "Forest fires, started to clear land for oil palm, release high levels of carbon dioxide and black carbon (soot) into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change."

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What is palm oil and why is it thought to be bad?

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Palm oil is a kind of vegetable oil, like sunflower or rapeseed oil but many consider it to be bad for the environment.

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We can all make a difference. Thank you, Jordan Salama Kids Against Palm Oil

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Young People's Trust For the Environment

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Introduction

Oil palms are palm trees which grow hundreds of little orange/red fruits that are squashed, squeezed and pulped to produce palm oil. It is estimated that 33% of all the products in your local supermarket contain palm oil - that's a lot of products! It is used in bread, cereals, chocolates, pizzas, cleaning products, chewing gum and even shampoo.

Sometimes land is cleared so that it can be replanted with valuable cash crops such as the oil palm plant, which produces palm oil. It can also be used as a biofuel instead of petrol or diesel. Indonesia produces 90% of the world's palm oil and aims to double its production by 2020. Palm oil production is such a huge business in Malaysia and Indonesia that the latter has gained the title of "World's Fastest Rainforest Destroyer" in the Guinness Book of World Records!

Valuable trees are harvested and the rest are burnt to clear the land for the farming of palm oil. As the soil's fertility does not last forever, the people at the head of logging companies avoid bankruptcy by buying up new areas of forest. Burning the trees and the peatlands beneath them is highly polluting (see below) although the ash improves the soil's fertility before planting.

In burning the rainforests Indonesia is also burning the peatlands below which store masses of carbon. Their peatlands cover just 0.1% of the earth's land, yet contribute to 4% of the world's greenhouse gases. This makes Indonesia the country with the 3rd largest carbon footprint in the world, when deforestation is taken into account! Bio-fuel targets in Europe mean that demand for palm oil is set to increase, despite the fact that more pollution is caused producing bio-fuels than is saved by not using petrol and diesel.

Read More: Pet food and palm kernel meal

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Oil palms are palm trees which grow hundreds of little orange/red fruits that are squashed, squeezed and pulped to produce palm oil. It is estimated that 33% of all the products in your local supermarket contain palm oil - that's a lot of products!

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Deforestation

Palm oil has been linked with the destruction of the world's precious rainforests. Development of new oil palm plantations, coupled with smallholders expanding their farms to meet the rising demand for palm oil, has resulted in significant deforestation.

Threat to species survival

The removal of acres of rainforest threatens the rich biodiversity in these finely balanced ecosystems, along with the habitat of species such as the orangutan. In 1990 there were around 315,000 orangutans. Today it's estimated that fewer than 50,000 exist in the wild, split into small groups with little chance of long-term survival. The orangutan is only one of a number of species facing extinction as a result of deforestation. While palm oil is not the only cause of deforestation, it does play its part.

WWF - How our consumer choice affects wildlife

Interested in supporting the survival of the orangutan?

"Securing safe forest habitat is the single most important thing we can do to save the orangutan from extinction."

Executive Director, Orangutan Land Trust

Environmental damage

The removal of forest releases carbon into the atmosphere, speeding up global warming. In the tropics, tree roots anchor the soil. Deforestation removes this important structure, allowing heavy rains to wash away nutrient-rich soil. Crop yields begin to decline and farmers then have to use expensive fertilizers, which eat into their profits and further damage the environment

Social consequences

While the global palm oil market creates an opportunity to bring many communities out of poverty, the race for land rights has left many locals on the losing team. Reports of displaced communities and illegal land grabs are not uncommon. The resulting conflicts, loss of income and dependence on large plantations have had a significant impact of the social welfare of many.

The answer?

The demand for palm oil is huge and rising. Sustainable agriculture is the only way to maintain economic performance while halting the damage to the environment and farming communities. Supporting the production of sustainable palm oil is the way forward.

WWF: Sustainable palm oil - the way forward

WWF: How can palm oil be more sustainable? Graphical explanation

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GreenPalm :: Palm oils social and environmental issues

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The removal of acres of rainforest threatens the rich biodiversity in these finely balanced ecosystems, along with the habitat of species such as the orangutan. In 1990 there were around 315,000 orangutans. Today it's estimated that fewer than 50,000 exist in the wild, split into small groups with little chance of long-term survival.

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The main threat to the survival of orangutan populations in the wild is the massive expansion of palm oil plantations in Borneo and Sumatra.

Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, having even surpassed soya in terms of usage. Surging global demand for palm oil has fueled massive forest destruction throughout Indonesia and Malaysia, countries that together account for 85% of the world's palm oil production. Palm oil is ubiquitous! Half the packaged food (and other) products found on supermarket shelves now contain palm oil. Palm oil and palm kernel oil are found in all manner of baked goods, such as cookies, bread, and potato chips, as well as in chocolate and milk (where it adds Vitamin A). Palm oil has also replaced coconut as the main cooking oil traditionally used in Indonesia as well as replacing peanut oil in Myanmar. Palm oil is also extensively used in cosmetics and toiletries where it adds creaminess and/or foam to the product. Palm oil is an important ingredient in the manufacturing of soaps, shampoos, detergents, and toothpaste. Increasingly, palm oil is used as a biofuel.

Oil palms only grow in the tropics and need much water. Originally native to South America and West Africa, palm oil plantations have now spread throughout the wet tropics to Papua New Guinea, parts of Asia, Kenya, and also back to countries in West Africa and South America where the palms are native. The problem with palm oil is that vast areas of virgin tropical rain forest are clear cut to open up land for cultivation. Palm oil is a huge industry. Palm oil accounts for 11% of Indonesia's export earnings and is the most valuable agricultural export. Overall, it is Indonesia's third largest export earner.

The recent expansion of vast monocrop oil palm plantations in Asia, the Neotropics, and Africa threatens large areas of tropical rain forests. The two most affected countries in this expansion are Indonesia and Malaysia, home of the imperiled orangutans. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) indicated in 2007 that oil palm plantations are the leading cause of rainforest destruction in Malaysia and Indonesia. Another study by Princeton and a Swiss institution reported that between 1990 and 2005, up to 60% of palm oil expansion occurred at the expense of primary tropical rain forest. The establishment of palm oil plantations has been a disaster not only for endangered wildlife such as orangutans and tigers (in Sumatra) but has also exacerbated conflict with local communities in Indonesia over traditional land rights. Local people have been evicted from their customary land holdings and local communities impoverished, leading to much conflict with palm oil concession companies.

Help the displaced and orphan orangutans in OFI's care get a second chance at the life they deserve.

In Sumatra at least 10.8 million hectares have been opened up for palm oil plantations. The situation in Borneo is similar. Large scale conversion of tropical rain forests has had an absolutely devastating impact on biodiversity in both Borneo and Sumatra. In addition, deforestation may cause soil erosion and, because most forests have been cleared through the use of fire, massive air pollution from smoke. Much of the land on which palm oil plantations have been established consists of peat swamp forest. The draining, burning, and conversion of peat swamp forests to palm oil has been especially damaging to the world's climate as it has led to Indonesia being the third largest contributor of carbon to the world's atmosphere after China and the United States.

Palm oil companies prefer to clear primary forests, rather than degraded areas or grasslands, for economic reasons. They don't need to utilize or add as much chemical fertilizer (which is expensive) to forest land cleared by fire and fertilized from ash produced by the fire. In addition, the cost of clearing peatswamp forests is subsidized by the sale of commercially valuable timber taken from concession areas as part of the conversion process. After palm oil plantations are established, displaced starving orangutans are frequently killed in the most brutal ways as agricultural pests when they try to obtain food in the plantation areas.

The establishment of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)in 2004 set up voluntary guidelines for "greener" palm oil production and has tried to encourage palm oil expansion in a "sustainable" way that doesn't ruin primary rain forests or violate the land rights of local people. However, while this seems like a promising development, it is debatable whether it has had much influence on what actually has been happening in the field as forests continue to be torn down and local people shunted to jail for protesting the taking of their land.

How can you help?

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The main threat to the survival of orangutan populations in the wild is the massive expansion of palm oil plantations in Borneo and Sumatra. Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, having even surpassed soya in terms of usage.

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Decrease Palm Oil effects on deforestation with these solutions

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Decrease Palm Oil effects on deforestation with these solutions

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Palm oil - deforestation for everyday products - Rainforest Rescue

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Palm oil is literally everywhere - in our foods, cosmetics, cleaning products and fuels. It's a source of huge profits for multinational corporations, while at the same time destroying the livelihoods of smallholders. Displacement of indigenous peoples, deforestation and loss of biodiversity are all consequences of our palm oil consumption.

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Questions and answers about palm oil - Rainforest Rescue

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Palm oil plays a decisive role in the lives of almost everyone of us. Being a low-cost resource, palm oil is in great demand and is contained in virtually everything. You can find it in foods ranging from frozen pizza to chocolate bars, in laundry detergents and cleaning agents, in cosmetics, in diesel fuel tanks and in combined heat and power plants.

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HOW TO SAVE TROPICAL RAINFORESTS

Today tropical rainforests are disappearing from the face of the globe. Despite growing international concern, rainforests continue to be destroyed at a pace exceeding 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) per day. Tropical cover now stands at 2 billion hectares (7.7 million sq miles), an area about the size of the United States plus China and representing around 13 percent of the world's land surface. Much of this remaining area has been impacted by human activities and no longer retains its full original biodiversity.

Five Basic Steps to Saving Rainforests
"TREES" is a concept originally devised for an elementary school audience but serves well as set of principles for saving rainforests and, on a broader scale, ecosystems around the world.

Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests.

Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down.

Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment.

Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife.

Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.

Deforestation of tropical rainforests has a global impact through species extinction, the loss of important ecosystem services and renewable resources, and the reduction of carbon sinks. However, this destruction can be slowed, stopped, and in some cases even reversed. Most people agree that the problem must be remedied, but the means are not as simple as fortifying fences around the remaining rainforests or banning the timber trade. Economic, political, and social pressures will not allow rainforests to persist if they are completely closed off from use and development.

So, what should be done? The solution must be based on what is feasible, not overly idealistic, and depends on developing a conservation approach built on the principle of sustainable use and development of rainforests. Beyond the responsible development of rainforests, efforts to rehabilitate and restore degraded forest lands along with the establishment of protected areas are key to securing rainforests for the long-term benefits they can provide mankind.

Past efforts

Historic approaches to rainforest conservation have failed, as demonstrated by the accelerated rate of deforestation. In many regions, closing off forests as untouchable parks and reserves has neither improved the quality of living or economic opportunities for rural poor nor deterred forest clearing by illegal loggers and developers. Corruption has only worsened the situation.

The problem with this traditional park approach to preserving wildlands in developing countries is that it fails to generate sufficient economic incentives for respecting and maintaining the forest. Rainforests will only continue to survive as functional ecosystems if they can be shown to provide tangible economic benefits. Local people and the government itself must see financial returns to justify the costs of maintaining parks and forgoing revenue from economic activities within the boundaries of the protected area.

Limited resources

Countries with significant rainforest cover are generally not the world's richest. As such, rural people's day-to-day survival is dependent upon natural-resource use. Most local people living in and around forests never have an option to become a doctor, sports star, factory worker, or secretary; they must live off the land that surrounds them, making use of whatever resources they can find. Their poverty costs themselves, their country, and the world through the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services like erosion prevention, flood control, water treatment, and fisheries protection.

Governments in these countries are in the unenviable position of having to balance the well-being of rural poor with the interests of industry, demands from foreign governments, and requirements from the international aid community. In this climate, it can be easier to simply neglect the continued destruction and degradation of environmental assets than to come up with a long-term plan to ensure that economic development is ecologically sustainable. Success in conserving wildlands in these countries will require reconciling the inevitable conflicts between short-term needs of local people and the long-term nature of the benefits that conservation can generate on a sustainable, ongoing basis.

Forces behind rainforest loss

Rainforests are being cut mostly for economic reasons, though there are political and social motivations as well. A significant portion of deforestation is caused by poor farmers simply trying to eke out a living on marginal lands. Beyond conversion for subsistence agriculture, activities like logging, clearing for cattle pasture and commercial agriculture are sizable contributors to deforestation on a global scale. Agricultural fires typically used for land-clearing often spread outside cultivated areas and into degraded rainforest regions.

Addressing deforestation

Addressing deforestation requires taking the very different needs and interests of these groups into account.

Poor farmers:
Poor farmers are simply trying to put food on the table for their families. A better approach to addressing the needs of the rural poor may be improving and intensifying currently existing agricultural projects and promoting alternative cultivation techniques-notably permaculture. Permaculture adds a mix of crops to the farmer's palette that both enables the farm to diversify his or her income stream and enhance degraded soils by restoring nutrients. An added benefit of such techniques is that they maintain forest systems, soils, and biological diversity at a far higher level than do conventional agricultural approaches. As long as such fields are adjacent to secondary and old-growth forest, many species will continue to thrive.

Onepromising area of research looks at ancient societies that lived in the Amazon rainforest before the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century. Apparently these populations were able to enrich the rainforest soil, which is usually quite poor, using charcoal and animal bones. By improving soil quality, large areas of the Amazon that have been deforested could be used to support agriculture. This could help reduce pressure on rainforest areas for agricultural land. Further, the "terra preta" soil could be used to help fight global warming since it sequesters carbon that would otherwise contribute to global warming.

A second important part of aiding poor farmers is helping them gain formal title to their land. Right now, in places where it is difficult to gain ownership rights to land and where land is relatively open and abundant, there is little incentive to maintain or improve holdings. Once local people have a stake in the land they are farming, they will have an interest in using it efficiently instead of moving on to a new area of forest once soils are prematurely exhausted.

The creation of credit facilities for poor farmers to both save their earnings and borrow in times of need is also important to improving their quality of life. Micro-credit facilities can provide significant economic benefits to the local economy while bringing dignity to and promoting entrepreneurship among local people.

Finally, improved access to markets is important in enabling farmers to get their agricultural products. Improved access can be a doubled-edged sword if it means increased road-building, which often spurs further deforestation. Any infrastructure improvements should be carefully planned to minimize the future impact on remaining ecosystems.

Industrial/commercial developers:
Thus far it has proved difficult to apply the same permaculture agricultural techniques mentioned above to industrial operations. As currently practiced, large-scale agriculture is typically quite destructive of native ecosystems and does not maintain biodiversity at levels commensurate with adjacent forest areas. Incremental steps like the use of natural pest control and fertilizers can help reduce pollution caused by agricultural operations, while leaving strips of forest as corridors linking sections of forest helps moderate biodiversity losses.

Sustainable logging, while possible, has met resistance from the timber industry for its lack of efficiency relative to traditional harvesting methods, and it remains controversial among conservationists as to its impact on the environment. Illegal logging and counterfeit labeling are major obstacles facing sustainable forest management for timber, but in time the development of higher yielding timber plantations established on degraded non-forest lands will help alleviate pressures on natural forests.

Restoring and rehabilitating ecosystems

There is no use bemoaning past deforestation of large areas. Today the concern is how to best utilize lands already cleared so they support productive activities, now and for future generations. Without improving the well-being of people living in and around forests, we cannot expect rainforests to persist as fully functional systems and continue to cater to our needs.

In addressing environmental problems in rainforest countries, it is important that decision makers not only be concerned with the transformation of existing natural ecosystems, but also the more rational utilization of already cleared and degraded areas. To lessen future forest loss, we must increase and sustain the productivity of farms, pastures, plantations, and scrub land in addition to restoring species and ecosystems to degraded habitats. By reducing wasteful land-use practices, consolidating gains on existing cleared lands, and improving already developed lands, we can diminish the need to clear additional forest.

Research and experience has shown that the restoration of entire ecosystems is most possible in regions where parts or at least remnants of the original forest still remain and there are few human population pressures. Small clearings surrounded by forest recover quickly, and large sections may recover in time, especially if some assistance in the reforestation process is provided (with native seed dispersers like bats and birds doing some of the heavy lifting). After several years, a once-barren field can again support vegetation in the form of pioneer species and secondary growth. Although the secondary forest will be low in diversity and poorly developed, the forest cover will be adequate for some species to return (assuming they still exist). In addition, the newly forested patch can be used for the sustainable harvest of forest products and low-intensity logging and agriculture.

Funding rainforest conservation efforts

Conservation efforts and sustainable development programs are not going to be cost-free. Even countries that already get considerable aid from foreign donors have trouble effectively making such initiatives work in the long term. Since handouts, which in and of themselves can breed dependency, are inherently unsustainable, funding these initiatives may require more creative sources of income to be truly successful. Here are some other funding strategies for consideration:

Payments for ecosystem services-Hope for avoiding the worst outcomes in the tropics increasingly rests on the belief that people will soon pay for the services provided by healthy rainforests. These services-which include biodiversity maintenance, rainfall generation, carbon sequestration, and soil stabilization, among others-have traditionally been undervalued by markets, but there are signs that the situation is changing. In recent years the idea of compensating tropical countries for the carbon stored in their forests has gained traction. Known as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), the approach is being pushed by entities ranching from the World Bank, to the U.N., to conservation groups, to states and municipalities. Even indigenous groups are experimenting with REDD+ projects. At a conceptual level, REDD+ operates as follows: tropical countries receive payments for reducing deforestation and forest degradation rates below a historic, mutually agreed-upon baseline. The payments go toward activities that reduce deforestation, whether its creating alternative livelihoods to slash-and-burn agriculture, subsidizing industrial agricultural expansion on degraded grasslands instead of forests, or providing health care to communities that normally depend on illegal logging to pay for medicine. While the idea sounds simple, in reality it is rather complex due to uncertainties on land rights, concerns that stopping deforestation in one place will only drive it elsewhere, worries about fairness and corruption, and controversies over the origin of the funds. Some believe that carbon offsets - whereby instead of reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions emissions, a polluter (e.g. a power company) pays another entity (e.g. a collective of poor farmers) to reduce its emissions (e.g. halting deforestation for small-scale agriculture) - should fund REDD+. Others balk at this approach and instead REDD+ should be funded by traditionally aid models, under which taxpayers in countries like Australia, Germany, and the United States foot the bill for rainforest conservation in places like Papua New Guinea, Congo, and Ecuador. Some argue for something in between known as hybrid models. Of course carbon is just one of many services afforded by forests. Some analysts believe water generated by rainforests may have an even higher value than carbon. In fact, Brazil has started valuing parts of the Amazon based on the rainfall it generates for agricultural region and the contribution to hydroelectric dams.

Commodity roundtables-In a similar vein, pricing carbon emissions into agricultural production could generate funds for conservation while discouraging deforestation. The idea is that agricultural producers who abide by certain standards that reduce carbon emissions - like avoiding deforestation - would see higher prices for their products or receive preferential market access, like reduced tariffs. Meanwhile producers who continue to clear forests would be charged for the associated emissions. The approach is not without precedent - several countries, including Indonesia, have deforestation charges.

Ecotourism-Ecotourism can fund efforts both through park entrance fees and employing locals as guides and in the handicraft and service sectors (hotels, restaurants, drivers, boat drivers, porters, cooks). Many lodges in and around protected areas charge a daily fee to visitors which goes toward supporting the forest.

Bio-prospecting fees-Rainforest countries can earn revenue by allowing scientists to develop products from a country's native plant and animal species. The pioneer in this area was Costa Rica, which entered into an agreement with the American pharmaceutical company, Merck, to look for plants with potential pharmaceutical applications. Under the agreement, a portion of the proceeds from compounds that do prove commercially valuable will go to the Costa Rican government, which has guaranteed that some of the royalties will be set aside for conservation projects. Similarly, in 2001 Givaudan, a Swiss fragrance and flavor company, sent a team to look for new exotic smells and flavors in Madagascar. Following their survey, Givaudan researchers "reconstituted" 40 aromas that could be used in commercial products. The company has agreed to share a portion of the profits from these products with local communities through conservation and development initiatives. However such approaches have been challenged by questions over intellectual property and compensation for native communities. The market has also proved smaller than originally hoped.

Corporate sponsorship-Corporations have been a bit slow in "adopting" parks, but they have the money and a marketing-driven interest in taking a closer look at such schemes. One possible approach was proposed in 2004 Eugene Linden, Thomas Lovejoy, and J. Daniel Phillips in a commentary for Foreign Affairs. In the editorial, they call for dividing tropical rainforests into blocks and then soliciting funding commitments from international environmental groups, development institutions, corporations, and other credible donors. There would be a bidding process, after which an entity would take responsibility for maintaining forest cover and forest health in each block of the entire forest system. This plan could be a road for corporations to become involved in conservation as a public-relations/marketing tool. A given percentage of the proceeds could be put into a trust fund with the payout ear-marked for ongoing conservation and sustainable development programs.

Further steps once funding is in place

Expand protected areas-As many areas should be protected as soon as possible. If protected areas can be developed in such a manner to generate income for local communities, an increasing number of parks should theoretically create more economic benefits for a greater share of the population.

Increase surveillance of and patrols in protected areas-This can be done at a reduced cost if local communities benefit from the success of the park. If locals have a vested interest (i.e. are compensated via entrance fees, hired as guides, make handicrafts to sell to tourists, and recognize the value of ecosystem services), they will want to watch the park so that the source of their income is not diminished. Community surveillance is the most effective way to patrol a protected area, though it will probably be necessary to have park staff conduct patrols as well. Guides should be trained as well to keep watch for activities that are damaging to the ecosystem and report suspicious activities.

Build research facilities for training local scientists and guides-Boosting intellectual capital can introduce a new dynamic to an economy, especially one based on resource extraction. Unlocking the value of forests provides a great opportunity for a country to capitalize on its natural assets. For example, rainforests are home to many plants with potential medicinal value, yet it is usually American or European companies that develop drugs based on these natural compounds. Why can't it be local scientists unlocking the value of these natural treasures and local companies turning them into commercial products? Beyond medicine, there are opportunities to improve crop yields, reduce fertilizer and pesticide use, and mitigate soil erosion.

Establish programs that promote sustainable use-Programs that promote sustainable use are key to elevating the standard of living for people living around protected areas. Not all members of a community will see the direct benefits from employment in the service or production sector, and many people will still rely on traditional use of the natural resources around them. These resources must be used in a more effective manner to maximize productivity and minimize the impact on the environment.

Compensate displaced people-The establishment of protected areas has often displaced local people, making them enemies of conservation and depriving them of their basis human rights. Therefore it is critical that new protected areas involve a process of "free prior informed consent" (FPIC) with stakeholders that could be affected. In cases where local communities decide to move, it is important that they are fairly compensated for abandoning their existing livelihood and homes. While direct cash payouts is an option, a better strategy may be to provide these displaced people with long-term income possibilities through training in improved agricultural techniques or alternative crops.

Involve indigenous people, where they still exist, in park management. Indigenous people know more about the forest than anyone and have an interest in safeguarding it as a productive ecosystem that provides them food, shelter, and clean water. Research has found that in some cases, "indigenous reserves" may actually protect rainforest better than national parks in the Amazon. [More in our interview with Mark Plotkin and the Conservation Corridors Project.]

Promote ecotourism-Ecotourism is perhaps the best long-term approach for sustaining some tropical economies. Planners should seek to minimize the environmental impact and maximize the benefits for local communities.

Ensure economic success does not result in increased deforestation-As rural populations begin to reap benefits from conservation-related activities, it is important that they not reinvest this income in activities that result in further deforestation. Traditionally, in many villages, the more money someone made, the more money was put back into land clearing. Rural banks and savings institutions are virtually unknown in many parts of the developing world. Such facilities, which would enable both saving and lending, could rapidly change the lives of millions through increased entrepreneurship and the ability to put away money for the future.

Encourage entrepreneurship-Encouraging entrepreneurship through such a micro-credit strategy could pay significant dividends for a country's economy as a whole. Studies in developing countries have found that entrepreneurial skills among the poor are actually quite high when people are given access to capital. Stimulating entrepreneurship through small, low-cost loans is possibly a better approach than handouts, which may do little more than breed dependency and reduce human dignity.

Looking toward the future, tough choices

Simply banning the timber trade or establishing reserves will not be enough to salvage the world's remaining tropical rainforests. In order for the forest to be preserved, the underlying social, economic, and political reasons for deforestation must be recognized and addressed. Once the issues are brought into the light, the decision can be made about what should be done. If it is decided that rainforests must be saved, then the creation of multi-use reserves that promote sustainable development and education of local people would be a good place to start. Currently about 6 percent of the world's remaining forests are protected, meaning that over 90 percent are still open for the taking. However, even this 6 percent is not safe if the proper steps towards sustainable development are not taken. If possible, reforestation and restoration projects should be encouraged if we, humanity, hope to come out of this situation without serious, long-term consequences.

Review questions:

How should rainforests be protected?

How can we save rainforests?

Why is saving tropical rainforests a challenge?

Why do national parks often fail to protect rainforests?

Why is economics important in conservation?

Other versions of this page

Continued / Next: Saving Rainforests Through Sustainable Development-Agriculture

The quotation at the beginning of the chapter is taken from Schaller, G.B., "Tibet's Hidden Wilderness : Wildlife and Nomads of the Chang Tang Reserve," New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1998.

Statistics for rainforest cover and deforestation during the 1980s comes from State of the World's Forests 1999 (SOFO) published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Myers, N. "Nature's Greatest Heritage Under Threat," Rainforests-The Illustrated Library of the Earth, Norman Myers, ed., Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press, 1993.

Agriculture

The background for agriculture in the tropical rainforest draws heavily from T. Nishizawa and J. I. Uitto, eds. (The Fragile Tropics of Latin America: Sustainable Management of Changing Environments, New York: United Nations University Press, 1995) and Smith, N.J.H. et al., Amazonia - Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and its People, New York: United Nations University Press, 1995. The study which suggests nearly 12% of terre firme forests in the Amazon are anthropogenic is found in Balée, W., "The culture of Amazonian forests," Advances in Economic Botany 7: 1-21, 1989.

Myers, N. estimated in "Nature's Greatest Heritage Under Threat," Rainforests-The Illustrated Library of the Earth, Norman Myers, ed., Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press, 1993 that roughly 60% of deforestation is caused by the shifted cultivator.

Skewed land distribution is discussed in Wood, C.H. and M. Schmink, "Blaming the victim: Small farmer production in an Amazon colonization project," Studies in Third World Societies 7: 77-93, 1978; Myers, N. "Nature's Greatest Heritage Under Threat," Rainforests-The Illustrated Library of the Earth, Norman Myers, ed., Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press, 1993; and Smith, N.J.H. et al., Amazonia - Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and its People, New York: United Nations University Press, 1995.

Padoch, C., J. Chota Inurna, W. de Jong, and J. Unruh, "Amazonian agroforestry: A market-oriented system in Peru" Agroforestry Systems 3: 47-58, 1985; Nair, P. K., "State-of-the-art of agroforestry systems," Forest Ecology and Management 45: 5-29, 1991; T. Nishizawa and J. I. Uitto, eds. (The Fragile Tropics of Latin America: Sustainable Management of Changing Environments, New York: United Nations University Press, 1995) and Smith, N.J.H. et al., Amazonia - Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and its People, New York: United Nations University Press, 1995 discuss polycultural techniques in the rainforest including agroforestry and examines the highly dynamic nature of traditional agriculture in the Amazon.

Greenberg, R. et al., "Bird Populations in Shade and Sun Coffee Plantations in Central Guatemala," Conservation Biology Vol. 11 No. 24 (48-59), Apr. 1997, demonstrate higher biodiversity under agroforestry systems (shade coffee plantations) than conventional coffee plantations.

Home gardens in Amazonia are presented in Smith, N.J.H., "Strategies for sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics," Ecological Economics 2: 311 -323, 1990 and Smith, N.J.H. et al., Amazonia - Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and its People, New York: United Nations University Press, 1995.

The failure of many Indonesian transmigrant agriculture programs as a result of a lack of planning and administration is discussed in Brookfield, H., Potter, L., and Byron, Y., In Place of the Forest: Environmental and Socio-economic Transformation in Borneo and the Eastern Malay Peninsula (New York: United Nations University Press, 1995),

Myers, N. ("The world's forests: problems and potentials." Environmental Conservation 23 (2) p. 158-168. 1996) estimates the population of subsistence farmers dependent on tropical forests at more than 600 million and projects their growth rate at 4-6% per year.

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Today tropical rainforests are disappearing from the face of the globe. Despite growing international concern, rainforests continue to be destroyed at a pace exceeding 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) per day. Tropical cover now stands at 2 billion hectares (7.7 million sq miles), an area about the size of the United States plus China and representing around 13 percent of the world's land surface.

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Most of us know what cattle-ranching is and what purpose it serves, right?

Cattle...cow...mooooo...Cows basically live on a pasture and graze the land. When they reach a certain size and weight, they are slaughtered for either human or pet consumption in the form of: hamburgers, steaks, luncheon meats, baby food, sausage, and frozen foods; and pet food for your cat or dog.

In addition, cows can live on a farm and provide milk and other dairy products to a farmer, such as: butter, cheese, sour cream, ice cream, etc.

I bet you didn't know that...

Cattle ranching in the Amazon. Photos by Rhett Butler

Fact: The fast food hamburger market in the U.S. required vast amounts of low-quality cheap meat. The result was widespead deforestation in Central America (WRM Briefing). Fact: 300 million pounds of beef are imported to the U.S. from Central America alone (RAN, 2004). Fact: Campbell's Soup uses rain forest beef. Burger King backed down on its use of rain forest beef after a Rainforest Action Network boycott (RAN, 2004).
four Central American countries- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras- were among the top ten countries ranked by the percentage loss of forests during the period 1981-85. Costa Rica averaged an annual loss of 3.9% of its forests, largely due to the vast expansion of cattle ranching. By 1983, about 83% of Costa Rica forests had been felled (cut down), mostly for beef production, and much of that was shipped to the U.S. for use as hamburger (Kricher, 1997, p. 339).

So, you can see how raising cattle can literally wipe out existing rain forests!
So, what's happened to all of the pastures and cattle in Costa Rica?
Does Central America still export beef to the U.S.?

Costa Rica no longer does. I'm not sure whether the other Central American countries do (Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatamala, Honduras, and Belize).

Why do you think the U.S. stopped importing cattle from Costa Rica?

When Costa Rica stopped exporting cattle to the U.S., it was left with millions of acres of cleared land and cattle. Today, 3/4 of the cattle are located in the Province Guanacaste (Pacific Northwest side of Costa Rica).
Is there anything being done to recover the many barren pastures in Costa Rica?
I don't have the answer to this, but we can discuss possible reasons:

maybe because the U.S. decided to invest in cattle ranching themselves, i.e., Texas and the Big Island of Hawaii, believe it or not, have the two biggest cattle ranches in the the U.S. This is where most of the beef in the U.S comes from.

maybe the U.S. didn't want to pay import taxes on Costa Rican beef anymore.

maybe the U.S. is importing beef from another country which has a cheaper import tax.

maybe the U.S. was afraid of mad cow disease and wanted to raise the cattle in the U.S. to make sure it was disease-free...

any ideas you can think of?

Yes. Rain forest restoration researchers are trying to figure out effective strategies to restore the pastures. Some of the obstacles to this recovery are:

seed availability: there are no parent trees to provide seeds because the pastures have been cleared

lack of seed dispersal: there are no animals (except for cows) to disperse the seeds in these empty pastures, i.e., birds, bats, and other mammals used to spread the seeds throughout the forest

high seed/seedling predation: rodents, leaf-cutter ants, and rabbits will eat seeds and seedlings that are planted for restoration efforts

lack of moisture and increased light exposure create arid (dry) conditions which cause fires. Most tropical forest seedlings are not adapted to fire so this can set back recovery a number of years (Holl, 2002).

What are some potential solutions to restore these barren pastures?

It's too soon to tell, but Karen Holl (a professor at UCSC, the same school where I'm a grad student) is conducting a study in Agua Buena, Costa Rica to try and answer these research questions:

1. Is forest recovery more strongly affected by within site restoration or proximity to surrounding forests?

2. Will planting islands of tree seedlings (clustered groups) enhance forest recovery to a similar degree as planting seedlings in a homogenous plantation (mono-crop)?

Time will tell what the study reveals.

Central America isn't the only region where cattle ranching occurs. In Brazil, cattle ranches occupy somewhere around 8.4 million hectares (20.7 million acres), averaging 24,000 hectares (59,300 acres) each, with some as large as 560,000 hectares (1,383,760 acres). You would think that the government would be making a lot of money from these cattle ranches, since the U.S. is such a major consumer, but surprisingly, the overall mean output from these ranches averaged only 9% of what was projected.

In fact, the government is not only losing money from these ranches, they are also giving money (through generous tax breaks and subsidies) to owners of large cattle ranches (Kricher, 1997). For example, a ranch about 20,000 hectares (49,429 acres) receives about a 75% subsidy (financial assistance from the government!) Does that make sense?

But that still doesn't answer the question, WHY?
What's the real reason behind cattle ranching in Brazil?

Here's something interesting. A small number of wealthy individuals were rewarded for locating vast cattle ranches within Amazonia. The government provided long-term loans and tax credits to cover most of the investment costs, tax holidays, and write-offs. Basically, these ranches were used as tax shelters rather than productive components of the Brazilian economy (Kricher, 1997).
Aside from clearing rain forests and replacing them with pastures which become barren, what are other effects of cattle ranching on the environment?
One reason is when the Transamazon highway was finally paved in 1973, part of the objective was to move 100,000 families from overly populated, extremely poor urban cities into the Amazon Basin. However, due to economic setbacks and political changes in Brazil, only 6,000 families moved to the Amazon Basin. Curiously, the focus had shifted from moving people to increasing cattle production; five million cattle were moved into the area instead (Kricher, 1997).

Another reason could be that these wealthy individuals who own cattle ranches could be very influential in who becomes elected as a political official. This would explain why the government gives subsidies and allows ranch owners to use their cattle ranches as tax shelters. This is just a guess. What do you think?

What would you say if I said an increase in global warming. What! How? Believe it or not, cow gas...okay, I'll say it- farts, are essentially methane gas. This methane gas is released into earth's atmosphere where it absorbs heat just like carbon dioxide. This heat absorption increases earth's temperature and we already know what the effects of that are on the environment:

an increase in ocean temperature

glaciers melting

permafrost melting

loss of ice habitat for native Alaskan people (and other indigenous tribes), polar bears, caribou, and other polar animals

an increase in ocean water

an increase in flooding

a disturbance in weather patterns, i.e., an increase in the intensity (strength) and duration (time) of hurricanes (MIT scientists)

environmental, social, and political problems

One should note that methane gas is not the direct cause of these environmental effects, but it is a contributing factor to global warming. Something to ruminate about.
Answers are located after the references.
Okay, let's see what you learned:

1. Which four Central American countries ranked the top as far as the percentage loss of forests during the period 1981-85.

2. Fill in the blank: By 1983, about _____ % of Costa Rica forests had been cut down, mostly for ________ production, and much of that was shipped to the U.S. for use as _____________.

3. T or F. Does Campbell's Soup use rain forest beef in their products?

4. Can you name all 7 countries in Central America?

5. Choose the correct answer: Costa Rica currently does not (import/export) beef to the U.S.

6. Name one obstacle to the recovery of barren, cattle pastures.

7. T or F. Brazil's cattle industry is a money making business for the country.

8. Why do you think cattle ranch owners receive tax breaks and subsidies from the government in Brazil?

9. Name a gas mentioned in this lesson that is a contributing factor to global warming. Where does this gas come from?

10. Name one effect of global warming mentioned in this lesson.

Pen Pal Conversation: Discuss with your pen pal the effects of cattle ranching on rain forests. Knowing what you now know, does this persuade you to become a vegetarian, yes or no? If you eat fast food burgers, will you continue to eat them, yes or no? If you eat Campbell's Soup, will you continue eating it? Will you write a letter or call fast food companies and Campbell's Soups asking them to not purchase beef from countries where rain forests were deforested in order to cattle ranch?
References:

http://www.ran.org/info_center/factsheets/04f.html http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20costarica.htm Answers to questions:
Kricher, J. (1997). A Neotropical Companion: An introduction to the animals, plants, & ecosystems of the New World Tropics. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Holl, D. K. (2002). Tropical Moist Forest Restoration. Published in Handbook of Restoration. Vol II: Cambridge University Press

1. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras

2. 83%, beef, hamburger

3. T

4. Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatamala, Honduras, and Belize.

5. export

6. lack of seed dispersal (spreading)

7. F

8. Because cattle ranch owners are wealthy and influential in who becomes elected as a public official

9. methane, cows!

10. the melting of glaciers and permafrost

So, how did you do? I'm sure you did SUPER !

The following standards were addressed in this lesson:

Reading: 1.7 Use a dictionary to learn the meaning and other features of unknown words (import, export, subsidies, etc).

Writing Applications: 2.3 Write personal and formal letter, thank-you notes, and invitations (a) show awareness of the knowledge and interests of the audience and establish a purpose and context.

Social Studies: 3.32 Describe the economics established by settlers and their influence on the present-day economy, with emphasis on the importance of private property and entrepreneurship. 3.52 Understand that some goods are made locally, some elsewhere in the U.S., and some abroad.

About these lesson plans and resources

This lesson plan was developed by Lisa M. Algee, an Environmental Education Ph D student at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC). Lisa runs a site called Kids Connected to Conservation and Culture which focuses on educating the next generation about environmental issues, such as deforestation, and what we can do as global citizens to curb these detrimental effects.

More Mining photos

Cattle ranching photos

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Cows basically live on a pasture and graze the land. When they reach a certain size and weight, they are slaughtered for either human or pet consumption in the form of: hamburgers, steaks, luncheon meats, baby food, sausage, and frozen foods; and pet food for your cat or dog..

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Clearing for cattle pasture is the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon, with Brazil now producing more beef than ever before. Besides raising cattle for food, many landowners use cattle to expand their land holdings. By simply placing cattle on an area of forest land, landowners can gain ownership rights to that land.

Most of the beef produced by Brazil is consumed by Brazilians, but cattle products like leather is primarily exported to overseas markets.

RAINFOREST PHOTOS

By Rhett Butler

Date published: June 24, 2004 | Last updated: December 5, 2015

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Clearing for cattle pasture is the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon, with Brazil now producing more beef than ever before. Besides raising cattle for food, many landowners use cattle to expand their land holdings. By simply placing cattle on an area of forest land, landowners can gain ownership rights to that land.

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Cattle Ranching in the Amazon Region | Global Forest Atlas

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Cattle ranching is the largest driver of deforestation in every Amazon country, accounting for 80% of current deforestation rates. Amazon Brazil is home to approximately 200 million head of cattle, and is the largest exporter in the world, supplying about one quarter of the global market.

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For about three years now, we've been working on curbing the impacts of the soya industry on the Amazon rainforest in Brazil which, before the current moratorium was put into place, was replacing the forest with plantations on a massive scale.

However, there's another agricultural sector cutting deep into the forest which we're also going to tackle: cattle ranching. To assess the scale of the problem, Greenpeace researchers in Brazil have produced a new set of maps showing how the Amazon region has suffered.

Cattle ranching is now the biggest cause of deforestation in the Amazon, and nearly 80 per cent of deforested areas in Brazil are now used for pasture. The cattle industry has ballooned since the 1970s, giving Brazil the largest commercial cattle herd in the world. Since 2003, the country has also topped the world's beef export charts and the government plans to double its share of the market by 2018.

The impact this is having on the forest is huge - between 1996 and 2006, an area the size of Portugal was carved out for cattle ranching. As with the soya industry, a host of social ills have followed the wave of expansion. Cattle ranching has the highest rates of slave labour in Brazil - just over 3,000 people held as slaves were freed from ranches last year.
You can read more about the maps and how they were created in the full report (pdf). There's also a Google Earth file (8mb) showing details from the maps.
Now, with the Brazilian government pushing for the industry to expand on such a massive scale, it throws their targets announced last month for reducing deforestation into serious doubt. It also poses a significant threat to efforts to combat climate change. Deforestation is largely responsible for making Brazil the fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter, and the cattle industry also contributes a significant quantity of emissions in the form of bovine methane emissions (or cow farts if you want to be less tactful).

The new cattle footprint maps our Brazilian team have produced focus on Mato Grosso, a state which has the largest cattle herd in Brazil and seen large areas of forest lost in favour of pasture, and an innovative process has been used to analyse satellite imagery. The new technique uses images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) satellite to identify whether land is being used for crops or pasture, or if it's still covered in trees.

By comparing the spread of cattle ranching with other data - such as the locations of industrial-sized slaughterhouses, roads and other infrastructure elements - they've built a picture of how the livestock industry is affecting the region.

For instance, the maps show a marked concentration of deforested areas and pasture around the slaughterhouses. They also demonstrate how roads have opened up new areas of the forest to agriculture, including unofficial roads which don't feature on government charts.

We can now use these maps to show how the use of land has changed from forest canopy to crops and pasture, as well as highlighting the clear link between cattle ranching and deforestation in the Amazon. This information is going to be vitally important as our campaign on cattle ranching develops, which will be pushing the Brazilian government to get a grip on the industry and stop deforestation in the Amazon. On a global scale, it will also help our work to get other countries like the UK to provide funds in support of efforts to stop deforestation around the world.

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How cattle ranches are chewing up the Amazon rainforest | Greenpeace UK

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For about three years now, we've been working on curbing the impacts of the soya industry on the Amazon rainforest in Brazil which, before the current moratorium was put into place, was replacing the forest with plantations on a massive scale. However, there's another agricultural sector cutting deep into the forest which we're also going to tackle: cattle ranching.

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Impact of cattle ranching on rainforests

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Impact of cattle ranching on rainforests

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CATTLE RANCHING'S IMPACT ON THE RAINFOREST

The majority deforestation in the Amazon Basin since the 1960s has been caused by cattle ranchers and land speculators who burned huge tracts of rainforest for pasture. Brazilian government data indicates that more than 60 percent of deforested land ends up as cattle pasture. But conversion to cattle pasture isn't limited to Brazil - in the 1970s and early 1980s vast tracts of rainforest in Costa Rica, Honduras, and El Salvador were burned and converted into cattle pasture lands to meet American demand for beef.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

In Central America, cattle pasture land set aside in the 1970s and 1980s was an especially poor choice because a large portion was located on the minority of fertile rainforest soils (volcanic and floodplain soils). For example, by the mid-1990s, cattle pasture land in Honduras took up over 40 percent of the country's fertile land. Cattle grazing in the tropics is relatively inefficient: initially each hectare of cleared land may support an animal, but after 6-8 years, each animal may require five hectares.

Nonetheless, cattle are an attractive option in Latin American rainforests. By simply clearing forest and placing a few head on the land, colonists and developers can gain title to the land in some countries (notably Brazil). They often choose cattle over other options because cattle have low maintenance costs and are highly liquid assets easily brought to market. Additionally, cattle are a low-risk investment relative to cash crops which are more subject to wild price swings and pest infestations. Cattle also don't require much capital.

Vast swaths of rainforest are cleared and used for cattle grazing in Latin America for land speculation purposes. The land tenure system in many countries promotes such conversion of land from a natural productive asset to a speculative one by wealthy landowners and speculators. When real pasture land prices exceed real forest land prices, land clearing is a good hedge against inflation, which has been rampant in many developing countries at times in the 1980s and 1990s (2,500 percent in Brazil in 1993, 13,340 percent in Venezuela from 1993-1998). When the growth of land prices is greater than inflation, such land clearing is a good investment regardless of the use of the land. Additionally, at times of high inflation, the appreciation of cattle prices and the stream of services (milk) they provide may outpace the interest rate earned on money left in the bank.

Even today with moderate rates of inflation, land clearing for cattle pasture remains a popular activity for land speculators. In parts of the Amazon, pasture land can be sold at a higher price than forested lands. Thus cattle ranching is used as a vehicle for land speculation.

Cattle ranchers sometimes work with soy farmers in the Brazilian Amazon. Ranchers - or their agents - clear the land and use it for low productivity cattle grazing. The land is then leased to soy growers, who add lime to the soil to make it suitable for soybeans. After a few years the lease expires and the landowner takes advantage of the improved soil conditions to boost cattle productivity. Ranchers also buy soy as cattle feed.

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The impact of cattle ranching on rainforests

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The majority deforestation in the Amazon Basin since the 1960s has been caused by cattle ranchers and land speculators who burned huge tracts of rainforest for pasture. Brazilian government data indicates that more than 60 percent of deforested land ends up as cattle pasture.

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WWF video

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Leaders must make brave choices to save world's forests

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made by college students

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Rainforests are perhaps the most endangered habitat on earth. Each year, some 140,000 sq km of rainforests are destroyed. For example, between 1991 to 2000, the amount of land cleared in the Amazon...

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video

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As the world seeks to slow the pace of climate change, preserve wildlife, and support more than eight billion people, trees inevitably hold a major part of the answer. Yet the mass destruction of trees-deforestation-continues, sacrificing the long-term benefits of standing trees for short-term gain of fuel, and materials for manufacturing and construction.

We need trees for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that they absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale and the heat-trapping greenhouse gases that human activities emit. As those gases enter the atmosphere, global warming increases, a trend scientists now prefer to call climate change.

There is also the imminent danger of disease caused by deforestation. An estimated 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases come from animals, and a major cause of viruses' jump from wildlife to humans is habitat loss, often through deforestation.

But we can still save our forests. Aggressive efforts to rewild and reforest are already showing success. Tropical tree cover alone can provide 23 percent of the climate mitigation needed to meet goals set in the Paris Agreement in 2015, according to one estimate.

Causes of deforestation

Forests still cover about 30 percent of the world's land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Since 1990, the world has lost more than 420 million hectares or about a billion acres of forest, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations-mainly in Africa and South America. About 17 percent of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years, and losses recently have been on the rise. The organization Amazon Conservation reports that destruction rose by 21 percent in 2020, a loss the size of Israel.

Farming, grazing of livestock, mining, and drilling combined account for more than half of all deforestation. Forestry practices, wildfires and, in small part, urbanization account for the rest. In Malaysia and Indonesia, forests are cut down to make way for producing palm oil, which can be found in everything from shampoo to saltine crackers. In the Amazon, cattle ranching and farms-particularly soy plantations-are key culprits.

Logging operations, which provide the world's wood and paper products, also fell countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote forests-which leads to further deforestation. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban sprawl as land is developed for homes.

Not all deforestation is intentional. Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees.

Why it matters

There are some 250 million people who live in forest and savannah areas and depend on them for subsistence and income-many of them among the world's rural poor.

Eighty percent of Earth's land animals and plants live in forests, and deforestation threatens species including the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, and many species of birds. Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks the sun's rays during the day and retains heat at night. That disruption leads to more extreme temperature swings that can be harmful to plants and animals.

With wild habitats destroyed and human life ever expanding, the line between animal and human areas blurs, opening the door to zoonotic diseases. In 2014, for example, the Ebola virus killed over 11,000 people in West Africa after fruit bats transmitted the disease to a toddler who was playing near trees where bats were roosting.

(How deforestation is leading to more infectious diseases in humans.)

Some scientists believe there could be as many as 1.7 million currently "undiscovered" viruses in mammals and birds, of which up to 827,000 could have the ability to infect people, according to a 2018 study.

Deforestation's effects reach far beyond the people and animals where trees are cut. The South American rainforest, for example, influences regional and perhaps even global water cycles, and it's key to the water supply in Brazilian cities and neighboring countries. The Amazon actually helps furnish water to some of the soy farmers and beef ranchers who are clearing the forest. The loss of clean water and biodiversity from all forests could have many other effects we can't foresee, touching even your morning cup of coffee.

In terms of climate change, cutting trees both adds carbon dioxide to the air and removes the ability to absorb existing carbon dioxide. If tropical deforestation were a country, according to the World Resources Institute, it would rank third in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, behind China and the U.S.

What can be done

The numbers are grim, but many conservationists see reasons for hope. A movement is under way to preserve existing forest ecosystems and restore lost tree cover by first reforesting (replanting trees) and ultimately rewilding (a more comprehensive mission to restore entire ecosystems).

(Which nation could be the first to be rewilded?)

Organizations and activists are working to fight illegal mining and logging-National Geographic Explorer Topher White, for example, has come up with a way to use recycled cell phones to monitor for chainsaws. In Tanzania, the residents of Kokota have planted more than 2 million trees on their small island over a decade, aiming to repair previous damage. And in Brazil, conservationists are rallying in the face of ominous signals that the government may roll back forest protections.

(Which tree planting projects should you support?)

Stopping deforestation before it reaches a critical point will play a key role in avoiding the next zoonotic pandemic. A November 2022 study showed that when bats struggle to find suitable habitat, they travel closer to human communities where diseases are more likely to spillover. Inversely, when bats' native habitats were left intact, they stayed away from humans. This research is the first to show how we can predict and avoid spillovers through monitoring and maintaining wildlife habitats.

For consumers, it makes sense to examine the products and meats you buy, looking for sustainably produced sources when you can. Nonprofit groups such as the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance certify products they consider sustainable, while the World Wildlife Fund has a palm oil scorecard for consumer brands.

Editor's note: This story was originally published on February 2019. It has been updated.

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Deforestation and Its Effect on the Planet

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Large scale destruction of trees-deforestation-affects ecosystems, climate, and even increases risk for zoonotic diseases spreading to humans.

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30 minutes

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We're hard at work planning our upcoming live shows, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Instagram. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launched their photo-sharing app with a server that crashed every other hour. Despite a chaotic start, it became one of the most popular apps in the world. PLUS in our postscript "How You Built That," we check back with Dave Weiner of Priority Bicycles, a low-maintenance bicycle brand.

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We're hard at work planning our upcoming live shows, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Instagram. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launched their photo-sharing app with a server that crashed every other hour. Despite a chaotic start, it became one of the most popular apps in the world.

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How Labels Can Affect People's Personalities And Potential

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How Labels Can Affect People's Personalities And Potential

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6 1/2 minutes

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What is it that makes you...you? NPR's Shankar Vedantam explores new research that suggests the labels we use to categorize people affect not just who they are now, but who they'll be in the future.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

We begin this next item with the question, what is it that makes you you? A person's personality and potential can be tricky things to pinpoint and measure. On today's Morning Edition, NPR's Shankar Vedantam looked at the world of personality testing and what these tests can and cannot tell us about ourselves. And now he explores new research that asks another question - can the ways we categorize people affect not just who they are now, but who they'll become in the future?

SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Our story begins in Anhui province in China in 1987. A young Chinese couple, Xiaoqi and Youngsheng, were ready to start a family. The timing was right. It was soon going to be 1988, a most significant year in the Chinese zodiac. After 11 years of rats and roosters and snakes and sheep, it was finally going to be the year of the dragon.

(SOUNDBITE OF DRUMS)

VEDANTAM: According to Chinese tradition, there's no better year for a child to be born. Dragon kids are destined for greatness. When Xiaoqi and Youngsheng's son Han Yu arrived, they already had big plans for him. Xiaoqi, a doctor, wanted Han Yu to be even better educated than himself, ideally at a top-ranked university in the United States. Great things were expected from the little boy.

HAN YU: This idea is kind of indoctrined (ph) in my mind. So when they - when people ask me what I want to do, I really think that I want to be a Ph.D. in the future. I want to be a doctor.

VEDANTAM: When Han Yu was in middle school, his father came home one day bearing an armful of textbooks.

H. YU: And he just came back and put some books in my bookcase. And I asked him, hey, Dad, what did you buy? He told me that those are some textbooks for master degree students to practice their English. You know, at that time I was 13.

VEDANTAM: Han Yu finished college and his master's degree in China and enrolled in an economics Ph.D. program at Louisiana State University. That's where he met a mentor, the economist Naci Mocan. When Han Yu told Mocan about life in China, they talked about the Chinese zodiac and the power of the year of the dragon. They started thinking about whether it was better or worse to be born a dragon kid. Mocan says their hunch was that it was actually a disadvantage.

NACI MOCAN: If there is half a million extra kids born in the year of the dragon, those kids will have more peers in the classrooms. There would be fewer resources per child in the schools. The classrooms will be a little bit more crowded, et cetera. We would expect worse educational outcomes rather than better.

VEDANTAM: They decided to test their hypothesis. The Chinese government has a trove of data about the academic performance of middle schoolers, demographic surveys, interviews with parents and household income. The two researchers found to their surprise that dragon kids did better than their peers.

MOCAN: They actually have higher test scores in middle school.

VEDANTAM: These kids also outperform their classmates in high school.

MOCAN: Even at these standardized nationwide university entrance exams dragon kids score better.

VEDANTAM: At first, Han Yu and Mocan came up with a straightforward explanation - teachers who believed in the zodiac were probably granting higher grades to dragon kids. But college-level entrance exams are graded by a computer, not humans. The two economists found that dragon kids didn't have higher self-confidence. Surveys found that these students didn't think they were smarter than other kids. In fact, they weren't smarter. They scored the same on IQ tests. So what explained their success?

(SOUNDBITE OF BEEP)

H. YU: Yeah, it's just the software. Basically every Chinese use this - uses this thing. (Speaking Chinese).

YOUNGSHENG YU: (Speaking Chinese).

VEDANTAM: From his office at Louisiana State University Han Yu calls his parents in China. It turns out the success of dragon babies lies not with the schools or the teachers or even the kids themselves. It's because of parents like Xiaoqi Yu and Youngsheng. From the moment Han Yu was born, his parents had sky-high expectations for him. These beliefs became a self-fulfilling prophecy. As Han Yu chatted with his parents, I asked if he could translate a question for me.

Could you ask your parents whether they think that your success is partly because you were born in the year of the dragon?

H. YU: (Speaking Chinese).

XIAOQI YU: (Speaking Chinese).

H. YU: He said that during those years when I grew up, perhaps this also affect - potentially affect their behaviors they invest on me.

VEDANTAM: Han Yu and his parents, in other words, were the living embodiment of the research that Han Yu was doing. I asked Han Yu's father what his reaction was seeing that his dream for his child had come true.

X. YU: (Speaking Chinese).

VEDANTAM: The answer?

H. YU: My father said that actually, his dream has not completely become true because - and he wish - he expects that I should have more and better accomplishment. And also, he expects me to continue study in the U.S. So I guess for me it's going to be a postdoc. Yeah.

VEDANTAM: And what's your reaction to that, Han?

H. YU: Well, I guess I'll work harder. I don't want my parents to - I don't want to let them down, I think. And to get a postdoc in a good - better university is also my dream, so...

VEDANTAM: Throughout our lives, we evaluate our children, our students, our friends and our colleagues. What isn't always clear to them or to us is the power of these expectations to transform people's lives. Sometimes our expectations attach leaden weights to wings and keep dreams from taking flight. Other times our beliefs can lift people up, make them run harder and reach for more. Shankar Vedantam, NPR News.

SIEGEL: And Shankar Vedantam is the host of the Hidden Brain podcast and radio program.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

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How Labels Can Affect People's Personalities And Potential

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What is it that makes you...you? NPR's Shankar Vedantam explores new research that suggests the labels we use to categorize people affect not just who they are now, but who they'll be in the future.

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The Haunting Effects Of Going Days Without Sleep

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The Haunting Effects Of Going Days Without Sleep

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The Haunting Effects Of Going Days Without Sleep

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Decades ago, Randy Gardner stayed awake for 11 days. He broke a record in the process, but the teenage stunt has come back to haunt him. At 71, he offers wisdom about staying up past your bedtime.

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Reporting Live From Miami: A Bunch Of Fourth-Graders Tell Their Teacher's Story

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Reporting Live From Miami: A Bunch Of Fourth-Graders Tell Their Teacher's Story

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There are many qualities of a great teacher. Two big ones? Kindness and a willingess to make learning fun. At least that's what Marlem Diaz-Brown's fourth-graders say.

For our 50 Great Teachers project, we've searched all over for teachers like her. Which brought us to Sunset Elementary School in Miami ... and "Mrs. D-B."

But this time around, we decided to shake things up: We asked her students to do the reporting. The fourth-graders (all 26 of them!) wrote a news story about their teacher. And, extra bonus, we gave them disposable cameras to show us their classroom.

So, we'll get out of the way here and hand it over to the class:

Lauren Page, Age 9:

This is Lauren Page, reporting live from Sunset Elementary and OH MY GOSH. Did you know, that my teacher, Mrs. D-B, is one of the top 50 teachers in the USA? You'll soon discover why this is so from my point of view. In my classroom 815, we learn so much which is why I absolutely love it!

Matias Simon, Age 10:

Breaking news! Mrs. D-B is one of the best 50 teachers in the country. She motivates her students like no other teacher does. She also does fun activities. Read on to learn why Mrs. D-B is one of the best 50 teachers in the United States of America.

Felipe Sanchez, Age 9:

Oh I'm so tired of learning but not with Mrs. D-B. Mrs. D-B makes learning fun and cares about all of her students with equal importance. Being taught by Mrs. D-B is a privilege and to all of her students. You'll soon discover why Mrs. D-B is a great teacher.

Patricia Quimby-Moro, Age 10:

It's a regular day at Sunset Elementary, but every day is special with Mrs. D-B.

Gabriel Goudie, Age 9:

Batter up! How do you spell "connoisseur"? C-O-N-N-O-I-S-S-U-E-R. Correct! Sound familiar? Maybe not, bit it sure does for me and the rest of Mrs. D-B's pupils. This game is called Spelling Baseball - one of the activities Mrs. D-B does with us to help us learn, improve our skills, and keep our brains fresh.

Emily Kardjian, Age 9:

Mrs. D-B's activities are, among other things, fun and highly educational. My most memorable learning experience is Writing Idol. Writing Idol is an experience I will never forget. It is really fun, it helps us improve our essays, it will help us for our FSA's and to top it off, it has a catchy theme song.

Sophia Iovine, Age 10:

Yeah, I know you're thinking of American Idol, but trust me, Writing Idol is a whole lot more different. Instead of 5-year-olds singing opera, we read out most recent essays.

Lauren Page, Age 9:

Writing Idol is so fun because there are two judges and one host. The host will call up new contestants to read their most recent essays. The judges will hold up a number for each contestant who reads their essay. The judges explain how they liked the essay or not. Did you know that I was the first host?

Gabriel Goudie, Age 9:

As a judge, I feel like a teacher. I feel like an adult grading a student's essay. This gave me a look at how hard Mrs. D-B works which motivated me even more.

Monica Santamaria, Age 10:

Chewbacca is our class pet. He is a humpback whale. I think you know he's not a real humpback whale but a stuffed animal. He wears a Hawaiian necklace. Every Thursday, Mrs. D-B picks a little paper that has the name of someone in our class. That person gets to keep Chewbacca for a week.

Patricia Quimby-Moro, Age 10:

Whoever gets him has to write a journal for almost every day. This gets us HAPPY TO WRITE.

Maddox Enriquez, Age 10:

She inspires us with writing essays for a grade. This can help us write more like adults. It makes us feel like journalists.

BrittneySue Villa, Age 9:

In addition, she is a patient teacher, she helps every student learn in different ways because all of us learn at a different pace. Remember that some of the other students learn faster or slower than others. Mrs. Diaz-Brown is always there for us. I would like to say thank you Mrs. Diaz-Brown for making my learning process fun, exciting and motivating me to learn with you.

Sophia Iovine, Age 10:

Mrs. D-B has taught me so many things in the past year, and I can't wait to learn more. Like a shoe polisher, she polished us until we shined like stars in the night sky. But of course, there is no such thing as being too bright!

Brianna Guarch, Age 10:

I believe that Mrs. D-B teaches from her heart and not only from our books. She teaches us to be kind and she sets a great example for us. It's incredible that one person can touch so many children's hearts.

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Reporting Live From Miami: A Bunch Of Fourth-Graders Tell Their Teacher's Story

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We asked the students in Marlem Diaz-Brown's class in Miami to tell the story of their "amazing" teacher.

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In high school back in the 1970s, Blair Wong recalls he often had trouble staying awake during physics class, but one day was different: the day he learned how light passes through a lens. Blair became obsessed with understanding how a transparent curve could focus light.

"I didn't really care for the other chapters in my physics textbook in high school," Blair says, "but I read the optics chapter probably about 20 times."

The lens he loved most was the human eye.

"Romantically, it's the window to the soul."

Blair's passion never went away. He got his degree in opticianry, and by his early 20s, he was a practicing optician at Cambridge Eye Doctors, his dream job. It was around this time, though, that something unsettled him.

"My friends and I were going to see a movie, and my friends, boom, went right to a row of seats, and I had no idea where they went," Blair says. "One of my friends came back to get me and said, 'You can't see in here?' "

With his optical training, Blair sensed something was off. He ticked through all the possible reasons for his difficulty seeing in the dark, and then he remembered that his brother Bruce had mentioned something similar. Blair knew they should see a specialist.

He remembers sitting on the floor outside the doctor's office, waiting for news, and then they got their diagnosis: retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative disease that slowly robs you of your eyesight. Blair and his brother's vision would cloud over and narrow more and more each year until they were completely blind.

"It was devastating. I remember sleeping for [what] felt like three months, and thinking, how I was going to overcome this?"

The irony wasn't lost on Blair. He who had studied the mechanics of vision was now losing his. What hit him harder was his fear that he would become a burden to any future partner. Blair was 26 and single, and for the next three years, he just didn't date.

Finally, he did meet someone, a woman named Jean who managed one of the stores of the company he worked for. From the beginning, Blair felt the two of them could talk about anything, but he dreaded telling her about his future blindness. It was early enough in the progression of his disease that Blair didn't appear to othersto have anything wrong with his eyes.

"It was tough, because I knew that I was falling in love with Jean," Blair says. "I do remember the night I called her and we talked about it. It was scary for us both, but she convinced me that it would be all OK."

Jean and Blair got married and had a son, and Blair found a way to stay in optics: He got his master's in education and became a professor. As his vision worsened, he and Jean found ways to relish the sight that remained.

"She would be standing in our living room, and I'd be coming home, walk into the living room, and hunt around and try to find her eyes through the tunnel of my vision. She can always tell when I'm looking so, 'Over here! Little bit left!' She'd kind of guide me over. And then when I would finally lock my eyes onto hers, we'd both smile. I'd say, 'Hi.' "

Blair knew each of these moments might be his last. Then one night, he sat across from Jean at the dinner table.

"I looked at her, and I realized I couldn't see her features of her face anymore."

Looking into people's eyes is what Blair misses most.

Now in his 50s, Blair has entered what he calls profound blindness. He takes the commuter rail into Boston, where he works at the New England College of Optometry and the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, and he relies on a white cane to find his way.

Blair wasn't thrilled about the cane at first, but once he had to use it, he noticed something: Complete strangers would ask to help him.

There's the store manager who led him through snowdrifts after a blizzard; the homeless man who helped him find a shop on Boylston Street; and the woman who brought Blair through a garden he never knew existed, pausing to describe each flower for him.

Over the years, some have become regular helpers, even friends.

"I kind of bring out the best in Bostonians. I have met so many different people simply because I have a cane. It's probably hundreds, but to me it feels like thousands."

Blair gets an offer of help at least once a day. Some interactions are fleeting, others profound.

Take Deneb Scott. Deneb was 14 and struggling with high school when he helped Blair find a seat on the train. The second time they met, the two started talking.

"He has this look about him that just prompts you to spill your guts out," Deneb says.

Deneb and Blair started sitting together on their evening train rides home, and they continue to run into each other now, three years later. Deneb says those conversations gave him confidence when he needed it.

"I wonder if he has a better sense of me as a person without the labor of eyesight," Deneb says.

Blair can't look people in the eye, but he's found a different window into their inner lives.

"I see the goodness in people," he says. "I don't know, I have this weird thought that if everybody in the world saw one another being kind to one another, it would just grow, and that's kind of what I've seen."

It's by losing sight that he was able to see it at all.

Find Kind World on Facebook or Twitter, or email kindworld@wbur.org to share your story. You can also subscribe to the podcast. This story includes music from APM and Chris Zabriskie (CC BY-NC 4.0).

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Bostonians aren't always known for their friendly, helpful nature, but Blair Wong has discovered a very different side to the city's inhabitants.

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Since they first met in preschool, Dylan Siegel has watched his friend Jonah Pournazarian check his blood sugar many times.

"I have to take off my shoe, and I prick myself, and blood comes out," 10-year-old Jonah says. "Sometimes kids just stare, because they just don't know what it's about. It's kind of weird, people staring. Dylan, he doesn't really stare, he just talks to me. And we laugh together, and it's really fun."

Dylan is 9 years old now, but this story starts three years ago, when the boys were in first grade in Los Angeles.

Dylan's mother, Debra Siegel, was driving her son home from Jonah's house when she told him that Jonah had a rare liver disease he could die from. She explained there was no cure, and doctors needed money to find one. Dylan said he wanted to help.

"I said, 'Great! I love that!'" Debra remembers. "'Do you want to do a bake sale? Do you want to do a lemonade stand?' He looked at me like I was insane. What horrible ideas. Later that night I was putting him to bed, and he said, 'I thought about what I want to do for Jonah.' I didn't even think he would bring it up again. He said, 'I'm going to write a book.'"

The next day, Dylan took out his markers and wrote a storybook he dedicated to Jonah. He titled it "Chocolate Bar," a phrase Dylan says means "awesome." Each page listed something "chocolate bar," or awesome, like Disneyland, swimming or helping his friends. He had a plan: sell the small paperback to raise money for research. First he needed some parental help.

"He marched into my office and said, 'Here's my book. Will you go make copies?'" Debra says.

"They were like, 'Uh, OK, we'll do it later, blah blah blah,'" Dylan says. "I'm like, 'Please, please, please, print it, print it.' Every day. A week before our special school event I was like, 'Can I please sell it our school event?'"

A week later, Dylan sat behind a table with his freshly printed books and some chocolate bars and sold out. He'd raised more than $5,000, but Dylan dreamed bigger.

The next week, Dylan spoke at a PTA meeting. Someone asked how much money he wanted to raise, and people gasped at Dylan's simple response.

"A million dollars."

"I was like, what did he just say?" Debra says, laughing. "I mean, he's 6 years old. I asked him, 'Do you even know how much a million dollars is?' He's like, 'It's half a Bugatti!'"

Dylan says even he wondered if he was crazy. "But then I'm like, wait. I can do anything I want. I can raise a million dollars. I could cure this disease."

It's a daunting proposition for anyone, let alone a 6-year-old, and this particular disease posed a major challenge. Dr. David Weinstein, of the University of Florida, says Jonah's type of glycogen storage disease, GSD Type 1b, is one in a million, and details about the illness are rarely part of medical school curriculum. Jonah and his family visit Weinstein for checkups every year, as he's one of the few doctors who treat and research GSD.

With little funding for research for the obscure disease, Dr. Weinstein admits he had come close to giving up multiple times.

Dylan learned all he could about Jonah's condition. "He has no white blood cells at all, or very, very little," Dylan explains. "So whenever he catches something like a cold, he could end up in the hospital. And he has to drink cornstarch mixed with water every couple of hours to keep his blood sugar high."

That's right. Cornstarch every three hours, even at night, by mouth or through the G-tube in Jonah's stomach. The Pournazarians know that if they sleep through an alarm in the middle of the night, Jonah could have seizures, go into a coma and die. That fragility motivated Dylan. He took every opportunity to approach people with his book. One of them happened to work in the news media and picked up the story. Then word started to spread.

"People told friends, their friends told their friends, their friends told more friends," Dylan says. Both families started getting calls from TV shows, radio stations, newspapers. Dr. Weinstein watched as money came into a research fund. "Incredible," he thought at the $25,000 mark. It kept rising.

In the middle of all this, Dylan's family heard from the mother of a boy in the hospital with the same disease as Jonah, and they decided to visit. The moment has stayed with Debra ever since.

"When we went into the boy's room in the ICU, there was a copy of Dylan's book on his bed. The mom told us how much Dylan's book had meant to him, and that he had three copies of Dylan's book and that he was so inspired by Dylan. Here was a kid who was fighting for his life, and a mom who had spent her last 13 years trying to keep him alive. About a week later he passed away. And it was really hard. It was really painful."

After that death, both families threw even more of themselves into reaching Dylan's million-dollar goal.

"My parents and Jonah's parents worked their butt off," Dylan says. "I knew that it was gonna happen. My instincts told me."

He was right. Two years after he'd written his book, they surpassed $1 million. They've sold more than 26,000 copies of Dylan's book in more than 60 countries, with all of the proceeds going to GSD research.

"I'm still in shock," says Dr. Weinstein. He's now planning human trials for GSD gene therapy and says his team has found treatments for mice with Jonah's rare type. "We are on the verge of curing or treating this disease, and that would not have been possible if a 6-year-old boy hadn't created this book."

"I want to tell people that you can make a difference in the world," says Dylan. "Anytime you want."

Dylan may make that difference in the lives of some very sick children, but there's something else he and Jonah are looking forward to.

"Well, I never [get to] have a sleepover at someone else's house," Jonah says. "Once I get cured, Dylan and I made plans to have a huge slumber party, and just have fun. Play games, watch TV. Just us two."
You can learn more about Jonah and Dylan at ChocolateBarBook.com. We want to hear your stories of extraordinary kindness. Send Kind World a message, find us on Facebook or Twitter, or email kindworld@wbur.org. Kind World is a project of the WBUR iLab, sharing stories of the profound effect that one act can have on our lives. Listen on air, online or subscribe to the podcast. This episode includes music by Podington Bear, Ben Seretan and Chris Zabriskie.

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Watching his friend cope with a rare liver disease, Dylan Siegel was determined to help. So he set out to raise $1 million for research.

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Young People's Trust For the Environment

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What are the Threats to the Rainforests?

Before humans started destroying the rainforests, they covered 15% of the Earth's land area, today, they cover only 6%. In the last 200 years, the total area of rainforest has decreased from 1,500 million hectares to less than 800 million hectares. (One hectare is equivalent to the area covered by two football pitches). In just the last 50 years, one third of tropical rainforests have been destroyed, 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each year.

The disappearance of the forest is called deforestation. As populations have grown and demands for land and timber have grown greater, so the deforestation has accelerated. Current rates of deforestation amount to about 6 million hectares a year. That about 8.5 million football pitches.

Rainforests are the world's most spectacular ecosystems. An ecosystem is not just the plants, but also the birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, invertebrates, bacteria, and even the non-living elements like soil, water and air. In some cases their climates have remained stable for the last 65 million years. This means that they have developed arrays of life unequalled by any other ecosystems on the planet. The destruction of the rainforests will affect other ecosystems throughout the world.

Humans have cut down trees for thousands of years, yet concern over deforestation is fairly recent. The rate at which the forests have been cleared has accelerated during the latter part of the 20th and into the 21st century. Since the end of the Second World War about half the world's rainforest has been felled. Gradually, the rainforest has gained the attention of the worldwide media, making most of us aware of the problems.

Forests are destroyed for a number of reasons:-
1) The growth of populations in countries with rainforest. 2) An increase in worldwide demand for tropical hardwoods has put a greater strain on the rainforests. 3) Cattle Grazing in South America. 4) Soya plantations in South America. 5) Palm oil plantations in Indonesia. 7) Hydroelectric dams in South America. Logging
Fortunes can be made in the rainforest. Hardwoods like mahogany and teak are very valuable, and can be sold for a great profit. The money that can be made is only available in the short-term. Once an area of forest is cleared, it will probably never recover. When a 35 metre tree is felled, it can crush up to 17 smaller trees as it crashes to the ground. There may be only two or three commercially viable trees in an area of forest the size of two football pitches. Trees are also cut down for wood pulp, which until recently came only from softwoods like Canadian conifers. The pulp is used to make paper.

In West Africa, almost 90% of the rainforest has been destroyed and now the logging is spreading to Central Africa.

Road building through rainforests is another problem, making illegal logging and the poaching of animals much easier. In Africa apes such as gorillas and other animals are hunted for bushmeat to be sold by roadsides and in the markets. Many apes are vulnerable to diseases.

An estimated 70 - 80% of logging in Brazil and Indonesia is illegal. About 1/10 of wood used in the timber trade worldwide is illegal. To avoid buying this wood in the UK, the most recognised and trustworthy standard is the Forestry Stewardship Council logo on wood and paper products which ensures the source was from sustainably managed forests.
Cattle Grazing
Brazil is the world's largest exporter of beef with more cattle (204 million) than people (200 million in 2013)! After logging and/or burning of the rainforest, cleared land is sold to local farmers for cattle grazing.

80% of deforested areas in Brazil are used for cattle ranching and are the greatest source of carbon emissions in Brazil. Not only that but the cattle naturally produce large quantities of methane, another "greenhouse gas" approximately 26 times more effective than CO2.
Soya Plantations
Most of the beef in the UK is not sourced from Brazil. However, livestock can still be indirectly responsible for rainforest destruction since intensively farmed animals in the UK are fed a high protein plant called soya. China, with its growing demands for beef has in recent years become the largest consumer of soya from Brazil. Most of the world's soya comes from South America where areas of rainforest, as well as other habitats like the savannahs have been planted with this crop.

At first the land may be very productive. However, in any rainforest it is only the top layer of soil, known as the "topsoil" that is fertile. Eventually the good topsoil will be washed away by the rains within three or four years and the area may become a desert. Otherwise farmers may resort to using more and more fertilizers and pesticides which bring with them their own problems such as the pollution of rivers. Soy plants may also be genetically modified - still a controversial issue.
Palm Oil
Have you heard of palm oil? How about vegetable oil or olive oil? Oils from plants, vegetables, seeds and nuts have been used for centuries all over the world for many different foods and products. Oil palms are palm trees which grow hundreds of little orange/red fruits that are squashed, squeezed and pulped to produce palm oil. It is estimated that 33% of all the products in your local supermarket contain palm oil - that's a lot of products! It is used in bread, cereals, chocolates, pizzas, cleaning products, chewing gum and even shampoo.

Sometimes land is cleared so that it can be replanted with valuable cash crops such as the oil palm plant, which produces palm oil. It can also be used as a biofuel instead of petrol or diesel. Indonesia produces 90% of the world's palm oil and aims to double its production by 2020. Palm oil production is such a huge business in Malaysia and Indonesia that the latter has gained the title of "World's Fastest Rainforest Destroyer" in the Guiness Book of World Records!

Valuable trees are harvested and the rest are burnt to clear the land for the farming of palm oil. As the soil's fertility does not last forever, the people at the head of logging companies avoid bankruptcy by buying up new areas of forest. Burning the trees and the peatlands beneath them is highly polluting (see below) although the ash improves the soil's fertility before planting.

In burning the rainforests Indonesia is also burning the peatlands below which store masses of carbon. Their peatlands cover just 0.1% of the earth's land, yet contribute to 4% of the world's greenhouse gases. This makes Indonesia the country with the 3rd largest carbon footprint in the world, when deforestation is taken into account! Bio-fuel targets in Europe mean that demand for palm oil is set to increase, despite the fact that more pollution is caused producing bio-fuels than is saved by not using petrol and diesel.
Pet food and palm kernel meal
Cats, dogs, pigs, cows and goldfish. Some are pets, some are farm animals which provide us with food or milk, but one thing they do have in common - they are contributing to the destruction of Asia's rainforests.

At the centre of the oil palm fruits, much like a nectarine, there is a stone, or 'kernel' and this is chopped and mashed up to produce the high protein ingredient palm kernel meal.

All the way from Asia, pets all over the country are eating food containing palm kernel meal. Imported products are products grown or made in other countries and then shipped to the UK, the opposite of this is exports - products made in the UK and sent to other countries. Many of the food companies importing palm oil for use in our foods choose 'sustainable' sources which means that more care and responsibility is taken and areas rich in wildlife and animals are protected. But when it comes to the palm kernel meal used in pet food there's a different story.

The UK uses a considerable 10% of the global supply in palm kernel meal, and 80% of this is used in animal feed. The problem is that 0% of the ingredient is sourced from sustainable sources, which means that farmers could be destroying the most species-rich rainforests in the world. One victim of palm oil plantations is the orangutan. Sadly, experts believe deforestation for palm oil is the single greatest threat to orangutans in the wild.

The Sumatran Orangutan is listed as "critically endangered" and the Bornean Orangutan as "endangered". According to the IUCN, over the last ten years their numbers have halved and up to 5000 are killed every year, despite their status as protected species. See our orangutan factsheet below for more information.
Food for thought
In Britain we destroyed our ancient forests thousands of years ago and used the land for farming. But we now know more about the important role that forests, especially rainforests play.

It is also the case that with the example of soya, it doesn't usually benefit the local people who are often violently forced off their lands and then sometimes forced to work on the plantations. The soya companies are often owned by foreigners, who are there to make money, so it does nothing to benefit the local people and their economic situation.

In a way Europe is contributing to the rainforests' destruction as nearly a third of Brazil's soy bean harvest is exported to Europe including Britain where 78% of the soya beans are imported form Brazil. 97% of the soya meal produced worldwide is used for animal feed and much of that is not sustainably produced.
Mining
Beneath rainforests there often lies a wealth of natural resources in the form of mineral and gold deposits. These are a great source of income for many countries, such as in Indonesia where mineral deposits form 19% of their exports. Often people involved in small scale gold mining use mercury to extract the gold. Mercury is banned in Indonesia but is readily available for purchase by individuals. As well as damaging people's health, the mercury used goes on to pollute river systems and is the second-worse source of mercury pollution in the world, after the burning of fossil fuels.

Large areas of forest in Indonesia are protected by law against any prospecting or open cast mining, although new rules do allow underground mining in protected areas. Once roads are built to reach the mines, it becomes easier for illegal logging and poaching to take place.

Brazil has the world's largest iron ore mine and has rich reserves of other metals such as zinc, nickel, tin and aluminium. It is possible that some of its forests may be opened up for mineral exploration.
Hydroelectricity
This renewable "green" source of energy, ironically is to blame for some environmental destruction, for example in the Amazon when the Tucuri dam was built. The Amazon river is the second longest in the world and with its many tributaries it is a source of energy which could be harnessed. Brazil suffered an energy crisis in 2006 and is keen to develop this source of power. Unfortunately, the building of hydro-electric dams often results in major flooding which harms wildlife and can change the eco-system of the river downstream. Wood rotting underwater also releases carbon dioxide and methane greenhouse gases.

The Xingu river is the site of the world's third largest hydro-electric dam, the Belo Monte project where 310 square miles (500 square km) will be flooded. Many indigenous people such as the Kayapo Indians are concerned about the potential loss of land. The construction is currently well underway, with a scheduled completion date in 2019.

The big companies and governments who propose these developments of the rainforest usually offer incentives for the affected people such as jobs, schools and clinics. Many feel this is a good exchange and may improve their standard of living, although the reality can be far from that. In many cases, promised compensation is not delivered.
Climate
The destruction of the rainforest could affect the world's climate. During the day, the rainforests absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the air to make food in a process called photosynthesis. A by-product of photosynthesis is oxygen. Tropical rainforests absorb about 20% of the world's man-made carbon dioxide emissions.

On the contrary, burning the rainforest is like creating a huge bonfire, throwing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide or CO2 is a 'greenhouse gas', which helps to retain the heat of the sun within the Earth's atmosphere. Tropical deforestation contributes 17% of the world's annual greenhouse gas emissions.

By burning the rainforest, we are not only adding huge amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere, but we are also reducing nature's ability to absorb CO2 and to produce oxygen. The more the rainforests are cut down and burned, the more the 'lungs' of the earth will be damaged.

Deforestation is responsibly for more global carbon emissions than all the planes, trains, buses and cars in the world put together! Indonesia is already the world's third highest emitter of carbon dioxide after the USA and China because of the burning of its rainforests and peat lands to clear areas for growing palm oil.

Rainforests also help to transport huge volumes of water vapour through the atmosphere in 'flying rivers'. Water falls on the rainforests, is absorbed by the trees and then evaporated from their leaves in a process called transpiration. When the trees are removed, the flying rivers stop flowing.

Read More: The Future

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Before humans started destroying the rainforests, they covered 15% of the Earth's land area, today, they cover only 6%. In the last 200 years, the total area of rainforest has decreased from 1,500 million hectares to less than 800 million hectares. (One hectare is equivalent to the area covered by two football pitches).

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Deforestation is when forests are destroyed by cutting trees ( logging) and not replanting them. The most common reason is to clear the land to make farms, ranches, and cities. Trees are also cut for firewood and lumber.

Deforestation destroys the habitat of many animals, leading to their death and possible extinction. The loss is more severe in primary forests, which are forests that have yet been untouched by humans. Deforestation also releases sequestered carbon.

Restoring trees in deforested places is called reforesting.

Benefit of forests

Forests are often planted to protect against natural disasters. They also help the water cycle function properly. When forests are lost, very often the soil they protected is also lost. This loss of soil is called erosion.

Trees are also important for carbon sequestration. They are important in keeping the proper balance of oxygen (O ₂) and carbon dioxide (CO ₂) on earth. They take in carbon dioxide that humans exhale (breathe out) and release oxygen that humans inhale (breathe in).

Forests have the following functions:

regulating the water cycle

producing soil

preventing soil erosion

providing habitat for animals

providing most of our oxygen

maintaining the proper oxygen (O₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels

balancing the atmosphere

regulating the temperature

Global deforestation suddenly increased around 1852. As of 1947, the planet had 5.8 million to 6.2 million sq. mi. (15 million to 16 million km ²) of mature tropical forests (forested landscapes in tropical regions), but by 2015, it was estimated that about half of these had been destroyed. Total land coverage by tropical rainforests decreased from 14% to 6%. Much of this loss happened between 1960 and 1990. Scientists have calculated that at this rate, the extinction of such forests could happen by the mid-21st century.

Causes of deforestation

Land has other uses besides growing trees. The biggest uses of land that was once forested are for farming and ranching. Some land is also used for roads and buildings, especially in urban areas. As the population grows, people need to remove more trees. They also use the wood from the trees as lumber to make buildings and other things, or they burn the trees as firewood.

Environmental effects

Atmospheric

Further information: Deforestation and climate change

Deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography.

When the trees burn or rot, the small amount of carbon that is not absorbed by the soil can return to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. Scientists believe that since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, deforestation can cause global warming. They have estimated that tropical deforestation is responsible for about 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions.

Hydrological

The water cycle is also affected by deforestation. Trees play an important part in the proper working of the water cycle.

Their canopies catch precipitation, which is then evaporated back to the atmosphere (canopy interception). Without canopy interception, the air would be drier and less precipitation would fall.

Their litter (plant material on the ground around the tree), stems, and trunks slow down surface runoff. Without these, flash flooding would be more likely.

Their roots create macropores - large pipe-like trails - in the soil that increase infiltration of water. Without these trails, water would not flow through the soil as easily.

They absorb groundwater from the soil and transpire moisture into the atmosphere. Without transpiration, the air would be drier and trees would not get the moisture they need because of the lack of precipitation.

Tropical rainforests produce about 30% of our planet's fresh water.

Deforestation changes normal weather patterns, creating hotter and drier weather. This results in more drought, crop failures, melting of polar ice caps, and coastal flooding.

Undisturbed forests do not have much erosion because of plant litter on the ground. Plant litter protects from surface runoff. Forestry operations also increase erosion because of the roads and mechanical equipment they use.

Deforestation in China's Loess Plateau many years ago led to soil erosion. This erosion caused valleys to open. The increase of soil in the runoff causes the Yellow River to flood and makes it yellow-colored.

Erosion is not always a consequence of deforestation. An example would be the southwestern regions of the United States. The loss of grass due to the presence of trees and other shrubbery leads to more erosion than when trees are removed.

Soils are reinforced by the presence of trees, which secure the soil by binding their roots to soil bedrock. When trees are removed on sloped lands, those lands are more likely to have a landslide.

Biodiversity

Forests support biodiversity, providing a habitat for wildlife. Forests also produce medicinal plants. Tropical rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and about 80% of the world's known biodiversity could be found in tropical rainforests. When humans remove or destroy large areas of forest cover, the soil degrades and biodiversity is lessened. Some species of plants and animals can become extinct. Some scientists predict that more than 40% of the animal and plant species in Southeast Asia could be wiped out in the 21st century. Other scientists show data that disagree with this prediction.

Health effects

Public health context

Some scientists believe that deforestation exposes people to zoonotic diseases (diseases that can be passed from an animal to a human). Dieseases that are associated with the forest include malaria, Chagas disease (also known as American trypanosomiasis), African trypanosomiasis ( sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, the Nipah virus, Avian flu, Swine Flu, Lyme disease, HIV, and Ebola.

General overview

According to the World Economic Forum, 31% of emerging diseases are linked to deforestation. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 75% of emerging diseases in humans came from animals.

In 2016, the United Nations Environment Programme published the UNEP Frontiers 2016 Report. The report shows the causes of emerging diseases:

The latest appearing diseases and their causes are listed on page 23 of the report:

Economic impact

According to the World Economic Forum, half of the global GDP depends on nature. For every dollar spent on nature restoration, there is a profit of at least 9 dollars.

People in both developed and developing countries use wood for building, wood for fuel, and wood pulp for paper. In developing countries, almost three billion people rely on wood for heating and cooking. The economy does well in the short term when trees are cut to make products, but usually, not enough trees can be planted in their place in time for more to be cut down again when they are needed. This causes the economy in the long term to suffer.

Illegal logging causes billions of dollars of losses to national economies each year. The European Union is one of the largest importers of products made from illegal deforestation.

Many countries have taken steps to control deforestation. They have begun programs that they hope will help with the problem.

Reducing emissions: The United Nations and the World Bank have begun to develop programs to reduce deforestation. Because trees take in carbon dioxide, the more trees we have, the less CO₂ will be emitted into the air. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is a program that offers money or other incentives (good consequences as a result of an action) to developing countries if they use different ways to build than using the forest's trees.

Government and private policies: In the government area, laws could be made to protect forests, making it illegal to cut trees down without special permission. Private companies could promise to use the land they own the best way they can and to buy products only from companies that do not use deforestation. The Paris Agreement is an example of this.

Land rights: Another way to conserve forests is to change the right to use the land from the public domain to the indigenous inhabitants.

Farming practices: New ways to farm are being developed to get more use out of a single piece of land rather than having to use many pieces of land for different purposes. For instance, in cyclic agriculture, cattle are grazed on farmland that is resting and rejuvenating. The cattle help the land prepare for future plantings by dropping nutrients (from their feces) into the soil.

Monitoring deforestation: Satellite images can help scientists know where on the earth they need to concentrate their efforts in fighting deforestation.

Forest management: Planning ahead by planting more trees than we think will be necessary for future generations is one way to manage our forests well. Reforestation in areas where trees have been cut is another way to manage our forests well. In the areas where "slash-and-burn" is practiced, switching to "slash-and-char" would make the soil rich and healthy for future trees.

Sustainable practices: Bamboo grows and is ready for use faster than trees. Using bamboo rather than wood for building and making products would reduce the need to cut down trees.

Forest plantations: Some places have forest plantations, which are large plots of land that have trees planted on them in an orderly way. They produce more healthy trees per acre than a natural forest.

Interesting facts about deforestation

More than half the world's tropical forests have been destroyed since the 1960s.

In 2019, the world lost an entire soccer field worth of primary rainforest every six seconds.

Forests release carbon dioxide when they are cleared or burned. About 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation.

It is estimated that within 100 years, there will be no rainforests.

20% of the world's oxygen is produced in the Amazon forest.

Almost half of the world's timber and up to 70% of paper is consumed by Europe, the United States, and Japan alone.

Worldwide, more than 1.6 billion people rely on forest products for all or part of their livelihoods.

Related pages

Images for kids

In Spanish: Deforestación para niños

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Amazon and Trees for paper and other products

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Amazon and Trees for paper and other products

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Rainforest at Risk | Scholastic News Online | Scholastic.com

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Lawmakers in Brazil debate a law that could put the Amazon rainforest's recovery in danger.

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Rainforest at Risk | Scholastic News Online | Scholastic.com

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Lawmakers in Brazil debate a law that could put the Amazon rainforest's recovery in danger.

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The world is covered by over 10 billions acres of forests, that is over 30% of the entire planet! Humans are rapidly cutting down this land, in a process called deforestation. Deforestation means the cutting down of forests in order to make room for thinks like buildings, roads, and other man made structures. The average rate that these areas are being destroyed is about 15 million acres per year and has been happening since the early 1990's. While the things that the land are being used for are very beneficial to the people, there are some consequences of destroying nature.

The Pros of Deforestation

Room To Grow
The largest reason that these forests are being cut down is to make room for expansions. With all of the free areas being created, things like improved road systems and economy stimulating businesses can be built.

We Make Use Of The Material
All of the trees that are cut down are used for lumber and other types of wood products. The other plants and materials are used to make paper good and many other necessities. The land itself may even be used for agricultural purposes.

Revenue
Deforestation creates a strong revenue source for governments. This helps to stimulate the economy, especially in developing countries.

The Cons of Deforestation

Carbon Dioxide Increase
Plants play a vital role in keeping the planet habitable. During the photosynthesis process plants filter carbon dioxide gases out of the air and release oxygen. You know, the stuff we need to breathe. Cutting all of these plants is having a very negative impact on our environment. Allowing green house gases to build up and even contributing to global warming.

Wildlife
When these forests are cut down it is not only the trees that are being lost. These forests are home to a countless amount of wildlife. Birds, insects, frogs, bears, and many other animals are losing their homes very rapidly. With no where for them to go, they are forced into areas that are not suitable for them. There has been a drastic decline in the amount of wildlife in certain areas that have been greatly affected by deforestation.

Flooding
Plants and trees play a vital role in absorbing excess ground water. They suck the extra moisture up through their roots and disperse it back into the atmosphere. Without all of this plant life, there is nothing to help regulate the excess water from rain and the soil will become over saturated. This will play vital role in flooding of the area, as well as surrounding areas.

Time Will Tell
At the rapid rate that forests are being hacked down every day, it is a very likely possibility that we will no longer have rain forests on our planet in as little as 100 years. Along with losing the rain forests we will also lose all of the species of plants and animals that are native to it.

In Conclusion

Deforestation, while it may be necessary, is having an extremely negative effect on our environment. It definitely has it's place, but is it being overused? An area the size of 20 football fields is lost every single 20 minutes! Research about what you can do help slow down this destructive process.

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The world is covered by over 10 billions acres of forests, that is over 30% of the entire planet! Humans are rapidly cutting down this land, in a process called deforestation. Deforestation means the cutting down of forests in order to make room for thinks like buildings, roads, and other man made structures.

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One of the leading causes of rainforest destruction is logging. Many types of wood used for furniture, flooring, and construction are harvested from tropical forests in Africa, Asia, and South America. By buying certain wood products, people in places like the United States and Europe are directly contributing to the destruction of rainforests.

While logging can be carried out in a manner that reduces damage to the environment, most logging in the rainforest is very destructive. Large trees are cut down and dragged through the forest, while access roads open up remote forest areas to agriculture by poor farmers. In Africa logging workers often rely on "bushmeat" for protein. They hunt wildlife like gorillas, deer, and chimpanzees for food.

Research has found that the number of species found in logged rainforest is much lower than the number found in untouched or "primary" rainforest. Many rainforest animals cannot survive in the changed environment.

Local people often rely on harvesting wood from rainforests for firewood and building materials. In the past such practices were not particularly damaging to the ecosystem because there were relatively few people. Today, however, in areas with large human populations the sheer number of people collecting wood from a rainforest can be extremely damaging. In the 1990s, for example, the forests around the refugee camps in Central Africa (Rwanda and Congo) were virtually stripped of all trees in some areas.

RAINFOREST PHOTOS

By Rhett Butler

Date published: June 24, 2004 | Last updated: December 5, 2015

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Logging and timber harvesting in the rainforest

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One of the leading causes of rainforest destruction is logging. Many types of wood used for furniture, flooring, and construction are harvested from tropical forests in Africa, Asia, and South America. By buying certain wood products, people in places like the United States and Europe are directly contributing to the destruction of rainforests.

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Losing their homes because of the growing needs of humans

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Losing their homes because of the growing needs of humans

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It is identified as a main threat to 85% of all species described in the IUCN's Red List (those species officially classified as "Threatened" and "Endangered").

Increasing food production is a major agent for the conversion of natural habitat into agricultural land.

Why is it happening?

Forest loss and degradation is mostly caused by the expansion of agricultural land, intensive harvesting of timber, wood for fuel and other forest products, as well as overgrazing.

High land conversion rates

The net loss in global forest area during the 1990s was about 94 million ha (equivalent to 2.4% of total forests). It is estimated that in the 1990s, almost 70% of deforested areas were converted to agricultural land.

Around half of the world's original forests have disappeared, and they are still being removed at a rate 10x higher than any possible level of regrowth. As tropical forests contain at least half the Earth's species, the clearance of some 17 million hectares each year is a dramatic loss.

Coastal and marine areas

Human impact on terrestrial and marine natural resources results in marine and coastal degradation. Population growth, urbanization, industrialization and tourism are all factors.

In 1994, it was estimated that 37% of the global population lived within 60 km of the coast. Poverty, consumption and land-use patterns contribute to the degradation of marine habitats and to the destruction of the species that rely on them to survive.

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It is identified as a main threat to 85% of all species described in the IUCN's Red List (those species officially classified as "Threatened" and "Endangered"). Increasing food production is a major agent for the conversion of natural habitat into agricultural land. Why is it happening?

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Physical description

Orang-utans have a characteristic ape-like shape, shaggy reddish fur and grasping hands and feet. Their powerful arms are stronger and longer than their legs and can reach 2m in length, long enough to touch their ankles when they stand.

There are two different types of adult male orang-utan: flanged and unflanged. Flanged males have prominent cheek pads called flanges and a throat sac used to make loud verbalizations called 'long calls'. They also have a long coat of dark hair on their back.

The unflanged male looks like an adult female. Both reproduce and an unflanged male can change to a flanged male for reasons that are not yet fully understood. Orang-utans are the only primate in which this biological phenomenon occurs.

Male orang-utans can tip the scales at 90 kg, while females weigh between 30-50 kg.

Social structure
Orang-utan means 'person of the forest' in the Malay language. They live in primary and secondary forests. Although they can occur up to 1,500m above sea level, most are found in lowland areas and prefer forests in river valleys or floodplains.

Orang-utans travel by moving from one tree to another, and usually avoid climbing down to the ground. But when they do, they move on 'all fours', placing their clenched fists on the ground.

Orang-utans make a nest of vegetation to sleep in at night, and rest in smaller nets during the day.

Adults are generally solitary, although temporary aggregations are occasionally formed. Males' large home ranges overlap with the ranges of several adult females. Adult males are generally hostile to one another, although they do not display territorially.

Life cycle
Orang-utans can live up to 50 years in the wild. Females first reproduce between 10-15 years of age. They give birth at most once every 5 years, and the interval between babies can be as long as 10 years.

Orang-utans usually give birth to a single young, or occasionally twins. Orang-utans stay with their mothers for the first 7-11 years of their life. An infant rides on its mother's body and sleeps in her nest until it is able to survive on its own.

The long time taken to reach sexual maturity, the long interbirth periods, and the fact that orang-utans normally give birth to just a single young mean that orang-utans have an extremely low reproductive rate.

This makes orang-utan populations highly vulnerable to excessive mortality, and means that populations take a long time to recover from population declines.

About 60% of the orang-utan's diet includes fruit, such as durians, jackfruit, lychees, mangosteens, mangoes and figs. The rest comprises young leaves and shoots, insects, soil, tree bark, woody lianas, and occasionally eggs and small vertebrates. They obtain water not only from fruit, but also from tree holes.

Three species

There are three species of orang-utan - the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli - which differ a little in appearance and behavior. The Bornean and Sumatran species have shaggy reddish fur, Sumatran orangutans have longer facial hair.

Sumatran orang-utans are also reported to have closer social bonds than their Bornean cousins.

The Sumatran orang-utan is almost exclusively arboreal. Females virtually never travel on the ground and adult males do so only rarely. This is in contrast to Bornean orang-utans, especially adult males, which more often descend to the ground.

A third species of orangutan was announced in November, 2017. With no more than 800 individuals in existence, the Tapanuli orangutan is the most endangered of all great apes. This new third species lives in North Sumatra, but is genetically and behaviorally distinct from the two other species.

An international team of scientists described the new species in Current Biology. The Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) is distinguished from other orangutan populations based on morphological and genomic evidence. The new species is endemic to 475 square miles of upland forest in the Batang Toru Ecosystem of Sumatra and is believed to have been isolated from other orangutan populations for 10,000-20,000 years.

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Orang-utans have a characteristic ape-like shape, shaggy reddish fur and grasping hands and feet. Their powerful arms are stronger and longer than their legs and can reach 2m in length, long enough to touch their ankles when they stand. There are two different types of adult male orang-utan: flanged and unflanged.

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Loss of habitat - Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia

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Loss of habitat The most important risk factor for orangutans is the loss of habitat. Suitable orangutan habitat in Indonesia and Malaysia has declined by more than 80% in the last 20 years. It is estimated that an average of 1.15 million ha of forest per annum has been lost on Borneo between 2003 and...

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Measuring the Daily Destruction of the World's Rainforests

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Measuring the Daily Destruction of the World's Rainforests

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Advertisement

Dear EarthTalk: Do you have current facts and figures about how much rainforest is being destroyed each day around the world, and for what purpose(s)?
-Teri, via e-mail
Pinning down exact numbers is nearly impossible, but most experts agree that we are losing upwards of 80,000 acres of tropical rainforest daily, and significantly degrading another 80,000 acres every day on top of that. Along with this loss and degradation, we are losing some 135 plant, animal and insect species every day-or some 50,000 species a year-as the forests fall.

According to researcher and writer Rhett Butler, who runs the critically acclaimed website, Mongabay.com, tropical rainforests are incredibly rich ecosystems that play a key role in the basic functioning of the planet. They help maintain the climate by regulating atmospheric gases and stabilizing rainfall, and provide many other important ecological functions.

Rainforests are also home to some 50 percent of the world's species, Butler reports, "making them an extensive library of biological and genetic resources." Environmentalists also point out that a quarter of our modern pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, but less than one percent of the trees and plants in the tropics have been tested for curative properties. Sadly, then, we don't really know the true value of what we're losing as we slash, burn, and plant over what was once a treasure trove of biodiversity.

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), overall tropical deforestation rates this decade are 8.5 percent higher than during the 1990s. While this figure pertains to all forests in the world's tropics, researchers believe the loss of primary tropical rainforest-the wildest and most diverse swaths-has increased by as much as 25 percent since the 1990s.

Despite increased public awareness of the importance of tropical rainforests, deforestation rates are actually on the rise, mostly due to activities such as commercial logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, dam-building and mining, but also due to subsistence agriculture and collection of fuel wood. Indeed, as long as commercial interests are allowed access to these economically depressed areas of the world, and as long as populations of poor rural people continue to expand, tropical rainforests will continue to fall.

Some scientists see light at the end of the tunnel. Joseph Wright of the Panama-based Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute says the tropics now have more protected land than in recent history, and believes that large areas of tropical forest will remain intact through 2030 and beyond: "We believe that the area covered by tropical forest will never fall to the exceedingly low levels that are often predicted and that extinction will threaten a smaller proportion of tropical forest species than previously predicted."

Only time will tell whether Wright's optimistic predictions ring true, or whether a more doomsday scenario will play out. To stay informed and be part of the solution, stay tuned to the websites of Rainforest Action Network, Rainforest Alliance, the Rainforest Site and, of course, Mongabay.com.

CONTACTS: Mongabay, www.mongabay.com; Rainforest Alliance, www.rainforestalliance.org; Rainforest Action Network, www.ran.org; Rainforest Site, www.rainforestsite.com; FAO, www.fao.org.

EarthTalk is produced by E/The Environmental Magazine. SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk is now a book! Details and order information at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook.

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Measuring the Daily Destruction of the World's Rainforests

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Dear EarthTalk: Do you have current facts and figures about how much rainforest is being destroyed each day around the world, and for what purpose(s)? -Teri, via e-mail Pinning down exact numbers is nearly impossible, but most experts agree that we are losing upwards of 80,000 acres of tropical rainforest daily, and significantly degrading another 80,000 acres every day on top of that.

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Tropical Deforestation & Habitat Destruction

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Tropical Deforestation & Habitat Destruction

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tropical deforestation and habitat destruction

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Slash & Burn Agriculture ] [From the Seat of the Bulldozer ] [ Regrowth in a Tropical Rainforest ] [ Data Collection in the Amazon ] [ Colonization of the Rainforest ] [ Loving the Rainforest to Death ] [ Frogs in the Rainforest ] [ Tropical Deforestation & Habitat Destruction ] [ The Importance of Forests & the Perils of Deforestation ] [ Hamburgers in the Rainforest ] References ] [ ]

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Mining for gold can conjure up quaint images of rolled up pants, a pan and sieve and the sound of water flowing over pebbles boulders and splashing against the rocks. In the Amazon, miners are more likely to be waist deep in polluted water laced with dangerous chemicals. Mining in the Amazon begins with detonating explosives on riverbanks and digging deep craters in areas cleared of forest. Mining the gold for just one wedding ring can damage a river forever as mercury and cyanide are released into the river along with twenty tons of sediment produced by blasting the riverbank. The pits left are often 30 feet deep. After the pit has been created miners use pressurized water to wash away the earth. Finally they drain the area using flat sieves that sift out tiny gold flakes. It is here that miners frequently use mercury or other dangerous chemicals to help separate the gold from the rest of the silt. The gold and much mercury bind in an amalgam making the gold easier to extract however some of the mercury remains and eventually returns to the waterway. In Peru, much of the rainforest being mined illegally. Estimates are that 20% or more of the gold coming from Peru is illegally mined. Local government officials are often corrupt and complicit, turning a blind eye to illegal and dangerous mining practices, unregistered mining concessions, and illegal mining on State and Indigenous land. Gold mining is largely unregulated throughout the rainforests where miners can quickly set up, blast riverbed, and extract gold, leaching toxic chemicals into the waterways before anyone knows they are there.

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Mining -Save the Rainforest- Rainforest Foundation US

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Mining for gold can conjure up quaint images of rolled up pants, a pan and sieve and the sound of water flowing over pebbles boulders and splashing against the rocks. In the Amazon, miners are more likely to be waist deep in polluted water laced with dangerous chemicals.

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The Environmental Impact of Mining on the Rainforest

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The Environmental Impact of Mining on the Rainforest

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MINING IN THE RAINFOREST

Gold, copper, diamonds, and other precious metals and gemstones are important resources that are found in rainforests around the world. Extracting these natural resources is frequently a destructive activity that damages the rainforest ecosystem and causes problems for people living nearby and downstream from mining operations.

In the Amazon rainforest most mining today revolves around alluvial gold deposits. Due to the meandering nature of Amazon rivers, gold is found both in river channels and on the floodplains where rivers once ran. These deposits are actively mined by large-scale operators and informal, small-scale miners. Both operators rely heavily on hydraulic mining techniques, blasting away at river banks, clearing floodplain forests, and using heavy machinery to expose potential gold-yielding gravel deposits. Gold is usually extracted from this gravel using a sluice box to separate heavier sediment and mercury for amalgamating the precious metal. While most of the mercury is removed for reuse or burned off, some may end up in rivers. Studies have found that small-scale miners are less efficient with their use of mercury than industrial miners, releasing an estimated 2.91 pounds (1.32 kg) of mercury into waterways for every 2.2 pounds (1 kg) of gold produced.

While there is no scientific consensus on mercury contamination in the Amazon, according to biologist Michael Goulding, there is evidence of mercury causing problems in other ecosystems. Elemental or inorganic mercury can be transformed (methylated) into organic forms by biological systems and enter food chains. Not only are methylated mercury compounds toxic, but highly bioaccumulative, meaning that mercury concentrations increase up the food chain. Top predators, including otters, birds of prey, and humans, will have the highest levels of mercury in their systems. Those who eat large amounts of fish are at the greatest risk.

Location of the Grasberg mine.

A Giant Mess on New Guinea

Freeport-McMoRan, based in New Orleans, has operated the Grasberg gold, silver, and copper mine in Indonesian New Guinea (formerly Irian Jaya), since 1972, converting Mount Ertsberg into a 600-meter hole. As documented by the New York Times and dozens of environmental groups, the mining company has dumped substantial amounts of waste into local streams, rendering downstream waterways and wetlands "unsuitable for aquatic life." Relying on large payments to military officials, the mining operation for most of its history was protected by a virtual private army that were implicated in the deaths of an estimated 160 people between 1975 and 1997 in the mine area.

Freeport estimates that it generates 700,000 tons of waste a day and that the waste rock stored in the highlands-900 feet deep in places-now covers some three square miles. Government surveys have found that tailings from the mines have produced levels of copper and sediment so high that almost all fish have disappeared from nearly 90 square miles of wetlands downstream from the operation.

Cracking down on the Freeport's environmental abuses and questionable human-rights practices has proved a challenge since the mine is one of the largest sources of revenue for the Indonesian government. An Indonesian government scientist wrote that "the mine's production was so huge, and regulatory tools so weak, that it was like 'painting on clouds' to persuade Freeport to comply with the ministry's requests to reduce environmental damage," according to a December 27, 2005, article in the New York Times.

For more take a look at " Below a Mountain of Wealth, a River of Waste" in the New York Times. The article was written by Jane Perlez and Raymond Bonner.

Other toxic compounds are used and generated in the mining process as well. Mining exposes previously buried metal sulfides to atmospheric oxygen causing their conversion to strong sulfuric acid and metal oxides, which run off into local waterways. Oxides tend to more soluble in water and contaminate local rivers with heavy metals.

Cyanide, a highly toxic compound, is also often used to separate gold from sediment and rock. While cyanide is supposed to be carefully monitored to prevent its escape into the surround environment, spills do occur-especially when there's no one around to enforce mining regulations. The effects of poisoning can be widespread, especially when a waste-holding pool overflows or breaks, as it did in Guyana in August 1995.

The Guyana spill made international headlines for its magnitude-over one billion gallons (four billion liters) of cyanide-laced waste water was released into a tributary of the Essequibo- and its effects, causing widespread die-offs of aquatic and terrestrial plant and animal life, poisoning floodplain soils used for agriculture, polluting the main source of drinking water for thousands of people, and striking a blow to the emerging eco-tourism industry on the river. The mine, run by Golden Star Resources of Denver and Cambior of Montreal, at first tried to cover up the spill by burying fish carcasses. Six days after the spill, after locals found dead wildlife, the mine reported the accident to the Guyana government. Despite the damage inflicted by the spill, the government granted additional mining concessions on the New River shortly thereafter.

Large-scale mining operations, especially those using open-pit mining techniques, can result in significant deforestation through forest clearing and the construction of roads which open remote forest areas to transient settlers, land speculators, and small-scale miners. These settlers and miners are probably a greater threat to the tropical rainforest environment than industrial mining operations. Wildcat miners enter regions rumored to have gold deposits and clear forest in search of riches. They hunt wildlife, cut trees for building material and fuelwood, and trigger erosion by clearing hillsides and detonating explosives. Miners can also bring diseases to local indigenous populations (where they still exist) and battles over land rights. One well-documented example is the conflict between the Yanomani Indians of Northern Brazil and Venezuela and garimpeiros-illegal Brazilian miners. Reports indicated that Yanomani populations have fallen significantly since the first incursion of miners in the 1980s.

While deforestation and chemical pollution from mining can impact the rainforest environment, downstream aquatic habitats fare worse. Increased sediment loads and reduced water flows can seriously affect local fish populations.

Review questions:

How does mining affect the rainforest and local rivers?

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Accounts of the Guyana cyanide spill of 1995 are found in World Rainforest Movement, "Guyana: Logging Freeze Starts to Melt, More Mining," 3/14/96 and Bretton Woods Reform Organization (BWRO), "A Call for Accountability for Poisonous Cyanide Discharge," 8/28/95.

Examples of environmental degradation caused by Freeport mine operations in Indonesia is presented by Chatterjee, P., "Human Rights-Indonesia - US mining giant implicated in Indonesia atrocities," 1995; Press, E., "Freeport: Corporate Predator," The Nation. July 31/August 7, 1995; and Walsh, P., "Witnessing 'GP?K' Drama, blood, and tears of Jo-Mun Nerk's Children in the Freeport Concession Area," Australian Council for Overseas Aid, 1995.

The Rainforest Action Network (1993-1995) described the Yanomani situation including malaria and armed conflicts between miners and the Yanomani.

Gold mining in the Amazon rainforest is covered in Nigel J.H. Smith, Emanuel Adilson S. Serro, Paulo T. Alvim, and Italo C. Falesi, Amazonia - Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and its People, The United Nations University, 1995.

Pfeiffer, W. C. and L. D. de Lacerda. ("Mercury inputs into the Amazon region, Brazil," Environmental Technological Letters 9: 325-330, 1988) found that for every kilogram of gold produced, an estimated 1.32 kg of mercury is dumped into the environment.

The gold find at Serra Pelada in the Brazilian Amazon is reviewed by Schmink, M. ("Social change in the garimpo," in John Hemming (ed.), Change in the Amazon basin, Vol. 2: The frontier after a decade of colonisation, Manchester:Manchester University Press, 1985) and Mallas, J. and N. Benedicto ("Mercury and gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon," Ambio 15(4): 248-249, 1986).

The forest fires of Southeast Asia during the 1997-98 ENSO event received unprecedented coverage for an environmental event. Estimates for area affected: McCall, C. "Asia's unique species go up in smoke. Reuters. 6/17/98; and Kinnaird, M.F. and O'Brien,

T.G., "Ecological effects of wildfire on lowland rainforest in Sumatra," Conservation Biology Vol. 12 No. 5 (954-956), October 1995; Stolle, F. and Tomich, T.P., "The 1997-1998 fire event in Indonesia," Nature and Resources Vol. 5, No. 3, July-Sep 1999;

Pollution and health impacts: Balowski, J., "Suharto Fiddles While Indonesia Burns" Greenleft Weekly, October 15, 1997; Edwards, N., "Public Anger Could Heat up Over Southeast Asia Smog," Reuters, 22-SEP-97; and Gilbert, C., "Indonesia's Peat Smoulders Underground," Environment News Service, 11/13/97; Stolle, F. and Tomich, T.P., "The 1997-1998 fire event in Indonesia," Nature and Resources Vol. 5, No. 3, July-Sep 1999.

Economic costs: AP, "Acid Rain and Other Problems Coming Soon for Southeast Asia." 11/10/97; AP, "Malaysia orders experts to keep quiet on haze" 11/7/97; AP, "Drought Cuts Indonesia's Harvests; Haze Worsens in some Parts" 10/24/97; Johnson, C., "Indonesia's Fires Could Cost 5-6 B, experts say," Reuters, 3/17/98; Rajendran, R., "Southeast Asia Fire Damage Estimated at around $4.4 billion," Reuters, 5/29/98; Stolle, F. and Tomich, T.P., "The 1997-1998 fire event in Indonesia," Nature and Resources Vol. 5, No. 3, July-Sep 1999; and Xinhua, "Forest Fires in Indonesia Cause Huge Economic Losses," 10/23/97.

Ecological impact: Abramovitz, J.N., Agence France-Presse, "Indonesia counts the cost of forest fires" 10/6/97;McCall, C. "Asia's unique species go up in smoke. Reuters. 6/17/98; Agence France-Presse, "Fires multiplying in Indonesian disaster: World Wide Fund for Nature" 9/29/97; AP (AP:3), "Wildlife in Indonesia under Even Bigger Siege Due to Drought, Fires" 10/6/97; Estrade, B., "Heat from Indonesian fires to be felt at climate meet," Agence France-Presse, 11/28/97; Gilbert, C., "Indonesia's Peat Smoulders Underground," Environment News Service, 11/13/97; Pardomuan, L., "Green Group Warns of Crises after Indonesian Fires," Reuters, 15-OCT-97; Raven, G., "Indonesia Fires Hit National Parks--Pressure Group," Reuters, 10/9/97; Rosenfeld, D., "Dense smoke turns off normal tropical rainfall," Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 26 (3105) 1999; Williams, L. and Baker, M., "South Asia's Year of Reckoning." Sydney Morning Herald, 10/6/97; and Xinhua, "Fires reduce insects in East Kalimantan, Indonesia," 4/20/98;

Political culpability in Indonesia: Abramovitz, J.N., Agence France-Presse, "Indonesia counts the cost of forest fires" 10/6/97; Aditjondro, G.J., "Palm Oil Nepotism Adds Fuel to Disaster" Australian Financial Review, 10/13/97; Agence France-Presse, "Jakarta Reinstates 45 Permits Revoked for Forest Burning Violations" 12/2/97; Balowski, J., "Suharto Fiddles While Indonesia Burns" Greenleft Weekly, October 15, 1997; Della-Giacoma, J., "Fires burn unchecked in Indonesia's South Sumatra," Reuters. 10-SEP-97; Edwards, N., "Public Anger Could Heat up Over Southeast Asia Smog," Reuters, 22-SEP-97; Gilbert, C., "Indonesia's Peat Smoulders Underground," Environment News Service, 11/13/97; Gopalakrishnan, R., "Indonesia Timber King Denies Responsible for Fires," Reuters, 10/3/97; Johnson, C., "Indonesia's Fires Could Cost 5-6 B, experts say," Reuters, 3/17/98; Lamb, D., "Fires Again Ravage Indonesia's Forests," Los Angeles Times, 3/23/98; Reuters, "Indonesian Fires No Accident, Singapore Paper Say" 10/2/97; Richardson, M., "Indonesian Crisis Prompts Fears of New Smoke Pollution." International Herald Tribune. 2/13/98; Thoenes, S., "In Asia's Big Haze, Man Battles Man-Made Disaster," The Christian Science Monitor, 10/28/97; and Williams, L. and Baker, M., "South Asia's Year of Reckoning." Sydney Morning Herald, 10/6/97;

Transmigration program: Gilbert, C., "Indonesia's Peat Smoulders Underground," Environment News Service, 11/13/97; MacKenzie, I., "Fire Ribbons Send Smog from Indonesian Peat Bogs," Reuters. 11/11/97; and Thoenes, S., "In Asia's Big Haze, Man Battles Man-Made Disaster," The Christian Science Monitor, 10/28/97.

History of fires in Southeast Asia: Balowski, J., "Suharto Fiddles While Indonesia Burns" Greenleft Weekly, October 15, 1997; Leighton, M. and Wirawan, N., "Catastrophic Drought and Fire in Borneo Rain Forests Associated with the 1982-83 El Nino Southern Oscillation Event," in G.T. Prance, ed. Tropical Rain Forests and the World Atmosphere, Westview: Boulder, Colorado 1986; and Nathan, D., "Can you really hope that the haze will go," Singapore Straights Times, 10/5/97.

Climactic Impact: Williams, L. and Baker, M., "South Asia's Year of Reckoning." Sydney Morning Herald, 10/6/97; Pardomuan, L., "Green Group Warns of Crises after Indonesian Fires," Reuters, 15-OCT-97;

Rosenfeld, D. ("Dense smoke turns off normal tropical rainfall," Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 26 (3105) 1999) found that dense smoke from the Borneo fires of 1997-1998 completely turned off normal tropical rainfall in some places because moisture was divided among so many droplets that they were too small to fall as precipitation.

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Gold, copper, diamonds, and other precious metals and gemstones are important resources that are found in rainforests around the world. Extracting these natural resources is frequently a destructive activity that damages the rainforest ecosystem and causes problems for people living nearby and downstream from mining operations.

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You may need to ask the meaning of a few words such as "pulp" that is specific to paper making. Ask your teacher for help.

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PAPER and RAINFORESTS

Vast swatches of rainforest have been chopped down to supply the pulp and paper industry. Typically valuable trees are harvested first. The forest is then leveled with remaining trees sent to a mill where they are chipped into pulp, which is either exported or turned into paper. The cleared land is then planted with eucalyptus or acacia, which is harvested on a 6-8 year cycle. When timber prices are high, a pulp and paper company may sell the tree trunks for timber and only use the branches and other fiber for pulp.

Since the mid-1990s the majority of deforestation for pulp and paper production in the tropics has occurred in Indonesia, primarily on the island of Sumatra. In fact, the pulp and paper industry is one of the biggest drivers of deforestation in Indonesia, accounting for roughly 20 percent of deforestation in the 2000s and 50 percent of peatlands conversion. Due to the high rates of peat conversion for plantations, the pulp and paper sector was estimated in 2009 to generate more than 600 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, more than 70 percent of which result from peat. Among major commodities, pulp and paper has the highest emissions per dollar of of commodity produced - higher than conversion of peatlands for oil palm or rainforest conversion for soy or cattle ranching.

Two major companies account for 80 percent of Indonesia's pulp and paper production: Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) [owned by the multinational Sinar Mas conglomerate] and Asian Pacific Resources International Holdings Limited (APRIL) [owned by the Singapore-based Royal Golden Eagle Group]. Both have been heavily criticized by environmentalists and conservation scientists for their forest management practices. Both have also been accused of greenwashing their image, claiming their operations do little harm to the environment. APP has even backed astroturf groups - fake organizations set up to support a corporation's messaging strategy - in Canada and the United States to go after environmental groups that have criticized it and companies that have stopped buying its products.

Eyes of the Forest, a coalition of Indonesian NGOs, estimates that APP and APRIL cleared 2 million hectares of natural forests in Riau, accounting for nearly half the Sumatran province's recent forest loss.

Paper products sold by APP and APRIL are available in markets around the world. However since 2009, Greenpeace, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), and WWF have waged a campaign against companies that source paper, cardboard and other products from these companies, especially in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Dozens of corporations have since stopped buying from APP and APRIL.

In response to these campaigns and criticism, APP and APRIL have both recently adopted "zero deforestation" policies that bar conversion of natural forests and peatlands for plantations. More details on these commitments can be found in the news feed below.

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Vast swatches of rainforest have been chopped down to supply the pulp and paper industry. Typically valuable trees are harvested first. The forest is then leveled with remaining trees sent to a mill where they are chipped into pulp, which is either exported or turned into paper.

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Top 10 facts about Palm Oil

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There is no denying that palm oil gets a lot of bad press...and rightly so! There is no other vegetable oil on the planet that shows up in such a vast array of consumer goods, making consumers unknowingly complicit in horrific crimes against animals, people, and the environment. In fact, according to Palm Oil Consumers Action, most Americans "have never heard of palm oil," let alone understand the complex global conflicts its production has created!

This is why raising awareness about how palm oil production is harming the planet, animals, and people alike is so, so important.

There are sustainable methods for producing palm oil that do not involve deforestation, human rights abuses, or animal deaths. It is just a matter of holding corporations accountable for making positive change. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has set bold guidelines to help reform the palm oil industry, promoting transparency, fair labor, and strict environmental standards. However, there are still a number of problems in implementing and regulating the RSPO standards and some corporations that have joined the Roundtable have yet to actually adopt better practices.

This is where you come in. As a greater awareness is brought to the injustices of palm oil production, there is a greater push for change. By reading and sharing these facts about palm oil, you are helping to educate the many consumers that still do not know that they eat palm oil everyday. Making informed consumer decisions is an amazing way to influence corporations to change for the better. So start reading and share with everyone you know!

The Facts

1. Palm oil is high in saturated fat. One tablespoon of palm oil contains 55 percent of the daily recommendation of saturated fat.

2. Up to 300 football fields of forest are cleared every HOUR to make room for palm plantations.

3. In the past 10 years, the orangutan population has decreased by 50 percent as the result of habitat loss from forest clearing for palm plantations.

4. There are only 6,300 Sumatran orangutans left. It is estimated that 1,000 orangutans are killed a year, a major factor in these deaths being forest clearing for palm production. In 2006, at least 1,500 orangutans were clubbed to death by palm workers.

5. Clearing one hectare (about two square acres) of peat forest can release 6,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Indonesia has currently cleared around six million hectares of tropical peat forest...they have plans to expand by four million more hectares by 2015.

6. In Indonesia, the palm oil industry is responsible for about 5,000 land and human rights conflicts. Nearly 45 million people live in the forests of Indonesia. In 2011, Wilmar (one of the world's largest palm oil producers) bulldozers ransacked an entire village, destroying 40 homes to clear 40,000 hectares of land for a palm plantation.

7. Only 35 percent of palm growers that are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil are actually certified by the RSPO. Meaning the other 65 percent pay to be "members," but have taken no action to adhere to the RSPO guidelines in their growing practices.

8. Palm oil ranks among the U.S. Department of Labor's top four worst industries for forced and child labor. This 2013 article by Benjamin Skinner, illustrates the deep seeds of human rights abuses prevalent in the palm industry.

9. RSPO standards allow growers to plant on peat lands and to clear secondary forests. Tropical peat lands store up to 10 times more carbon than " mineral soil, " meaning draining and planting on peat lands is up to 10 times more detrimental to the environment.

10. Palm oil development allows easy access for poachers into exposed habitats that have been cleared for plantations. As the result, it is estimated that the Sumatran tiger population will be extinct in LESS than three years if nothing is done to protect their habitat or combat poachers.

What You Can Do
Image source: Marco Schmidt / Wikipedia Commons

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Top 10 Facts You NEED to Know about Palm Oil

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As a greater awareness is brought to the injustices of palm oil production, there is a greater push for change. By reading and sharing these facts about palm oil, you are helping to educate the many consumers that still do not know that they eat palm oil everyday.