A further consequence of tropical rainforest mismanagement concerns the scientific possibilities, which would be lost with the demise of the tropical rain forests. It is estimated that only a small fraction of the plants and animals living in rain forests have been identified, and some scientists speculate that many of these may hold the keys to finding cures for some of the most deadly diseases known to man. For example, the US National Cancer Institute has catalogued some 3,000 plants with anti-cancer properties, 70 per cent of which are found in tropical forests.
Future rates of forest depletion are not predictable with accuracy. Many global trends point to increased future deforestation in the Amazon. The impending end of tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia will undoubtedly lead to substantial increases in pressure from international logging operations, presently much more active in Southeast Asia than in Amazonia. Much depends on government policy. The deforestation process itself is exceedingly difficult to control for cultural, institutional, and practical reasons. Government policy could affect management through the choice and placement of agroecosystems encouraged in developments controlled or influenced by planners. Policies affecting the size of the human population, and the distribution of income and land tenure in the area also potentially have a strong effect. Trends in other parts of Brazil affecting migration to the Amazon include the government-encouraged production of alcohol from sugar cane and, even more importantly, financing the continued replacement of labour-intensive coffee plantations with mechanized soya bean and wheat cultivation.
Far more important than the date at which present trends would lead to complete clearing of the region, be it sooner or later, is the designation and protection of areas not to be cleared, and the wise use of areas designated for clearing such that 1) economically and socially sustainable agroecosystems are employed, 2) concentration of income and land tenure is limited, 3) total consumption is limited, and 4) population is maintained below carrying capacity, defined to include an adequate and sufficiently certain standard of living.
There are certain management methods, which can be put into practice, which could considerably reduce the rainforest destruction while providing a source of income for the local and global economy. Firstly there is the idea of sustainable development. The goal of sustainable development is to create a balanced economic system where the integrity of an ecosystem is maintained, while the human needs of the present are met without compromising the human needs of the future. Indigenous peoples have long understood the necessity and common sense of sustainable living. Deeply embedded in their world-views, indigenous peoples have historically adhered to highly sophisticated sustainable resource management strategies to live in balance with our earth's ecology. Sustainably harvested rainforest products are goods that can be replenished such as fruits, nuts or oils. These products are collected from the forest in a manner that does not degrade the forest ecosystem. Sustainably harvested products are being examined as an economic alternative to non-sustainably harvested products such as timber.
Another form of management, which could be implemented in the future on a larger basis, would be that of ecotourism. Until recently, few vacationers would even dream of visiting a rainforest. But travellers are now abandoning the traditional beach vacation to visit remote, unspoiled areas all over the world. They try to avoid the fast pace and congestion of the traditional tourist centres, opting instead for more adventure, stimulation and a desire to learn while on vacation. This growing trend of travel has come to be known as ecotourism. The forest and its dwellers do not directly benefit from the presence of many tourists. The forest benefits only if the tourist’s money can change land use patterns of local people or corporate destroyers of the forest toward more sustainable activities. In the tropics, exploding populations and widespread poverty have forced local people to exploit the forest as a source of sustenance. Tourism dollars can provide much-needed revenues for remote communities, improving living standards and thereby reducing pressure to degrade the natural environment.
In other instances the search for economic growth has led many governments and development-minded people into the rainforests. They exploit the forest for its resources, such as trees for timber or land for grazing or farming. Zimbabwe expressed this tendency at the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that wildlife must "pay its way to survive." If money cannot be made, it may become a "relic of the past." Earning money in the ecotourism industry can be a way for rainforests to pay their way within a society that is pressured to exploit non-renewable resources. One of the most dramatic examples of direct environmental benefit of tourism is in the saving of the mountain gorilla from extinction in Rwanda. Tourism is largely responsible for saving the gorillas of Rwanda from extinction. The gorilla was threatened both by poachers and by farmers whose land-clearing practices were destroying the gorillas’ natural habitat. Rwanda's Parc des Volcans, has become an international attraction and the third largest source of foreign exchange for Rwanda. Revenues from the $170-a-day fee that visitors pay to enter the park have allowed the government to create anti poaching patrols and employ local farmers as park guides and guards. But even this success is in danger from the civil war that is encroaching and endangering both the forest and tourist industry.
It the management of the tropical rainforest ecosystem is continued at its current status, then it will inevitably lead to bad consequences and even though there are still vast amounts of forest left, there will be increased pressure on resources and land. The tropical rainforest, with proper management and control, can be utilised for both local people and on an international level. If it is left to diminish, the way it is being left now, the consequences will be very undesirable.
