The Location of the Rainforests: A map of the world rainforests (separate sheet), world distribution of rainforests pie chart (separate sheet), rainforests in South America (separate sheet), the geographical location of the rainforests (below)
Rainforests can be found within the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, around the Equator, where the climate is hot and wet. Over half of the world’s tropical rainforests are situated in South America in the Amazon basin. In this area rainforest extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the East to the Andes Mountains in the west. In Africa the largest area of rainforest is found in the west growing around the Zaire River. There is also patches of rainforest on the East Coast of Madagascar. Many of the pacific islands in the South East of Asia are covered with rainforest; they stretch into China, Burma and many of the other countries in South East Asia.
The Rainforest Ecosystem: Climate graph for Manaus, Brazil (separate sheet), the climate of a tropical rainforest, a sketch of vegetation in a tropical rainforest (separate sheet), why vegetation in so important in the life cycle of the rainforest.
The climate in the six different types of rainforests: Tropical, Montane, Cloud, Monsoon, Mongrove and Subtropical, is hot and wet all year round with no distinct dry season. The temperature is high all the time and the average monthly temperature is 24 degrees centigrade, and does not rise above 28 degrees centigrade. It is a uniformly high temperature. At night the temperature can fall by 25 degrees, nights in the rainforest are known by locals as “the rainforests winter.” The total annual rainfall is very high. Rainfall follows a clear pattern everyday.
- Middle to late morning cloud begins to form over the rainforest.
- By late afternoon the clouds are huge. Violent rainstorms occur and may give 50mm of rain in one afternoon.
- The skies clear in the evenings and it cools down.
No distinct wet and dry seasons means rainforest plants do not all shed their leaves at the same time, this means rainforests are evergreen.
Vegetation is vital for the life cycle in the rainforests because it replenishes it’s own supply of nutrients and mineral salts. In the hot, moist tropical rainforests decay occurs quickly; branches and leaves soon rot away full leaf breakdown takes about six months.
Evergreen hard wood
Trees.
Leaves fall to the floor
all year around.
Food taken up
by the roots.
Fungi and soil organisms
break down
the leaves.
Any excess washed Plant food in soil
out of the soil by rain.
This is a simplified version of the tree diagram (see separate sheet); it shows the same life cycle of fertility in the rainforest.
Why is Deforestation Taking Place: What is deforestation, the percentage of the world covered by rainforest and when it will be destroyed (bar chart and line graph, separate sheet), why so much clearance is taking place, the benefits vs. The problems of rainforest clearance (separate sheet), do the benefits justify the clearance? Brazilian Government minister’s point of view, an Indians response to the minister, why do attitudes differ so much?
Deforestation is when human activity e.g. logging. Leads to vast areas or rainforest being totally destroyed. Large trees are cut down and the habitat of other plants and animals is altered. Deforestation is the rapid large-scale clearance of the rainforests, which does not leave time for plants to adapt or re-grow.
The world is loosing vast area of rainforest; much of this clearance of the world’s rainforests is due to their location. Countries like Asia and Brazil, which are developing countries, rely to heavily on the rainforests for much of their countries
income, without thinking of the effects that clearance has on the environment and on the world’s ecosystem. Brazil depends on this clearance for timber to export, iron ore which is exported, other natural minerals such as Bauxite which is also exported, food and electricity (from hydo-electric damns.) We are losing vast area of rainforest because the countries in which the rainforests are situated do not know how to manage the rainforests properly. Instead of sustaining the rainforests they destroy them never replenishing anything they take out of the rainforests.
Do the benefits justify the clearance?
- A Brazilian ministers point of view:
Let me tell you why we destroy an area of tropical rainforest the size of 25 football pitches every minute and why by the year 2020, if we continue at our present rate, will have destroyed half the world’s tropical rainforests.
Timber extraction, Cattle ranching, mining, hydo-electric power plants, farming by multinationals and cheap land for the redistribution of our people, all help our country and are invaluable resources to L.E.D.C.’s. How can countries more privileged then Brazil preach to us about how we should be saving the forest. When, at the same time Britain has cut down most of it’s forests to build new roads! We should have the same rights as them; we should be able to develop our country by building roads through the forests to enable minerals and other natural resources to be easily transported, even if it means the loss of our forests.
The subsidies we provide for the mining, logging, plantations and the cattle ranches are vital for their survival; these businesses must be supported. They produce metals, timber, food and beans, as well as beef, all of which can be exported. These exports provide an income to the people employed by the businesses, as well as providing the country with money to pay back debts, owed to foreign banks. Environmental organisations like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth accuse Brazil of murdering the forest, but there is no other way for us to easily make money to pay back our debts and to keep some of the population employed and earning money.
As a government minister I supported the controversial building of the hydo-electric damn. A valley was flooded and many square km of rainforest were lost. Many people from all over the world said it was unnecessary. However by exploiting this natural source of potential energy we have generated lots of cheap electricity; this is used in industry and it has helped the economy to develop further. I would like to repeat that the exploitation of the tropic rainforest creates many jobs, relieving pressure on my government, who would be obliged to help if these people where unemployed.
We recognise that we are partially responsible for the illegal burning taking place every year and are prepared to provide money and support for IBAMA (the Brazilian Environmental Agency.) I am also pushing for laws to be passed which will make it illegal not to fully co-operate with any IBAMA investigations. The Brazilian government has also said it is willing to expand IBAMA when funding becomes available. Brazil may also look for international help with funding for similar schemes or individual projects. It is vital for the rest of the world to realise that it is not as simple as simply stopping felling trees or using the land. Brazil has become dependant on the rainforest, like a drug. It is going to take time and effort to find other ways of providing my country and it’s people with jobs and an income, as well as having sufficient money to repay Brazil’s large debts owed to foreign banks.
- A Yanonami Indians response.
Hello, my name is Waura and I live in the Amazon Rainforest. I am a member of the Yanonami. I would have once called it a tribe…but now? I not so sure. Many of our traditions are no longer practised. Our young people talk about going to the city and owning a shop. When I was young we talked about the forest and how it could sustain us for all eternity, but that was a childhood dream and now I know that my rainforest is no longer as it once was. Our way of life is being destroyed with every tree and square km of rainforest that is desecrated by the greedy outsiders, who drive us deeper into the forest seeking places which they have not yet found.
For hundreds maybe thousands of years my tribe has lived a simple life. Living in harmony with the rainforest. It supplied us with everything we needed and in return we treated it with respect never harming areas, always moving on before any permanent damage was done. Allowing the forest time to recuperate. The outsiders want us to own a plot of land just like the Kablocloa, who have been forced to grow their food in neat tidy rows and sell there excess produce at market, to leave their old traditions behind for a new life. How can these outsiders understand the forest can’t be owed it is all part of Mother Nature. The Kablocloa have learnt the ways of the outsiders and forgotten their traditions! They do not allow the land time to recuperate after using it; they use it as pasture for their cattle. Instead when they need better soil they just clear more land, desecrating there own home, the rainforest! The land they burn can never become rainforest again it is gone forever.
When people cut down the trees much of the soil gets eroded away, destroying areas, which if treated with respect could have been used as farmland for many years. In accordance with my tribe’s traditions when farming an area, we leave the roots and stump of the tree in the ground to prevent any damage to the soil. Removing the stumps completely may help you to grow more crops but it is does not help the environment.
The people of my tribe could once name and recognise every plant; bird, insect and mammal, which could be eaten, or was poisonous or could be, use to remedy minor ailments. I no longer see some of the species of plant which were once used by my tribe, and I doubt some of the Yanonami children could survive if the left them in a part of the forest full of nutritious plants! It is now a rare and special event when I see animals such as a Tapir, which once roamed, freely in the area around my hut. I have no doubt that the effects to wildlife go far behold what I have observed.
Many of the projects set up in the rainforest by the Brazilian government such as: Cattle ranches, logging companies, and the resettling of poorer people from the Favelas would have been disastrous had it not been for all the subsidies they receive from the government. It cost a lot of money to destroy the rainforests and I don’t understand it. Every year Brazil borrows money to support these industries from the very countries that buy the end products, which they are funding!
People ask me “Do the benefits justify the clearance?” and I laugh. How can the destruction of the rainforests be made up for in any way by goods we can export or by money?! The benefits most certainly don’t justify any clearance of the rainforests, just look at all the problems it has coursed and will course in the future! Sometimes I hear about tribes like the Jacuna whose way of life has barely been effected by the cattle farming and logging companies. They live very deep in the forest but I fear even this will not be enough to protect them and their way of live. The Yanonami way of life is dyeing out, our grate grandchildren will hear the name Yanonami and say, “who are they, where do they come from?” I think our ancestors would hate to see what is becoming of us. I am ashamed of the way outsiders, and even some of the native Indians treat the rainforest, and the lack of respect man shows for my fragile rainforest environment.
Attitudes to the clearance of the rainforest differ from person to person, depending on your point of view and economic position. People who gain in wealth or land from the clearance of the rainforests are going to support chopping down the trees and destroying the land and would be against anyone who wanted to save the rainforests. The native people of the rainforests and environmental agencies are more concerned with saving and conserving nature and the rainforests than with any short-term personnel or economic gains that could be acquired by destroying the rainforest. People who live in the rainforests or people who have the money to afford to feed themselves can easily condemn the annihilation of the rainforests. They don’t have to think about the people who would lose their jobs and only means of an income if logging was banned; the logging companies would no longer need worker because they could no longer fell trees. The people destroying the rainforests don’t participate because they enjoy the destruction of the rainforests. They would quite happily protect the forests if it provided them and their families with an income. This quote from an Amazonian farmer backs up what I have just said, “If you pay me, I’ll happily keep the rainforest standing. Otherwise I’ll cut it down to make a living.” Saying that all destruction of the rainforests must stop is impractical, as it would hurt many of the people in L.E.D.C.’s who depend on the rainforests. However it is also unrealistic to carry on destroying the forests at our present rate. Attitudes to the clearance of the rainforest do differ and it is important to consider everyone’s point of view and opinions when trying to find a solution that everyone will would be happy with.
What Strategies are available to limit or stop the problems caused by deforestation: How rainforests can be developed in a less destructive manner to the environment, what can be done world-wide to stop the large-scale clearance of the rainforests? What major problem must be over come if we are to succeed in slowing or stopping the clearance of the rainforests?
If the remaining areas of tropical rainforest are managed properly the rainforest can still be developed but in a less destructive manner. This is called sustainable development and it involves the managing of rainforests instead of destroying them. For these schemes to work the governments and local people must work in partnership to protect and manage the rainforests. Listed below is how you can Mine, fell trees and grow crops with little permanent damage to the rainforest, it would also prove to be more profitable to manage the rainforests than to damage the rainforests!
When trees are felled new fast growing species can be planted to replace the harvested trees. When logs are cleared either quick growing timber or tree crops e.g. fruit trees can be planted. These help to prevent soil erosion; the crop timber and fruit can also be harvested and exported. This would all provide income and employment for local people. Trees could still be cut down but only vulnerable timber trees and seedling must be planted to replace any trees felled. There is also a solution, which could make mining less destructive: all the topsoil enriched with ash from the burnt timber is stored. When the mine has runs dry, the earth can be replaced and recovered with the stored topsoil. Native trees can then be replanted. Reforestation costs $2.500 a hectare, or 0.7% of the costs of the mine. This method limits any permanent damage to the rainforest while still allowing the country to mine it’s natural resources which can then be exported providing a cash income for the work force.
To ensure that some area of rainforest remain untouched biosphere reserves need to be set up. A biosphere reserve is made up of two areas the buffer zone, which runs around a core area. These areas can only be used for research or for plant breeding. Activities, which cause little or no damage to the ecosystem, can take place within the buffer zones. Examples of activities, which might be successful in the buffer zones, are the gathering of wild products e.g. nuts and fruit, small scale shifting cultivation and hunting by local people. Inviting tourists to stay in specially built lodges to educate them about the environment would help protect the rainforest and provide cash income for the countries economy.
These new methods of managing the rainforest create a greater cash income for the workforce and the countries, which participate. It also benefits countries to use this system as it would prevent any climate changed which might have occurred had they been destroying the rainforests in a similar manner to many countries at present.
To completely halt the rapid large-scale clearance of the rainforests people all over the world we would have to stop buying products, which did not come from sustainable rainforests. There would then be no demand for trees to be cut down from rainforests that were not sustainable and damaging to the environment. The governments in the L.E.D.C’s would then have to change their policies about the rainforest. To achieve this everyone must be made away of the problem and should be encouraged not to by products they know might damage the rainforests.
One of the major problems that would have to be overcome for this to works is educating everyone about what not buy. You can help by supporting charities that are trying to spread the word about the destruction of the world’s rainforests. People can write to their governments asking them to sign treaties banning imports like mahogany, which come from non-sustainable rainforests. They could also ask for these products to be clearly labelled so we have a choice about what we buy. If no one bought products from the rainforests then maybe their destruction could finally cease.
Conclusion:
L.E.D.C.’s are under pressure to raise the living standards for the people in their country. Countries which have rainforest situated within them often choose to use this natural resource to try and further develop the country, exploiting the rainforest trying to generate money and so become more developed. However they often fail to realise the consequences of rapid, large-scale deforestation of tropical rainforests. Logging, mining, ranching and plantations all seem to be the ideal way to generate revenue quickly, until one looks at some of the long term devastating changes that such exploitation has on the country’s environment. The destruction of the rainforest can affect the climate and economy of a country often leaving in worse condition than it might have been in, had it not exploited the rainforest in the first place.
Counties like Brazil need to generate their own wealth to prevent them becoming reliant on handouts from America or other powerful nations. If Brazil could no longer provide for its self it is likely that it would lose its independence and become part of the United States of America, this is an extreme example of what could happen through it is exceedingly unlikely ever to happen. It is unrealistic for Brazil to try and generate the wealth needed to remain an independent country and to develop further, from the rainforest as it is a finite source of income that will run out within the next 50 year. For this reason it will be essential for Brazil and other countries in similar positions to find a new source of income or face the dismal prospect of losing their independence and a say in what happens to their own homes and country.
On a global scale, if Brazil no longer had the rainforest it would mean they would export fewer goods and so less income would be coming in to the country. This would mean they could not pay back any debts owed to foreign banks and the international monetary union would have to lend them more money. This would increase unemployment within the country so the living standard would drop, if Brazil could no longer feed it’s people they would have to borrow even more international money, incurring greater debts. For Brazil to develop its economy further before it has destroyed what rainforest it had left it must expand other areas of industry, such as tourism or its tertiary sector. If Brazil wishes to continue using the rainforest as a source of revenue, as well expanding new area of industry, it must implement strict regulations controlling the way in which the rainforest is utilised.
It is my opinion that to help Brazil to expand new areas of industry and existing debts should be written of so that they are not continuously paying for any past mistakes. This would enable all the money they generate to go towards further developing the country and living conditions for its people as well as expanding new areas of industry, vital for it to say independent and not need to borrow money in the future.
Evaluation
I understand that countries like Brazil have come to depend on the rainforest for much of their income, and that it is not as simple as saying “we are not going to cut any more trees down.” However I feel that the way Brazil and other countries are trying to tackle the problem is galling. Sustainable development should mean there is no need to still be damaging the rainforests to any great extent. However because very few countries e.g. Britain, France, Germany ect. Give any money to these projects, which could save the rainforest and its native people there has been little decrease in the amount of rainforest felled or burned each year. Many of the countries who could afford to help Brazil will not give any money for sustainable development until Brazil makes a start at trying to solve its own problems. This creates a vicious circle because Brazil does not have the money to start any projects until other countries supply the money.
Another, problem that needs to be addressed, is the illegal burning of rainforests. The rainforests are to big to guard all the time so often, greater areas of rainforest than are licensed get burned. IBAMA only has six helicopters, which are rented at the time of year when the burning occurs, six helicopters to patrol the whole of the Amazon Rainforest is not nearly enough to deter the land owners who burn the rainforest to increase the size of their farms. They gain more from burning the rainforest than they would loose if IBAMA found out and fined them.
Brazil is doing very little to stop the destruction of the rainforest and so more species of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and insects are being lost even as you read this. The problems faced by L.E.D.C.’s trying to protect and save the rainforests are immense, but if only they would start trying to tackle the problems. I have no doubt that if they did worldwide interest in the cause would increase and quickly help to start saving what little is left of the world’s rainforests. The signing of the international treaties in 1992, Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the 1992 Rio Conference show that the problem is slowly being addressed. By the time the world’s leaders take action, against the destruction of the world’s rainforests will there be anything left to save?
