Conservation: What is It and How Does It Impact Rain Forests?

8/4/2019 Conservation: What is It and How Does It Impact Rain Forests?

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/conservation-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-impact-rain-forests 1/6

CONSERVATION: WHAT IS IT AND

HOW DOES IT IMPACT

RAINFORESTS?

Carbon Central Network Pty Ltd. | http://carboncentralnetwork.com/



http://carboncentralnetwork.com/

Conservation is one of the primary buzzwords in the environmental

movement. However, what does conservation really mean in the sense of

environmental protection?

In short, conservation means the human inclination to defend any or all

individual species, habitats, ecosystems, biodiversity, and landscapes. All

these hierarchical levels of existence are intertwined and related. Minor

disruptions at any level can affect the larger scope of the environment as a

whole.

Conservation is about humans adopting a land ethic and a sense of

responsibility and stewardship towards the Earth to promote sustainability.

Healthy and stable environmental systems are self-regulating and

sustainable, where biological functions of life, death, and rebirth occur

unimpeded.

Conservation and protection efforts to maintain and stabilise the world‟s

rainforests and other ecosystems are a constant struggle. There is a very thin

line between conservation, protection, and economics. According to

Jacqueline Vaughn Switzer, American conservation in the early 1900s was

considered “planned and efficient progress” and in Europe, it was

“sustainable exploitation.”

Preservation efforts attempt to prevent all access and usage of natural

resources in a given area. It is a completely different philosophy than

conservation, which promotes renewal and sustainable uses.

In the global environmental community, the world‟s rainforests are at the

forefront of conservation and protection issues. There are many threats and

https://carboncentralnetwork.com/itnl/support/latest-news/conservation-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-impact-rainforests/







forces working to disrupt the ecological balance of the rainforests.

THREATS TO RAINFORESTS

The rainforests, which in the past were often described as „jungles,‟ are at

constant risk. One of the greatest threats to the rainforests is “slash and

burn” agricultural practices, which destroy millions of hectares of rainforest

per year. Trees are cut down and burned to clear land for relatively short-

term agriculture production.

Relatively very small amounts of nutrients are in the rainforest soils

compared to soils in eastern United States deciduous forests. Most of the

rainforest nutrients are sequestered in the flora (plants), not in the soils.

As a result, slash and burn agricultural practices are viable for only a few

growing seasons before the soils are completely depleted of nutrients.

Subsequently, enormous amounts of synthetic fertilisers must be used to

maintain soil fertility.

Synthetic fertilisers are relatively expensive for slash and burn soil

restoration. So, rather than maintain soil fertility with the addition of

synthetic fertilisers and natural organic materials, yet another area is cleared

for agricultural purposes. Subsequently, each slash and burn area is

testament to poor rainforest and agricultural conservation practices.

Another major threat to rainforests is the logging industry and its harvesting

practices. Many exotic and valuable tree species grow in the rainforests.

Some logging practices can be very destructive and do not promote

sustainability.

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Slash_and_burn







Timber companies selectively harvest many exotic tree species, which include

“mahogany, sapele, teak, meranti, greenheart and ramin” (Rainforest

Timber). These high-value trees are in great demand for many uses such as

flooring and furniture.

Selective harvesting leaves a wake of damaged trees and access roads, which

also contributes to rainforest destruction and loss. Sustainable silviculture

(sustainable tree farming) is not usually practiced to replenish the harvested

and damaged trees.

All too often, the immediate monetary payout is chosen over long-term

sustainability, viability, and the overall importance of rainforests in the

ecological network.

IMPORTANCE OF RAINFORESTS

The rainforests of the world are ecologically and environmentally

important for several reasons.

1. The plants produce large volumes of oxygen

2. The plants absorb, sequester, and utilise carbon dioxide

3. Rainforests contain the greatest amount of biological diversity on

Earth.

4. It is predicted that that there are many undiscovered species in the

rainforests.

5. It is predicted that many undiscovered medical breakthroughs are

hidden within the rainforests, in the form of currently unknown plant

https://carboncentralnetwork.com/itnl/ccn-project/sustainability-and-conservation/why-trees-are-important/










chemicals.

These attributes are necessary for a healthy planet and population. The

destruction and loss of the rainforest ecosystems will have severely adverse

effects on the entire Earth.

WORLD ECOSYSTEMS AT RISK

While the rainforests remain the greatest ecological concern, many other

ecosystems are at risk as well. Conservation, protection, preservation, and

economic forces clash to have superiority in addressing and obtaining their

personal, organisational, and industrial interests.

Sound environmental policy and management practices strive for a situationwhere all stakeholders benefit equally in the decision-making processes. Win-

win environmental scenarios are very difficult to negotiate, implement,

enforce, and sustain.

Strategic environmental management attempts to unite environmental

protection and economic growth in corporate philosophies. Strategic

management addresses social issues, labour relations, technologies,

consumer demand, materials, resources, and business competition.

All these factors are related to economics in the rainforests and other

ecosystems where resources are obtained.

ECONOMICS

The rainforests contain vast amounts of wealth in various global markets,

such as the timber industry, agriculture, and both legal and illegal plant,

animal, and bird exports.








It is difficult to explain to subsistence farmers and poachers, who are trying

to provide for their families, that the rainforests are a vital link in the global

ecology that needs to be conserved and protected.

Conservationists and environmentalists are viewed as unwanted outsiders

who have no right to proclaim how subsistence farmers should conduct their

operations and earn their livelihoods.

Some countries, however, are developing sustainable economic plans for the

rainforest within their borders.

For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo has the largest tract of

tropical forest in Africa. The government is developing a sustainable model

for conservation and economic development. The plan includes logging zones,

community involvement in decision-making processes, and “capacity

building” (organisation and conservation management practices).

A BALANCING ACT

Many rainforest stakeholders including, indigenous people, subsistence

farmers, loggers, developers, conservationists, environmentalists, scientists,

and local, national, and international governments all have ideas and/or

solutions how the world‟s rainforests should be conserved, protected, used,

or exploited.

Conservation, protection, and economic growth are a precarious balancing

act. It will be difficult to have a situation where every stakeholder wins. In

the end, there will be winners and losers.

Documents

Conservation: What is It and How Does It Impact Rain Forests?