Rain Forest Reaserch Document

2009

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE A BRIEF REASERCH WORK ON RAIN FOREST [

CONTENT 01. Introduction • What is rain forest? • Where are they located? • Rain forest ecology. 02. Tropical forest in our daily lives. 03. Deforestation. • Causes of Anthropogenic deforestation. • Causes of rain forest deforestation. 04. Consequences • Environmental factors and impacts of deforestation. • Economical impacts of deforestation. 04. Conservation of rain forest. 05. Flora and fauna. • Amphibians • Birds • Insects • Mammals • Plants 06. Case study: Amazon rain forest 07. Conclusion.

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INTRODUCTION

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WHAT IS RAIN FOREST

Tropical forests" encompass the idyllic rainforest, the remote cloud forest, and the lesser-known but equally endangered dry forest, pine savanna, and much, much more. They are not one ecosystem, but millions of unique ecosystems. Tropical forests are both the fearsome Jungle of our fantasy and the fertile Eden of our myth. They are the central nervous system of our planet -- a hotbed of evolution, life, and diversity. 4

Tropical rainforests are home to over half the world's species, all squeezed into a narrow strip of equatorial land. They are also home to millions of human beings that have been a part of forest ecosystem for thousands of years. Together, tropical forests form a gallery of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring places and creatures on Earth. Since the beginning of history, humans have relied on tropical forests. The "jungle" provided our ancient ancestors with a steady supply of wood, plants, and animals, and it gave us many of our first fruits, fibers, grains, medicines, cloths, resins, pigments, and other materials. As the millennia passed and many human communities moved farther and farther away from the Tropics, our ties to the forest did not weaken. Major trade routes, and even empires, developed to control the flow of the tropical forest's treasures.

Today, most of the industrialized world senses little connection to the tropical forest, living in large, busy cities far away from these fertile ecological powerhouses. We forget that the forest regularly saves our global food supply by offering new, disease-resistant crops. We forget about the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of trade in tropical timber, non-timber forest products, and forest-derived drugs. We forget about things that are ultimately beyond value: the livelihoods of millions of forest peoples, a stable and livable climate for us all, the existence of most of our fellow species, and simple things we take for granted, like regular rain and clean air. In tropical nations, many developing and debt-ridden, the forest is cleared in the hope of securing an economic future. Huge industrial interests, including timber, agriculture, and mining, see an "endless," profitable supply of cheap resources just waiting to be taken. Meanwhile, family farmers and loggers feel they have no option but to deforest in order to feed their families. However, innumerable studies and recent history show that little security can be found in tropical deforestation.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A JUNGLE AND A RAINFOREST? From "The Neotropical Companion" by John Kricher: 5

When a rainforest is disturbed, such as by hurricane, lightning strikes or human activity, the disturbed area is opened, permitting the penetration of large amounts of light. Fast growing plan species intolerant of shade are temporarily favored and a tangle of thin-boled trees, shrubs and vines result. Like a huge, dense pile carpet, a mass of greenery, or "jungle", soon covers the gap created by the disturbance. Another explanation: A tropical rainforest has more kinds of trees and other plant life than any other area of the world. Most trees in the tropical rainforest are broad leaf trees that grow closely together. The tallest trees may grow as tall as 200 feet. The tops, called crowns, form a covering of leaves about 100-150 feet above the ground. This cover is called the upper canopy. The crowns of the smaller trees form one or two lower canopies. These canopies share the forest floor so that it receives less than one percent as much sunlight as does the upper canopy. As a result, only ferns and other plants requiring little sunlight grown on the forest floor. This makes it possible for a person to easily walk through most parts of a tropical rainforest. However, areas of dense growth occur where much sunlight reaches the ground. These areas are called jungles and grow in swamps, near broad rivers or in former clearings. According to Grolier Inc, there are two major types of rainforests: •

Tropical, characterized by broadleaf evergreen trees that form a closed canopy, below which is found a zone of vines and epiphytes (plants growing in the trees), a relatively open forest floor and a very large number of species of both plant and animal life. The largest areas of the tropical rainforest are in the Amazon basic of South America, in the Congo basin and other lowland equatorial regions of Africa, and on both the mainland and the islands off Southeast Asia where they are especially abundant in Sumatra and New Guinea. Small areas are found in Central America and along the Queensland coast of Australia.

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Temperate, growing in higher-latitude regions having wet, maritime climates and less extensive than those of the tropical forests. Some of the notable forests in this category are the northwest of the USA, southern Chile, in Tasmania and in parts of southeastern Australia and New Zealand.

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WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED

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he map below shows the location of the world's tropical rainforests. Rainforests cover only a small part of the earth's surface - about 6%, yet they are home to over half the species of plants and animals in the world.

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CENTRAL AMERICA This region was once entirely covered with rainforest, but large areas have been cleared for cattle ranching and for sugar cane plantations. Like other major rainforests, the jungles and mangrove swamps of Central America contain many plants and animals found nowhere else. Central America is 8

famous for its large number of tropical birds, including many kinds of parrots.

THE AMAZON The Amazon jungle is the world's largest tropical rainforest. The forest covers the basin of the Amazon, the world's second longest river. The Amazon is home to the greatest variety of plants and animals on Earth. A 1/5 of all the world's plants and birds and about 1/10 of all mammal species are found there.

AFRICA Central Africa holds the world's second largest rainforest. To the south east, the large island of Madagascar was once intensively forested, but now much of it is gone.

Africa contains areas of high cloud forest, mangrove swamps and flooded forests. The island of Madagascar is home to many unique plants and animals not found anywhere else.

SOUTHERN ASIA 9

The rainforests of Asia stretch from India and Burma in the west to Malaysia and the islands of Java and Borneo in the east. Bangladesh has the largest area of mangrove forests in the world. In Southeast Asia the climate is hot and humid all year round. In the mainland Asia it has a subtropical climate with torrential monsoon rains followed by a drier period.

AUSTRALASIA Millions of years ago, Australia, New Zealand and the island of New Guinea formed part of a great forested southern continent, isolated from the rest of the world. Today these countries contain many different species of animal that occur nowhere else. Undergrowth in Australia's tropical forests is dense and lush. The forests lie in the path of wet winds blowing in from the Pacific.

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RAINFOREST ECOLOGY

Tropical rainforests across the world are highly diverse, but share several defining characteristics including climate, precipitation, canopy structure, complex symbiotic relationships, and diversity of species. Every rainforest does not necessarily conform to these characteristics and most tropical rainforests do not have clear boundaries, but may blend with adjoining mangrove forest, moist forest, montane forest, or tropical deciduous forest.

GEOGRAPHY-AND-CLIMATE Tropical rainforests lie in the "tropics", between the Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer. In this region sunlight strikes Earth at roughly a 90-degree angle resulting in intense solar energy (solar energy diminishes as you move farther north or south). This intensity is due to the consistent day length on the equator: 12 hours a day, 365 days per year (regions away from the equator have days of varying length). This consistent 12

sunlight provides the essential energy necessary to power the forest via photosynthesis. Because of the ample solar energy, tropical rainforests are usually warm year round with temperatures from about 72-93F (22-34C), .JPG although forests at higher elevations, especially cloud forests, may be significantly cooler. The temperature may fluctuate during the year, but in some equatorial forests the average may vary as little as 0.5F (0.3C) throughout the year. Temperatures are generally moderated by cloud cover and high humidity.

PRECIPITATION An important characteristic of rainforests is apparent in their name. Rainforests lie in the intertropical convergence zone where intense solar energy produces a convection zone of rising air that loses its moisture through frequent rainstorms. Rainforests are subject to heavy rainfall, at least 80 inches (2,000 mm), and in some areas over 430 inches (10,920 mm) of rain each year. In equatorial regions, rainfall may be year round without apparent "wet" or "dry" seasons, JPG although many forests do have seasonal rains. Even in seasonal forests, the period between rains is usually not long enough for the leaf litter to dry out completely. During the parts of the year when less rain falls, the constant cloud cover is enough to keep the air moist and prevent plants from drying out. Some Neotropical rainforests rarely go a month during the year without at least 6" of rain. The stable climate, with evenly spread rainfall and warmth, allows most rainforest trees to be evergreen—keeping their leaves all year and never dropping all their 13

leaves in any one season. Forests further from the equator, like those of Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Central America, where rainy seasons are more pronounced, can only be considered "semi-evergreen" since some species of trees may shed all of their leaves at the beginning of the dry season. Annual rainfall is spread evenly enough to allow heavy growth of broad-leafed evergreen trees, or at least semi-evergreen trees.

The moisture of the rainforest from rainfall, constant cloud cover, and transpiration (water loss through leaves), creates intense local humidity. Each canopy tree transpires some 200 gallons (760 liters) of water annually, translating to roughly 20,000 gallons (76,000 L) of water transpired into the atmosphere for every acre of canopy trees. Large rainforests (and their humidity) contribute to the formation of rain clouds, and generate as much as 75 percent of their own rain. The Amazon rainforest is responsible for creating as much as 50 percent of its own precipitation. Deforestation and climate change may be affecting the water cycle in tropical rainforests. Since the mid-1990s, rainforests around the world have experienced periods of severe drought, including Southeast Asia in 1997 and 2005 and the Amazon in 2005. Dry conditions, combined with degradation from logging and agricultural conversion, make forests more vulnerable to wildfire.

CANOPY-STRUCTURE Rainforests are characterized by a unique vegetative structure consisting of several vertical layers including the overstory, canopy, understory, shrub layer, and ground level. The canopy refers to the dense ceiling of leaves and tree branches formed by closely spaced forest trees. The upper canopy is 100-130 feet above the forest floor, penetrated by scattered emergent trees, 130 feet or higher, that make up the level known as the overstory. Below the canopy ceiling are multiple leaf and branch levels known collectively as the understory. The lowest part of the understory, 520 feet (1.5-6 meters) above the floor, is known as the shrub layer, made up 14

of shrubby plants and tree saplings.

The heavy vegetation of the canopy effectively screens light from the forest floor, and in a true (primary) equatorial rainforest, there is little jungle-like ground growth to impede movement. Ground vegetation in primary forest is minimal and usually consists mainly of lianas (vines) and tree seedlings. An important characteristic of the canopy system is the presence of plants known as epiphytes that grow on canopy trees. Epiphytes are not parasitic because they draw no nutrients away from the host, but use the host tree only for support. High in the canopy, epiphytes are better able to access the strong tropical sunlight, which they require for growth. Epiphytes have adapted well to their aerial environment, developing various means to collect nutrients from their surroundings, An additional plant type characteristic of the canopy system is the liana—a sort of woody vine that begins life as a shrub on the forest floor and makes its way up to the canopy by latching on to canopy trees. A related plant type, the hemiepiphyte, begins life in the canopy and grows long roots that eventually reach the forest floor. Once rooted, hemiepiphytes do not have to rely on capturing nutrients from their canopy surroundings, but can access nutrients from the forest floor. Unknown numbers of plants and animals reside in the canopy, the vast majority of which are specifically adapted to life in this leafy world. In 15

tropical rainforests, it is estimated that 90 percent of the species that exist in the ecosystem reside in the canopy. Since the tropical rainforests are estimated to hold 50 percent of the planet's species, the canopy of rainforests worldwide may hold 45 percent of life on Earth.

INTERDEPENDENCE AND COMPLEX SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS Interdependence—whereby all species are to some extent be dependent on one another— is a key characteristic of the rainforest ecosystem. Biological interdependency takes many forms in the forest, from species relying on other species for pollination and seed dispersal to predator-prey relationships to symbiotic relationships.

Agouti in Panama. These interdependent relationships have been developing for millions of years and form the basis for the ecosystem. Each species that disappears from the ecosystem may weaken the survival chances of another, while the loss of a keystone species—an organism that links many other species together, much like the keystone of an arch—could cause a significant disruption in the functioning of the entire system. For example, Brazil nut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) are dependent on several animal species for their survival. These large canopy trees found in the Amazon rainforest rely on the agouti, a ground-dwelling rodent, for a key part of their life cycle. The agouti is the only animal with teeth strong enough to open their grapefruit-sized seed pods. While the agouti eats some of the Brazil nut's seeds, it also scatters the seeds across the forest by burying caches far away from the parent tree. These seeds then germinate and form the next generation of trees. For pollination, Brazil nut trees are dependent on Euglossine orchid bees. Without these large-bodied bees, 16

Brazil nut reproduction is not possible. For this reason, there has been little success growing Brazil nut trees in plantations—they only appear to grow in primary rainforest. Life in the rainforests is competitive and countless species have developed complex symbiotic relationships with other species in order to survive. A symbiotic relationship is a relationship where both participant species benefit mutually. Symbiotic relationships appear to be the rule and not the exception in the rainforest. For example, ants have symbiotic relationships with countless rainforest species including plants, fungi, and other insects. One symbiotic relationship exists between ants and caterpillars. Certain caterpillar species produce sweet chemicals from "dew patches" on their backs, upon which a certain ant species will feed. In return, the ants vigorously protect the caterpillar and have even been observed carrying the caterpillar to the nest at night for safety. This relationship appears to be species specific in that only one caterpillar species will cater to a particular ant species

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Tropical Forests in Our Daily Lives

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Tropical forests encompass not only mist enshrouded rainforests but also remote cloud forests, endangered dry forests and pine savannas. Tropical forests are not a single ecosystem, but millions of unique ecosystems that are home to over half of the world's plant and animal species. Exotic orchids, stealthy jaguars, giant armadillos, colorful songbirds, noisy monkeys and reclusive snakes are but some of the creatures that inhabit tropical forests -- along with millions of human beings who have relied on forest fruits, fibers, grains, medicines, cloths, resins and pigments for millennia. While most of the industrialized world senses little connection with the tropical forest, living in large, busy cities far away from these fertile ecological powerhouses, we continue to rely on them for many of our most basic needs.

Food The forest regularly saves our global food supply by offering new, disease-resistant crops. Although we have sampled only a tiny fraction of the potential foods that tropical forests offer, they already have a profound influence on our diet. An astounding number of fruits (bananas, citrus), vegetables (peppers, okra), nuts (cashews, peanuts), drinks (coffee, tea, cola), oils (palm, coconut), flavorings (cocoa, vanilla, sugar, spices) and other foods (beans, grains, fish) originated in and around the rainforest. If we are not careful though, our appetites for these products could destroy the source from which they came as unsustainable farming methods continue to be a major cause of rainforest destruction and pollution worldwide. We can enjoy the rainforest food basket if we support Earth-friendly farming -- a balanced agricultural approach that may draw on both local farming traditions and cutting-edge science.

Medicine

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Many of the Western medicines that we use today are derived from plants, and many more may have pharmaceutical properties. Tropical forests have given us chemicals to treat or cure inflammation, rheumatism, diabetes, muscle tension, surgical complications, malaria, heart conditions, skin diseases, arthritis, glaucoma and hundreds of other maladies.

Homes and Offices Tropical forests yield some of the most beautiful and valuable woods in the world, such as teak, mahogany, rosewood, balsa, sandalwood and countless lesser-known species. These woods surround us at home, in shopping malls and in offices. Many are vital to our industries. But only recently has the industrialized world realized the limits to timber extraction. Just like agriculture, logging can either nurture or destroy an ecosystem. It is up to us to support environmentally responsible logging and promote smarter wood production and consumption around the world. After all, a healthy forest can provide a lot more than wood. Tropical forest fibers are found in rugs, mattresses, ropes and strings, fabrics, industrial processes and more. Tropical forest oils, gums and resins are used in insecticides, rubber products, fuel, paint, varnish and wood finishing products. And tropical oils are key ingredients in cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, perfumes, disinfectants and detergents.

Climate Control

Tropical forests do not only provide goods, but invaluable services, as well. They are vital to the hydrologic cycle (rain and water systems), and they maintain some of the world's most fragile soils. They are also one of the world’s primary carbon reservoirs. By absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, storing the carbon and giving us oxygen, tropical forests act as the world’s thermostat, regulating temperatures and weather patterns. The loss of our forests contributes to approximately 20 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions each year -- more than all the world’s trains, planes and automobiles combined. In some tropical countries (i.e. Brazil and Indonesia) emissions from deforestation can be as high as 50 to 70 percent -higher than from all other sources. Responsible forestry helps us to turn down the global thermostat. By stopping the destruction of mature (old-growth) forests, we keep a huge amount of carbon from being released into the atmosphere, and by promoting Earth-friendly planting and management of young forests, we absorb large amounts of atmospheric carbon.

The Future Nearly half of the Earth’s original forest cover has already been lost, and each year an additional 32 million acres (13 million hectares) are destroyed (a land area the size of Nicaragua or the State of Louisiana). Our world is facing the greatest extinction crisis since 20

the fall of the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. The future of many of Earth's plants and animals -- and hundreds of human cultures -- will be determined within the next few decades. Because our lives are so intertwined with the forest's great bounty, our fate -- as well as the fate of millions of plants and animal species -- is at stake. It is up to all of us to act responsibly and to be good stewards by contributing to the sustainable production of all the goods and services that the Earth’s tropical forests provide. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has several ongoing collaborative programs which screen plants for the possibility of new drugs and active plant chemicals for cancer and AIDS/HIV. Because well over 50 percent of the estimated 250,000 plant species found on earth come from tropical forests, NCI concentrates on these regions. Plants have been collected from the African countries of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, and Tanzania. Collections are now concentrated in Madagascar (one of the most rapidly disappearing rainforest regions in the world), and collaborative programs have been established in South Africa and Zimbabwe. In Central and South America, samples have been collected from Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Martinique, Paraguay, Peru, and Puerto Rico. The NCI has established collaborative programs in Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama. Southeast Asian collections have been performed in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Collaborative programs have been established in Bangladesh, China, Korea, and Pakistan. In each country, NCI contractors work in close collaboration with local botanical institutions. Since 1986, over 40,000 plant samples have been screened, but thus far only five chemicals showing significant activity against AIDS have been isolated. Three are currently in preclinical development. Before being considered for clinical trials in humans, these agents must show tolerable levels of toxicity in several animal models. For AIDS, three agents are presently in preclinical or early clinical development. The following are plants and chemicals which are still under research for cancer and AIDS/HIV: •

(+)-Calanolide A and (-)-Calanolide B (costatolide) are isolated from Calophyllum lanigerum and Calophyllum teysmanii, respectively, trees found in Sarawak, Malaysia. Both these agents are licensed to Medichem, Inc., Chicago, which is developing them in collaboration with the Sarawak State Government through a joint company, Sarawak Medichem Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (+)-Calanolide A is currently in early clinical trials in the United States.

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Conocurovone, isolated from the shrub species, Conospermum incurvum (saltbush), found in Western Australia, has been licensed for development to AMRAD, a company based in Victoria, Australia.

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Michellamine B, from the leaves of Ancistrocladus korupensis, a vine found in the Korup rainforest region of southwest Cameroon, has undergone extensive preclinical study, but is considered too toxic for advancement to clinical trials.

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Prostratin, isolated from the wood of Homolanthus nutans, a tree found in Western Samoa, has been placed on low priority, largely due to its association with a class of compounds shown to be tumor promoters. 21

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A tree native to China--Camptotheca acuminata--is the source of four promising anticancer drugs, two of which have been approved by the FDA and are described above. The other two chemicals still under research include: ○ 9AC (9-aminocamptothecin): Currently in clinical trials for several types of cancer, including ovarian and stomach cancers and T-cell lymphoma. ○ Camptothecin: While no clinical trials are being performed in the United States, trials are ongoing in China.

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Homoharringtonine from the Chinese tree, Cephalotaxus harringtonia are in early clinical trials.

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Perillyl alcohol, and flavopiridol, a totally synthetic compound based on a flavone isolated from Dysoxylum binectiferum are in early clinical trials.

DEFORESTATION

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Deforestation is stuff that the logging or burning of trees in forested areas. There are several reasons for doing so: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and are used by humans while cleared land is used as pasture, plantations of commodities and human settlement. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation, has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. Also deforestated regions often degrade into wasteland davaughn deangelo simmons and or cody allen toole. Disregard or unawareness of intrinsic value, and lack of ascribed value, lax forest management and environmental law allow deforestation to occur on such a large scale. In many countries, deforestation is an ongoing issue which is causing extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification and displacement of indigenous people.

Rainforest deforestation The difficulties of estimating deforestation rates are nowhere more apparent than in the widely varying estimates of rates of rainforest deforestation. At one extreme Alan Grainger, of Leeds University, argues that there is no credible evidence of any longterm decline in rainforest area while at the other some environmental groups argue that one fifth of the world's tropical rainforest was destroyed between 1960 and 1990, that rainforests 50 years ago covered 14% of the worlds land surface and have been reduced to 6%. and that all tropical forests will be gone by the year 2090. While the FAO states that the annual rate of tropical closed forest loss is declining[(FAO data are based largely on reporting from forestry departments of individual countries) from 8 million has in the 1980s to 7 million in the 1990s some environmentalists are stating that rainforest are being destroyed at an ever-quickening pace.[ The London-based Rainforest Foundation notes that "the UN figure is based on a definition of forest as being an area with as little as 10% actual tree cover, which would therefore include areas that are actually savannah-like ecosystems and badly damaged forests." These divergent viewpoints are the result of the uncertainties in the extent of tropical deforestation. For tropical countries, deforestation estimates are very uncertain and could be in error by as much as +/- 50% while based on satellite imagery, the rate of deforestation in the tropics is 23

23% lower than the most commonly quoted rates Conversely a new analysis of satellite images reveal that deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is twice as fast as scientists previously estimated. The extent of deforestation that has occurred in West Africa during the twentieth century is currently being hugely exaggerated. Despite these uncertainties there is agreement that development of rainforests remains a significant environmental problem. Up to 90% of West Africa's coastal rainforests have disappeared since 1900. In South Asia, about 88% of the rainforests have been lost. Much of what of the world's rainforests remains is in the Amazon basin, where the Amazon Rainforest covers approximately 4 million square kilometres. The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate between 2000 and 2005 were Central America -- which lost 1.3% of its forests each year -- and tropical Asia. In Central America, 40% of all the rainforests have been lost in the last 40 years. Madagascar has lost 90% of its eastern rainforests.As of 2007, less than 1% of Haiti's forests remain. Several countries notably Brazil, have declared their deforestation a national emergency. From about the mid-1800s, around 1852, the planet has experienced an unprecedented rate of change of destruction of forests worldwide. More than half of the mature tropical forests that back in some thousand years ago covered the planet have been cleared. A January 30, 2009 New York Times article stated, "By one estimate, for every acre of rain forest cut down each year, more than 50 acres of new forest are growing in the tropics..." The new forest includes secondary forest on former farmland and so-called degraded forest.

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Africa Africa is suffering deforestation at twice the world rate, according to the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). Some sources claim that deforestation have already wiped out roughly 90% of the West Africa's original forests. Deforestation is accelerating in Central Africa. According to the FAO, Africa lost the highest percentage of tropical forests of any continent. According to the figures from the FAO (1997), only 22.8% of West Africa's moist forests remain, much of this degraded. Massive deforestation threatens food security in some African countries Africa experiences one of the highest rates of deforestation due to 90% of its population being dependent on wood for wood-fuel energy as the main source of heating and cooking.. Research carried out by WWF International in 2002 shows that in Africa, rates of illegal logging vary from 50% for Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea to 70% in Gabon and 80% in Liberia – where revenues from the timber industry also fuelled the civil war. 26

Ethiopia The main cause of deforestation in Ethiopia, located in East Africa, is a growing population and subsequent higher demand for agriculture, livestock production and fuel wood. Other reasons include low education and inactivity from the government, although the current government has taken some steps to tackle deforestation. Organizations such as Farm Africa are working with the federal and local governments to create a system of forest management. Ethiopia, the third largest country in Africa by population, has been hit by famine many times because of shortages of rain and a depletion of natural resources. Deforestation has lowered the chance of getting rain, which is already low, and thus causes erosion. Bercele Bayisa, an Ethiopian farmer, offers one example why deforestation occurs. He said that his district was forested and full of wildlife, but overpopulation caused people to come to that land and clear it to plant crops, cutting all trees to sell as fire wood Ethiopia has lost 98% of its forested regions in the last 50 years. At the beginning of the 20th century, around 420,000 km² or 35% of Ethiopia's land was covered with forests. Recent reports indicate that forests cover less than 14.2% or even only 11.9% now. Between 1990 and 2005, the country lost 14% of its forests or 21,000 km².

Madagascar Deforestation with resulting desertification, water resource degradation and soil loss has affected approximately 94% of Madagascar's previously biologically productive lands. Since the arrival of humans 2000 years ago, Madagascar has lost more than 90% of its original forest. Most of this loss has occurred since independence from the French, and is the result of local people using slash-and-burn agricultural practises as they try to subsist Largely due to deforestation, the country is currently unable to provide adequate food, fresh water and sanitation for its fast growing population.

Nigeria According to the FAO, Nigeria has the world's highest deforestation rate of primary forests. It has lost more than half of its primary forest in the last five years. Causes cited are logging, subsistence agriculture, and the collection of fuel wood. Almost 90% of West Africa's rainforest has been destroyed.

Iceland Iceland has undergone extensive deforestation since Vikings settled in the ninth century. As a result, vast areas of vegetation and land has degraded, and soil erosion and desertification has occurred. As much as half 27

of the original vegetative cover has been destroyed, caused in part by overexploitation, logging and overgrazing under harsh natural conditions. About 95% of the forests and woodlands once covering at least 25% of the area of Iceland may have been lost. Afforestation and revegetation has restored small areas of land.

Australia Victoria and NSW's remnant red gum forests including the Murray River's Barmah-Millewa, are increasingly being clear-felled using mechanical harvesters, destroying already rare habitat. Macnally estimates that approximately 82% of fallen timber has been removed from the southern Murray Darling basin, and the Mid-Murray Forest Management Area (including the Barmah and Gunbower forests) provides about 90% of Victoria's red gum timber. One of the factors causing the loss of forest is expanding urban areas. Littoral Rainforest growing along coastal areas of eastern Australia is now rare due to ribbon development to accommodate the demand for seachange lifestyles.

Brazil There is no agreement on what drives deforestation in Brazil, though a broad consensus exists that expansion of croplands and pastures is important. Increases in commodity prices may increase the rate of deforestation Recent development of a new variety of soybean has led to the displacement of beef ranches and farms of other crops, which, in turn, move farther into the forest. Certain areas such as the Atlantic Rainforest have been diminished to just 7% of their original size. Although much conservation work has been done, few national parks or reserves are efficiently enforced. Some 80% of logging in the Amazon is illegal. In 2008, Brazil's Government has announced a record rate of deforestation in the Amazon. Deforestation jumped by 69% in 2008 compared to 2007's twelve months, according to official government data. Deforestation could wipe out or severely damage nearly 60% of the Amazon rainforest by 2030, says a new report from WWF.

Canada One case of deforestation in Canada is happening in Ontario's boreal forests, near Thunder Bay, where 28.9% of a 19,000 km² of forest area had been lost in the last 5 years and is threatening woodland caribou. This is happening mostly to supply pulp for the facial tissue industry. In Canada, less than 8% of the boreal forest is protected from development and more than 50% has been allocated to logging companies for cutting.

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Southeast Asia The forest loss is acute in Southeast Asia, the second of the world's great biodiversity hot spots. According to 2005 report conducted by the FAO, Vietnam has the second highest rate of deforestation of primary forests in the world second to only Nigeria. More than 90% of the old-growth rainforests of the Philippine archipelago have been cut.

Russia Russia has the largest area of forests of any nation on Earth. There is little recent research into the rates of deforestation but in 1992 2 million hectares of forest was lost and in 1994 around 3 million hectares were lost.. The present scale of deforestation in Russia is most easily seen using Google Earth, areas nearer to China are most affected as it is the main market for the timber. Deforestation in Russia is particularly damaging as the forests have a short growing season due to extremely cold winters and therefore will take longer to recover.

Indonesia At present rates, tropical rainforests in Indonesia would be logged out in 10 years, Papua New Guinea in 13 to 16 years. There are significantly large areas of forest in Indonesia that are being lost as native forest is cleared by large multi-national pulp companies and being replaced by plantations. In Sumatra tens of thousands of square kilometres of forest have been cleared often under the command of the central government in Jakarta who comply with multinational companies [to remove the forest because of the need to pay off international debt obligations and to develop economically]. In Kalimantan, between 1991 and 1999 large areas of the forest were burned because of uncontrollable fire causing atmospheric pollution across South-East Asia. Every year, forest is burned by farmers (slash-and-burn techniques are used by between 200 and 500 million people worldwide) and plantation owners. A major source of deforestation is the logging industry, driven spectacularly by China and Japan. Agricultural development programs in Indonesia (transmigration program) moved large populations into the rainforest zone, further increasing deforestation rates. A joint UK-Indonesian study of the timber industry in Indonesia in 1998 suggested that about 40% of throughout was illegal, with a value in excess of $365 million. More recent estimates, comparing legal harvesting against known domestic consumption plus exports, suggest that 88% of logging in the country is illegal.

United States 29

Loss of old growth forest in the United States. 1620, 1850, and 1920 maps: William B. Greeley, the Relation of Geography to Timber Supply, Economic Geography, 1925, vol. 1, p. 1-11. Source of TODAY map: compiled by George Deafen from roadless area map in The Big outside: A Descriptive Inventory of the Big Wilderness Areas of the United States, by Dave Foreman and Howie Wolke (Harmony Books, 1992). These maps represent only virgin forest lost. Some regrowth has occurred but not to the age, size or extent of 1620 due to population increases and food cultivation. See United States entry on left Prior to the arrival of European-Americans about one half of the United States land area was forest, about 4 million square kilometers (1 billion acres) in 1600. For the next 300 years land was cleared, mostly for agriculture at a rate that matched the rate of population growth. For every person added to the population, one to two hectares of land was cultivated. This trend continued until the 1920s when the amount of crop land stabilized in spite of continued population growth. As abandoned farm land reverted to forest the amount of forest land increased from 1952 reaching a peak in 1963 of 3,080,000 km² (762 million acres). 1997.

30

CAUSES OF ANTHROPOGENIC DEFORESTATION

I

n simple terms, deforestation occurs because forested land is not economically viable. Increasing the amount of farmland, woods are used by native populations of over 200 million people worldwide.

The presumed value of forests as a genetic resources has never been confirmed by any economic studies. As a result owners of forested land lose money by not clearing the forest and this affects the welfare of the whole society. From the perspective of the developing world, the benefits of forest as carbon sinks or biodiversity reserves go primarily to richer developed nations and there is insufficient compensation for these services. As a result some countries simply have too much forest. Developing countries feel that some countries in the developed world, such as the United States of America, cut down their forests centuries ago and benefited greatly from this deforestation and that it is hypocritical to deny developing countries the 31

same opportunities: that the poor shouldn’t have to bear the cost of preservation when the rich created the problem. Aside from a general agreement that deforestation occurs to increase the economic value of the land there is no agreement on what causes deforestation. Logging may be a direct source of deforestation in some areas and have no effect or be at worst an indirect source in others due to logging roads enabling easier access for farmers wanting to clear the forest: experts do not agree on whether logging is an important contributor to global deforestation and some believe that logging makes considerable contribution to reducing deforestation because in developing countries logging reserves are far larger than nature reserves. Similarly there is no consensus on whether poverty is important in deforestation. Some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest.. Claims that that population growth drives deforestation is weak and based on flawed data. with population increase due to high fertility rates being a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases. The FAO states that the global deforestation rate is unrelated to human population growth rate, rather it is the result of lack of technological advancement and inefficient governance. There are many causes at the root of deforestation, such as the corruption and inequitable distribution of wealth and power, population growth and overpopulation, and urbanization. Globalization is often viewed as a driver of deforestation. According to British environmentalist Norman Myers, 5% of deforestation is due to cattle ranching, 19% to over-heavy logging, 22% due to the growing sector of palm oil plantations, and 54% due to slash-andburn farming.

32

CAUSES OF RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION

Immediate-Causes The immediate causes of rainforest destruction are clear. The main causes of total clearance are agriculture and in drier areas, fuelwood collection. The main cause of forest degradation is logging. Mining, industrial development and large dams also have a serious impact. Tourism is becoming a larger threat to the forests.

33

Logging

Commercial logging companies cut down mature trees that have been selected for their timber. The timber trade defends itself by saying that this method of 'selective' logging ensures that the forest regrows naturally and in time, is once again ready for their 'safe' logging practices (WWF). In most cases, this is untrue due to the nature of rainforests and of logging practices. Large areas of rainforest are destroyed in order to remove only a few logs. The heavy machinery used to penetrate the forests and build roads causes extensive damage. Trees are felled and soil is compacted by heavy machinery, decreasing the forest's chance for regeneration. The felling of one 'selected' tree, tears down with it climbers, vines, epiphytes and lianas. A large hole is left in the canopy and complete regeneration takes hundreds of years. Removing a felled tree from the forest causes even further destruction, especially when it is carried out carelessly. It is believed that in many South East Asian countries 'between 45-74% of trees remaining after logging have been substantially damaged or destroyed' (WWF). The tracks made by heavy machinery and the clearings left behind by loggers are sites of extreme soil disturbance which begin to erode in heavy rain. This causes siltation of the forests, rivers and streams. The lives and life support systems of indigenous people are disrupted as is the habitat of hundreds of birds and animals.Little if any industrial logging of tropical forests is sustainable. The International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), the body established to regulate the international trade in tropical timber, found in 1988 that the amount of sustainable logging was "on a world scale, negligible"."Logging roads are used by landless farmers to gain access to rainforest areas. For this reason, commercial logging is considered by many to be the biggest single agent of tropical deforestation" Apart from its direct impact, logging plays a major role in deforestation through the building of roads which are subsequently used by landless farmers to gain access to rainforest areas. These displaced people then clear the forest by slashing and burning to grow enough food to keep them and their families alive, a 34

practice which is called subsistence farming. This problem is so widespread that Robert Repetto of the World Resources Institute ranks commercial logging as the biggest agent of tropical deforestation. This view was supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature's 1996 study, Bad Harvest?, which surveyed logging in the world's tropical forests. Most of the rainforest timber on the international market is exported to rich countries. There, it is sold for hundreds of times the price that is paid to the indigenous people whose forests have been plundered. The timber is used in the construction of doors, window frames, crates, coffins, furniture, plywood sheets, chopsticks, household utensils and other items.

Agriculture - Shifted Cultivators 'Shifted cultivators' is the term used for people who have moved into rainforest areas and established small-scale farming operations. These are the landless peasants who have followed roads into already damaged rainforest areas. The additional damage they are causing is extensive. Shifted cultivators are currently being blamed for 60% of tropical forest loss (Colchester & Lohmann). The reason these people are referred to as 'shifted' cultivators is that most of them people have been forced off their own land. For example, in Guatemala, rainforest land was cleared for coffee and sugar plantations. The indigenous people had their land stolen by government and corporations. They became 'shifted cultivators', moving into rainforest areas of which they had no previous knowledge in order to sustain themselves and their families (Colchester & Lohmann). Large-scale agriculture, logging, hydroelectric dams, mining, and industrial development are all responsible for the dispossession of poor farmers. "One of the primary forces pushing landless migrants into the forests is the inequitable distribution of agricultural land" (WRI 1992, Colchester & Lohmann). In Brazil, approximately 42% of cultivated land is owned by a mere 1% of the population. Landless peasants make up half of Brazil's population (WRM). Once displaced, the 'shifted cultivators' move into forest areas, often with the encouragement of their government. In Brazil, a slogan was developed to help persuade the people to move into the forests. It read "Land without men for men without land" (WRM). After a time, these farmers encounter the same problems as the cash crop growers. The soil does not remain fertile for long. They are forced to move on, to shift again, going further into the rainforest and destroying more and more of it. It is evident that the shifted cultivators "have become the agents for destruction but not the cause" (Westoby 1987: Colchester). Shifted cultivators do not move into pristine areas of undisturbed rainforests. They follow roads made principally for logging operations. "Shifted cultivators are often used by the timber industry as scapegoats" (Orams and McQuire). Yet logging roads lead to an estimated 90% of the destruction caused by the slash-and-burn farmers (Martin 1991: Colchester). Solutions: Land reform is essential if this problem is to be addressed. However, according to Colchester and Lohmann, "an enduring shift of power in favour of the peasants" is also needed for such reforms to 35

endure (Colchester &Lohmann).

Agriculture - Cash Crops and Cattle Ranching Undisturbed and logged rainforest areas are being totally cleared to provide land for food crops, tree plantations or for grazing cattle (Colchester & Lohmann). Much of this produce is exported to rich industrialised countries and in many cases, crops are grown for export while the local populace goes hungry. Due to the delicate nature of rainforest soil and the destructive nature of present day agricultural practices, the productivity of cash crops grown on rainforest soils declines rapidly after a few years. Monoculture plantations those that produce only one species of tree or one type of food - on rainforest soil are examples of non-sustainable agriculture. They are referred to as cash crops because the main reason for their planting is to make money quickly, with little concern about the environmental damage that they are causing. Modern machinery, fertilisers and pesticides are used to maximise profits. The land is farmed intensively. In many cases, cattle damage the land to such an extent that it is of no use to cattle ranchers any more, and they move on, destroying more and more rainforest. Not only have the forests been destroyed but the land is exploited, stripped of nutrients and left barren, sustaining no-one. Solutions:"Reducing the demand for Southern-produced agribusiness crops and alleviating the pressure from externally-financed development projects and assistance is the essential first step" (Colchester and Lohmann). Fuelwood The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that '1.5 billion of the 2 billion people worldwide who rely on fuelwood for cooking and heating are overcutting forests'. This problem is worst in drier regions of the tropics. Solutions will probably involve a return to local peoples' control of the forests they depend on.

Large Dams In India and South America, hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests have been destroyed by the building of hydro-electric dams. It was the dominant view that new dams had to be built or otherwise these countries would suffer an energy crisis. However, a recent study by the World Bank in Brazil has shown that 'sufficient generating capacity already exists to satisfy the expected rise in demand for power over the medium term, provided that the energy is used more efficiently' (WRM). The construction of dams not only destroys the forest but often uproots tens 36

of thousands of people, destroying both their land and their culture. The rates of waterborne diseases increase rapidly. Downstream ecosystems are damaged by dams which trap silt, holding back valuable nutrients. Reduced silt leads to coastal erosion. The sheer weight of water in dams has in Chile, Zimbabwe, and Greece led to earthquakes. The irrigation and industrial projects powered by dams lead to further environmental damage. Irrigation leads to salination of soils and industry leads to pollution. Solutions: Aid organisations like the World Bank have traditionally favoured spectacular large-scale irrigation and hydro-electric projects. In all cases when such projects are proposed, there has been massive opposition from local people. Reform of the World Bank and other such organisations, and support for campaigns against large-scale dams is needed. Mining and Industry Mining and industrial development lead to direct forest loss due to the clearing of land to establish projects. Indigenous people are displaced. Roads are constructed through previously inaccessible land, opening up the rainforest. Severe water, air and land pollution occurs from mining and industry. Solutions: Local campaigns against mining and industrial development. Colonisation Schemes Governments and international aid agencies for a time believed that by encouraging colonisation and trans-migration schemes into rainforest areas, they could alleviate some of the poverty felt by the people of the financially poorer countries. It has since become increasingly obvious that such schemes have failed, hurting the indigenous people and the environment (Colchester & Lohmann). These schemes involve the relocation of millions of people into sparsely populated and forested areas. In Indonesia, the Transmigrasi Program, begun in 1974, is believed to be 'the greatest cause of forest loss in Indonesia', directly causing an average annual loss of 200,000 hectares (Colchester & Lohmann). The resettled people suffered the same problems as 'shifted cultivators'. The soil is not fertile enough to be able to sustain them for very long. Even after such projects have officially ended, the flow of 'shifted cultivators' continues as the area remains opened up. "The World Bank estimates that for every colonist resettled under the official transmigration project, two or more unofficially move into the forest due to the drawing effect of the program" (Colchester & Lohmann). Tourism The creation of national parks has undoubtedly helped to protect rainforests. Yet, as national parks are open to the public, tourism is damaging some of these areas. Often, national parks are advertised to tourists before adequate 37

management plans have been developed and implemented. Inadequate funding is allocated for preservation of forests by government departments. Governments see tourism as an easy way to make money, and therefore tourism is encouraged whilst strict management strategies are given far less government support. Ecotourism, or environmentally friendly tourism, should educate the tourists to be environmentally aware. It should also be of low impact to its environment. Unfortunately, many companies and resorts who advertise themselves as eco-tourist establishments are in fact exploiting the environment for profit. In Cape Tribulation, Australia, for example, the rainforest is being threatened by excessive tourism. Clearing for roads and pollution of waterways are two of the major problems in this area. The Wet Tropics Management Authority which oversees the surrounding World Heritage Area is promoting tourism to the area before any management plans have been formulated, before any effective waste management strategy has been devised and before any ecofriendly power alternatives have been fully explored.

38

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND IMPACTS

Atmospheric

Orbital photograph of human deforestation in progress in the Tierras Bajas project in eastern Bolivia.

Deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography. 39

Deforestation is a contributor to global warming, and is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change deforestation, mainly in tropical areas, account for up to one-third of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Trees and other plants remove carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis and release it back into the atmosphere during normal respiration. Only when actively growing can a tree or forests remove carbon over an annual or longer timeframe. Both the decay and burning of wood releases much of this stored carbon back to the atmosphere. In order for forests to take up carbon, the wood must be harvested and turned into long-lived products and trees must be re-planted. Deforestation may cause carbon stores held in soil to be released. Forests are stores of carbon and can be either sinks or sources depending upon environmental circumstances. Mature forests alternate between being net sinks and net sources of carbon dioxide (see carbon dioxide sink and carbon cycle). Reducing emissions from the tropical deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries has emerged as new potential to complement ongoing climate policies. The idea consists in providing financial compensations for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation".

Hydrologic The water cycle is also affected by deforestation. Trees extract groundwater through their roots and release it into the atmosphere. When part of a forest is removed, the trees no longer evaporate away this water, resulting in a much drier climate. Deforestation reduces the content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture. Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that erosion, flooding and landslides ensue. Forests enhance the recharge of aquifers in some locales, however, forests are a major source of aquifer depletion on most locales. Shrinking forest cover lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and transpire precipitation. Instead of trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows. That quicker transport of surface water can translate into flash flooding and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased evapotranspiration, which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels downwind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans. According to one preliminary study, in deforested north and northwest China, the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s.] 40

Trees, and plants in general, affect the water cycle significantly: •

their canopies intercept a proportion of precipitation, which is then evaporated back to the atmosphere (canopy interception);

•

their litter, stems and trunks slow down surface runoff;

•

their roots create macropores - large conduits - in the soil that increase infiltration of water;

•

they contribute to terrestrial evaporation and reduce soil moisture via transpiration;

•

their litter and other organic residue change soil properties that affect the capacity of soil to store water.

•

their leaves control the humidity of the atmosphere by transpiration. 99% of the water pulled up by the roots move up to the leaves for transpiration.

As a result, the presence or absence of trees can change the quantity of water on the surface, in the soil or groundwater, or in the atmosphere. This in turn changes erosion rates and the availability of water for either ecosystem functions or human services. The forest may have little impact on flooding in the case of large rainfall events, which overwhelm the storage capacity of forest soil if the soils are at or close to saturation. Tropical rainforests produce about 30% of our planets fresh water.

Soil Undisturbed forest has very low rates of soil loss, approximately 2 metric tons per square kilometer (6 short tons per square mile). Deforestation generally increases rates of soil erosion, by increasing the amount of runoff and reducing the protection of the soil from tree litter. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through the development of roads and the use of mechanized equipment. China's Loess Plateau was cleared of forest millennia ago. Since then it has been eroding, creating dramatic incised valleys, and providing the sediment that gives the Yellow River its yellow color and that causes the flooding of the river in the lower reaches (hence the river's nickname 'China's sorrow'). Removal of trees does not always increase erosion rates. In certain regions of southwest US, shrubs and trees have been encroaching on grassland. The trees themselves enhance the loss of grass between tree canopies. The bare intercanopy areas become highly erodible. The US Forest Service, in Bandelier National Monument for example, is studying how to restore the former ecosystem, and reduce erosion, by removing the trees. Tree roots bind soil together, and if the soil is sufficiently shallow they act to keep the soil in place by also binding with underlying bedrock. Tree removal 41

on steep slopes with shallow soil thus increases the risk of landslides, which can threaten people living nearby. However most deforestation only affects the trunks of trees, allowing for the roots to stay rooted, negating the landslide.

Ecological Deforestation results in declines in biodiversity. The removal or destruction of areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. Forests support biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife; moreover, forests foster medicinal conservation. With forest biotopes being irreplaceable source of new drugs (such as taxol), deforestation can destroy genetic variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably. Since the tropical rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on earth and about 80% of the world's known biodiversity could be found in tropical rainforests removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. Scientific understanding of the process of extinction is insufficient to accurately make predictions about the impact of deforestation on biodiversity. Most predictions of forestry related biodiversity loss are based on species-area models, with an underlying assumption that as forest are declines species diversity will decline similarly. However, many such models have been proven to be wrong and loss of habitat does not necessarily lead to large scale loss of species. Species-area models are known to over predict the number of species known to be threatened in areas where actual deforestation is ongoing, and greatly over predict the number of threatened species that are widespread. It has been estimated that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation, which equates to 50,000 species a year. Others state that tropical rainforest deforestation is contributing to the ongoing Holocene mass extinction. The known extinction rates from deforestation rates are very low, approximately 1 species per year from mammals and birds which extrapolates to approximately 23000 species per year for all species. Predictions have been made that more than 40% of the animal and plant species in Southeast Asia could be wiped out in the 21st century, with such predictions called into questions by 1995 data that show that within regions of Southeast Asia much of the original forest has been converted to monospecific plantations but potentially endangered species are very low in number and tree flora remains widespread and stable.

42

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DEFORESTATION

43

amage to forests and other aspects of nature could halve living standards for the world's poor and reduce global GDP by about 7% by 2050, a major report concluded at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Bonn. Historically utilization of forest products, including timber and fuel wood, have played a key role in human societies, comparable to the roles of water and cultivable land. Today, developed countries continue to utilize timber for building houses, and wood pulp for paper. In developing countries almost three billion people rely on wood for heating and cooking. The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing countries. Short-term economic gains made by conversion of forest to agriculture, or over-exploitation of wood products, typically leads to loss of long-term income and long term biological productivity (hence reduction in nature's services). West Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia and many other regions have experienced lower revenue because of declining timber harvests. Illegal logging causes billions of dollars of losses to national economies annually. The new procedures to get amounts of wood are causing more harm to the economy and overpowers the amount of money spent by people employed in logging. According to a study, "in most areas studied, the various ventures that prompted deforestation rarely generated more than US$5 for every ton of carbon they released and frequently returned far less than US $1." The price on the European market for an offset tied to a oneton reduction in carbon is 23 euro (about $35).

44

CONSERVATION THE RAINFORESTS

International Law & Policy The dissemination of international environmental treaties, agreements, and protocols has been tremendous in the past quarter century, amounting to over 250 45

international environmental law and policy treaties. The issues surrounding deforestation and protection of old growth forests were not the focus of the early international summits and agreements. In fact, the earliest environmental accords focused mostly on commercially valuable flora and fauna (Weiss, 1998). Most of the first treaties and summits concerned with environmental protection took place in the early 1970s. In 1970, the United Nations Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established the Man and Biosphere Program (Royer, 1996). This program suggested the protection and sustainable use of biosphere reserves around the globe. Later in the same decade, the Stockholm Declaration presented a global agreement on environmental problems. Although the Stockholm Declaration did not offer a set of specific rules relating to the protection of forests, the meeting did signal the increasing global concern regarding the protection of the environment. International summits such as the World Conservancy Strategy of 1980 and the World Charter for Nature of 1982 followed the Stockholm Declaration. Such meetings however, did not set principles that directly addressed the issues regarding forest protection, leaving much to desire to future treaties.

International Tropical Timber Agreement Sprouting from a concern over timber trade between producer and consumer nations, the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA) was negotiated in 1983 and later went into effect in 1985. The objective of the treaty was to promote fair trade conditions between industrialized nations and developing countries. ITTA aims to promote research and development to improve forest management, to encourage wood processing in the producer nation, to improve market intelligence, to promote wood utilization, to encourage industrial tropical timber exports, and to promote reforestation and sustainable forestry practices (Weiss, 1998). A successor treaty to ITTA was put in effect in 1997, and it focused slightly more on sustainable forest use. The governing body of ITTA is the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC), which oversees the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). Funding is dependent upon voluntary contributions, which results on a limited budget that amounted to only $28.5 million in 1990 (MacKinlay & VanderZaag, 1996). Brazil joined ITTA in March 1985 with the primary interests of improving its timber trade with consumer countries and of guarantying its place in the treaty. The Division of Basic Products of the Ministry of Foreign Relations is in charge of implementing the treaty and IBAMA aids in the selection of projects that will be supported (Aragão & Bunker, 1998). The Brazilian environmental law, one of the most rigorous of the world, is generally in accordance with the principles of the ITTA, although, environmental law in Brazil is sparsely and inconsistently enforced. Although the Brazilian government has adopted policy and regulations that coincide with general objectives of the treaty of sustainable forestry management, lack of resources and technology allows massive illegal deforestation to go on unpunished. Another criticism is that consumer countries have more influence than producer countries in the policy making process of the organization. MacKinlay & VanderZaag (1996) argue that ITTA emphasizes timber consumption rather than conservation and it also 46

allows slanted voting powers to the consumer countries. A fundamental flaw in ITTA regarding forest protection is the focus on timber and its value as a trade commodity rather than a focus on the diverse values of tropical forests. ITTA was not designed to be a tool in the protection and conservation of tropical forests, and it remains ineffective in the control of tropical deforestation as it encourages timber harvesting. Weiss (1998) claims ITTA has been highly ineffective, as shown by the low compliance rates to guidelines, to timber trade reporting requirements, and to required payments to ITTO. Lack of funding of ITTA projects, deficient regulation at a national level, lack of involvement of state governments, limited support of tribes, forest dwellers and NGOs, prevalence of advocates of consumer nation interests in the governing body of ITTA, and focus on timber trade are all reasons why the treaty has been unsuccessful in providing true sustainable forestry practices in Brazil.

Tropical Forestry Action Program The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is one of the largest United Nations agencies with 183 member countries. FAO focuses on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development issues. FAO’s focus since its inception in 1945 has been on poverty and hunger alleviation, however, with the growth of global deforestation, FAO started to develop a sector dedicated to forestry in the 1980s. In 1985, FAO sponsored the Tropical Forestry Action Program (TFAP) in conjunction with the UNEP, the World Bank, and the World Resources Institute (WRI). The program has five main parts: forestry and land use, forestry-based industrial development, fuelwood and energy, conservation of tropical forest ecosystems, and institutions (MacKinlay & VanderZaag, 1996). TFAP was created as a global program of forest conservation and development, and has as its objectives to gather financial support to National Forestry Action Plans (NFAPs), which are projects that seek sustainable forestry and action against deforestation. The TFAP has had a few positive impacts, however, its limitations are significant and include its failure to involve Brazil in the program. FAO has the considerable participation of approximately 97 countries that represent about 78% of all countries with tropical forest resources, with one of the most significant non-participants being Brazil (MacKinlay & VanderZaag, 1996). The program has also had the ability to increase development assistance to forestry from $500 million per year in 1975 to $1,093 million annually in 1988. The TFAP has had some constructive achievements that include an extended international participation, growth in financial assistance, and enhanced natural resources management (MacKinlay & VanderZaag, 1996). For instance, in Sierra Leone, the NFAP has helped organize all forestry extension and training programs and aided in the enhancement of the Wildlife Conservation Unit (MacKinlay & VanderZaag, 1996). In Jamaica, the NFAP brought attention to the need of a national land use plan, and encouraged the use of an environmental impact assessment before any major projects that may affect the environment (MacKinlay & VanderZaag, 1996).

Civil Society and Non-governmental Organizations 47

An unexpected phenomenon has developed in the policing of governments, creating of laws, and inquiring of societal institutions’ actions. This development is characterized by the rising of citizen nonprofit organized activity, which is often seen in organized groups such as Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs). According to Anheier & Salamon (1998), NGOs are organized, private, nonprofit-distributing, self-governing, and voluntary. NGOs participate in a variety of actions, which include policy and law making, business and government review, research and dissemination of information, and social change in general. NGOs and civil society challenge the idea of exclusive national sovereignty, allowing instead a resourceful channel through which citizens can participate in environmental law making at a national and international level. NGOs function in an array of ways in the process of drafting and implementation of international law. Purposes of these organizations encompass bringing weight to minority voices (i.e., Indian tribes and forest dwellers), monitoring environmental impacts of human activities, participating in resource allocation, identifying the relevant international law and environmental issues, monitoring implementation of programs, creating international standards and norms, and enforcing international standards (Alexandrowicz, 1996). NGOs have been extremely instrumental in transmitting information about environment degradation, in lobbying for environmental causes, and aiding in the enforcement of international environmental law. The Internet and new communications technology have created opportunities for individuals to mobilize very large numbers of people with very little need for institutional infrastructure (Gamble & Ku, 2000). Gamble & Ku (2000) explain: “Technology permits NGOs to organize large numbers from multiple sectors, and to do so quickly, empowering NGOs in the international political and international lawmaking arenas.” Civil society organizations are generally seen by scholars as an opportunity for social change, however, some believe otherwise. Gamble & Ku (2000) describe the position where NGOs are believed to be threats to national sovereignty especially in nations that “derive their authority by maintaining territorial boundaries to define the reach of their authority.” By questioning restraints of national boundaries, these organizations are considered a threat to the governments of the countries they act within. NGOs, Gamble & Ku (2000) argue, may be used to advance both constructive and detrimental values in society.

48

FLORA AND FAUNA

49

Research & Resources (A Brief Profile) Amphibians Red-Eyed Tree Frog Birds

Andean Condor Blue-Crowned Motmot Blue-Gray Tanager Cock of the Rock Great Curassow King Vulture Ocellated Turkey Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Rufous-Bellied Thrush Tennessee Warbler Insects Blue Morpho Butterfly Leafcutter Ant Praying Mantid

50

Mammals Amazon River Dolphin Amazonian Tapir Black Howler Monkey Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloth Capuchin Monkey Collared Peccary Honduran White Bat Jaguar Nine-Banded Armadillo Ocelot Spectacled Bear West Indian Manatee Yucatan White-Tailed Deer

Plants

Banana Bromeliad Cocoa Tree 51

Coffee Heliconia Kapok Tree Orchid Poinsettia

AMPHIBIAN

52

Red-Eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas) Anatomy

Thanks to their big bulging red eyes, it's not hard to recognize red-eyed tree frogs! This alien-like feature is a defense mechanism called "startle coloration." When the frog closes its eyes, its green eyelids help it to blend in with the leafy environment. If the nocturnal frog is approached while asleep during the day, its suddenly open eyes will momentarily paralyze the predator, providing the frog with a few seconds to escape. However, the frogs' eyes are not their only fashion statement! To match the brilliance of their eyes, these frogs have bright lime green bodies that sometimes feature hints of yellow or blue. According to their mood, red-eyed tree frogs can even become a dark green or reddish-brown color. They have white bellies and throats but their sides are blue with white borders and vertical white bars. Their feet are bright red or orange. Adept climbers, red-eyed tree frogs have cup-like footpads that enable them to spend their days clinging to leaves in the rainforest canopy, and their nights hunting for insects and smaller frogs. Male red-eyed tree frogs can grow up to two inches in length and females can grow up to three inches.

Habitat First identified by herpetologist Edward Cope in the 1860s, the red-eyed tree frog is found in the lowlands and on slopes of Central America and as far north as Mexico. As with other amphibians, red-eyed tree frogs start life as tadpoles in temporary or permanent ponds. As adult frogs, they remain dependent on water to keep their skin moist, staying close to water sources such as rivers found in humid lowland rainforests. Red-eyed tree frogs can be found clinging to branches, tree trunks and even underneath tree leaves. Adults live in the canopy layer of the rainforest, sometimes hiding inside bromeliads.

Diet Red-eyed tree frogs are carnivores, feeding mostly on insects. They prefer crickets, flies, grasshoppers and moths. Sometimes, they will eat smaller frogs. For tadpoles, fruit flies and pinhead crickets are the meals of choice.

Threats Frogs have historically been an indicator species, evidence of an ecosystem's health or its impending vulnerability. Not surprisingly, the world's amphibian population 53

has experienced a decline in recent years; research indicates that factors include chemical contamination from pesticide use, acid rain, and fertilizers, the introduction of foreign predators, and increased UV-B exposure from a weakened ozone layer that may damage fragile eggs. Though the red-eyed tree frog itself is not endangered, its rainforest home is under constant threat.

BIRDS

Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) Anatomy 54

The Andean condor is the national animal of Colombia and is one of the largest birds of prey in the world, weighing as much as 20 to 25 pounds. Adults can reach heights of four feet, with a wing span of up to 10 feet. Males are typically larger than females. Andean condors are mostly black with a fluffy white collar around their neck and white patches along their wings. These birds have bald grayish red heads, and the males have a fleshy lump at the front of their heads called a caruncle. Their beaks are large and hooked, and they have large feet with sharp claws, allowing them to easily tear apart their meals.

Habitat At one time the Andean condor could be found along the entire western coast of South America from Venezuela to the southern tip of Patagonia. Today, these majestic birds inhabit only northern Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Chile. They spend their time in high mountains, lowland deserts, open grasslands, along coastlines and in alpine regions. Unlike many other birds, the condor doesn't build nests, but lays its eggs only once every two years among boulders or in caves or holes. These places are typically harder for other predators to reach and offer their eggs and chicks more safety.

Diet Andean condors are scavengers and eat primarily carrion, or dead or decaying flesh. Their excellent eyesight allows them to seek out dead or dying animals while hovering high in the sky. They use their sharp, curved beaks and claws to remove meat from carcasses or weak animals. To clean their bald heads after a meal, they scrape them along the ground to remove any food scraps. Baby animals and eggs are also occasionally part of the condor’s diet.

Threats The Andean condor was placed on the Endangered Species List in 1973 and is in danger of becoming extinct due primarily to over hunting. Many farmers shoot these birds because they mistakenly believe the condors kill their livestock. Pesticide poisoning through the food chain has also hurt populations. Thanks to the repopulation efforts of many zoos, the Andean condor is finally beginning to make a comeback.

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Blue-Crowned Motmot (Momotus momota) Anatomy

Similar to all members of the motmot genus, the blue-crowned motmot has a large head with down curved, short, broad beak, which is serrated along the upper edge. Their tarsi (feet) are unique in that they are particularly short with a middle toe almost completely fused to the inner toe and only one rear toe. Most of the species of motmots have tail feathers that distinguish them from other birds. The center taail feathers, which twitch like the pendulum of a clock when the motmot is perched, have bare spines at the tip. This makes them easily recognizable. The plumage of the blue-crowned motmot is shades of green and blue. They have red eyes, a turquoise crown and black face. Motmot eggs are round and white and incubate for three weeks. Their call is a double "hoot," similar to that of an owl.

Habitat Motmots are found in Mexico, Central America, and most of South America in rainforests, second-growth forests, forest edges, shady gardens and shaded coffee farms. Motmots dig their nests in the shape of tunnels 5 - 14 feet long and four inches in diameter with a nesting chamber at the end, which is 10 by 14 inches in length. Both males and females begin excavating between August and October, which is the rainy season when the soil is soft. Then they leave the nest, returning the following March or April for breeding season. Both males and females share parental responsibility. Motmots choose to live near water, for drinking and bathing.

Diet Motmots eat fruit, small reptiles and insects such as crickets, mealworms, waxworms and earthworms.

Threats Because they can live in many different forest types, ranging from rainforests to shaded coffee farms, the blue-crowned motmot is not on the endangered list. 56

However, as shaded coffee farms and forests are destroyed, the survival of this beautiful bird is threatened.

Cock-of-the-Rock (Rupicola peruviana) Anatomy

A beautiful orange crest adorns the head of the cock-of-the-rock and brilliant orange, black and white feathers cover its back and wings. As with most birds, the female coloring is subtler. Their strong claws and legs allow them to grip onto steep cliffs and rocks.

Habitat Found in the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia, the cock-of-the-rock lives only in mountainous regions and builds its nests on the rocky surfaces of cliffs, large boulders and caves.

Diet The cock-of-the–rock’s diet consists mainly of fruit. Often, these colorful birds do not digest the seeds of their fruity meals. Instead the seeds pass through their digestive tracks and are eventually scattered along the ground, making these birds extremely important seed dispersers. In addition to fruit, cocks-of-the-rock eat insects and small vertebrates.

Threats Many predators are attracted to the cock-of-the-rock's beautiful plumage. These include birds of prey such as eagles and hawks, puma and jaguars and even boa constrictors. The loss of habitat, predominantly from forestland being converted to farmland, is a major threat to the survival of this brilliant bird. 57

Great Curassow (Crax rubra) Anatomy

The great curassow is a 36-inch tall, hearty bird. All great curassows have a peak of forward-curling feathers on their heads, and long tails. The base of the great curassow's bill is yellow with a round bulge. The coloring of the females varies; they can be black or chestnut-colored with black or white bars and their heads and crest may be striped with black and white. The males are a lustrous blue or black, and have white bellies. They have long lifespans (up to 24 years!) and a low rate of reproduction.

Habitat While the range of the great curassow extends from southern Mexico to western Ecuador, their habitat is usually limited to national parks and reserves. They build their nests of leaves and twigs in the forks and depressions of trees. The male curassow leads his family and whistles when there are signs of danger. Females lay two eggs at a time. Curassows are monogamous and travel in pairs or in small groups. The group can communicate by grunting. Like chickens, they tend to run rather than fly. 58

Diet The curassow finds its food by foraging on fallen fruits, berries and seeds. Additionally they may scrape the ground in search of insects or small animals.

Threats Deforestation of tropical forests is the major threat to the survival of the great curassow. Humans are a direct threat to the great curassow because the local inhabitants hunt them for food. Besides humans, snakes are also their predators.

King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) Anatomy

The king vulture is one of the larger species of vulture. It can grow to be 32 inches long. Unlike other vultures, which are dark in color, king vultures are creamy white, with darker tail-features. The feathers around their heads and necks are blue, red, orange and yellow. The skin drooping over their beak, called a wattle, is a bright red-orange. Their beak is thick and strong, great for shredding flesh, and their long thick claws are good for keeping a tight grip on their dinner.

Habitat These large birds live in the uppermost branches of emergent canopy trees anywhere from Mexico to central Argentina and Trinidad. They perch high up in these trees so that they have a great view of what is going on below them. They have excellent eyesight and rely on it to watch out for other vultures that have 59

spotted carrion. The king vulture's sense of smell is not as good as that of other types of vultures, so they do not always use it to detect food. When it sees that other scavenger birds have discovered a meal, they shoot down from the sky and push the others out of the way. All of the other species vultures are quick to move aside for the "king."

Diet Like other scavengers, the king vulture does not kill its own food. Instead, it feasts on the carcasses and remains of animals that have been killed by some other means (known as carrion).

Threats Though the species is not universally listed as endangered, the populations of king vultures are in decline due to habitat destruction. These royal birds cannot survive if the forests they call home disappear.

Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) Anatomy

Male ocellated turkeys look similar to the North American wild turkey, but have more vibrant coloring and weigh significantly less than the North American bird. Unlike North American turkeys, breast feathers of male and female ocellated turkeys do not differ and cannot be used to determine sex. 60

The body feathers of both male and female ocellated turkeys are an iridescent bronze-green, with males more brightly colored than females. Males weigh just over ten pounds and average three feet in length. At around six pounds, females are slightly smaller, though they gain weight during the mating season. Both sexes have bluish-gray tails with a well-defined, eye-shaped, blue-bronze colored spot near the end followed by bright gold tip. These spots give the ocellated turkey its name, as the Latin word for eye is oculus. Males and females have a blue-colored head and neck with distinctive orange to red, warty growths that are more pronounced on males. The head of the male also has a fleshy blue crown that is adorned with yellow-orange growths similar to those on the neck. Ocellated turkeys also have a distinct eye-ring of bright red colored skin, especially visible on adult males during the breeding season.

Habitat The ocellated turkey is endemic to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala and Belize, and can be found across an area extending 50,000 miles. Ocellated turkeys are most often found in tropical deciduous and lowland evergreen forests as well as clearings and abandoned farm plots.

Diet Ocellated turkeys tend to remain in small groups, and their diet consists mainly of seeds, berries, insects and leaves.

Threats Large scale timbering operations followed by slash and burn agriculture in Central America threatens the habitat of the ocellated turkey. The alarming rate of this destruction is a major threat to the future of this beautiful bird.

Rufous-Bellied Thrush (Turdus rufiventris) Anatomy

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Also known as the red-bellied thrush, the rufous-bellied thrush belongs to the family Turdidae, which also includes well-known birds such as the American robin, the bluebird and the nightingale. The rufous-bellied thrush is very easy to recognize with its bright, orange-red belly and dark streaks along its white throat. Sometimes you may be able to spot a yellow ring around its eyes. Thrushes have relatively long, slender legs and hop, rather than walk, along the ground.

Habitat The rufous-bellied thrush is found throughout southern and eastern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and neighboring parts of Bolivia and Argentina. It is one of the best-known thrushes in this region and is commonly seen in woodland areas, gardens, parks, backyards and the edges of forests. The rufous-bellied thrush migrates north to the warmer tropical zone during the winter and returns to the temperate zone when the climate in southern Brazil becomes warmer again. These birds prefer to live alone or in pairs, and the female builds a cup-shaped nest made from grass, leaves and moss and incubates two to six light-colored, spotted eggs. These thrushes can live 25 to 30 years in the wild.

Diet Rufous-bellied thrushes are mainly insectivorous, which means a large part of their diet consists of insects and spiders. They also like to feed on oranges, mature papayas and on the coconuts from several species of palm tree, spitting out the pits after about an hour, which helps contribute to the distribution of these plants.

Threats Like many thrushes, this bird has a very attractive song and for this reason, it is often sold as a cage bird in Brazil. Habitat destruction due to deforestation is also an ongoing threat to the lives of these birds. The rufous-bellied thrush became the national bird of Brazil in October 2002 which may help to ensure its protection in that country.

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INSECTS

Blue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho peleides) Anatomy

As its common name implies, the blue morpho butterfly’s wings are bright blue, edged with black. The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches. Their vivid, iridescent blue coloring is 63

a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light. The underside of the morpho’s wings, on the other hand, is a dull brown color with many eyespots, providing camouflage against predators such as birds and insects when its wings are closed. When the blue morpho flies, the contrasting bright blue and dull brown colors flash, making it look like the morpho is appearing and disappearing. The males’ wings are broader than those of the females and appear to be brighter in color. Blue morphos, like other butterflies, also have two clubbed antennas, two fore wings and two hind wings, six legs and three body segments -the head, thorax and abdomen.

Habitat Blue morphos live in the tropical forests of Latin America from Mexico to Colombia. Adults spend most of their time on the forest floor and in the lower shrubs and trees of the understory with their wings folded. However, when looking for mates, the blue morpho will fly through all layers of the forest. Humans most commonly see morphos in clearings and along streams where their bright blue wings are most visible. Pilots flying over rainforests have even encountered large groups of blue morphos above the treetops, warming themselves in the sun. The blue morpho’s entire lifespan lasts only 115 days, which means most of their time is spent eating and reproducing.

Diet The blue morpho’s diet changes throughout each stage of its lifecycle. As a caterpillar, it chews leaves of many varieties, but prefers to dine on plants in the pea family. When it becomes a butterfly it can no longer chew, but drinks its food instead. Adults use a long, protruding mouthpart called a proboscis as a drinking straw to sip the juice of rotting fruit, the fluids of decomposing animals, tree sap, fungi and wet mud. Blue morphos taste fruit with sensors on their legs, and they "taste-smell" the air with their antennae, which serve as a combined tongue and nose.

Threats Blue morphos are severely threatened by deforestation of tropical forests and habitat fragmentation. Humans provide a direct threat to this spectacular creature because their beauty attracts artists and collectors from all over the globe who wish to capture and display them. Aside from humans, birds like the jacamar and flycatcher are the adult butterfly’s natural predators.

Leafcutter Ant (Atta spp. and Acromyrmex spp.) Anatomy

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Leafcutter ants practice advanced methods of sustainable agriculture, and operate under one of the most studied social caste systems in the natural world. Naturalist E.O. Wilson offered that leafcutters have perfectly evolved to address every small need necessary for their survival over their 50 million years in existence. Different ants are responsible for each step in the process of cultivation of fungi. According to their size, ants fulfill specific roles such as defenders of the colony, caretakers of the young, gardeners, foragers and leafcutters. Incredibly, there are even tiny ants that straddle the backs of larger worker ants and defend them from carnivorous flies. No survival task is left unassigned. Researchers marvel at the complex form of sustainable agriculture that the ants practice. Careful not to overuse a single vegetation source, leafcutters gather fragments from different plants and trees, minimizing the vegetation's tendency to build up its defenses. Some ants are equipped with a bacterium that acts as a pesticide on a particular mold, the largest threat to their fungus gardens. The ants sparing use of this protectant has kept the mold from developing a resistance, allowing the bacterium to remain an effective defense over time.

Habitat Found principally in Latin America and the Caribbean, leafcutter ants inhabit the forest floor and construct an underground web of chambers where they "farm" and harvest their staple food, fungus. They create underground fungus "gardens" by clipping and gathering fresh vegetation and injecting the pieces with a fungal secretion that digests the often poisonous plants into an edible and nutritious mushroom form.

Diet These ants consume more vegetation than any other animal group. Their own fungal secretion, which they inject into the leaves, can change poisonous plants into a nutritious meal.

Threats The main natural predator of leafcutter ants is the armadillo. However, as leafcutter ants are an integral part of the rainforest ecosystem, when the forests disappear, so do they.

Praying mantid (Stagmomantis sp.) Anatomy

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The praying mantid's common name comes from its at-rest stance, with its forelegs folded up, as if praying. These insects are masters of camouflage, using their coloration to blend in with foliage, allowing them to hide from predators and to better stalk their prey. They are adapted to not only blend in with the foliage, but to mimic it, sometimes looking like leaves, grass, or stones. Praying mantids can range from one to ten inches in size, have large heads, small grasshopper-like mandibles, and large leg segments with their middle and hind legs being thinner and their front legs containing spines that they use to capture their prey. They can only move the top part of their bodies, which enables them to approach their prey without startling it. Praying mantids have great eyesight and catch their prey with their powerful forelegs, hold it in place, and devour it using their strong jaws. Their antennae are short compared with the rest of their bodies and they have long narrow wings that are folded in a fan-like way over their abdomen. Mantids are hemi-metabolic, meaning they undergo simple metamorphosis that includes only the egg, nymph, and adult stages, with the nymph being almost identical to the adult but without wings and functioning reproductive organs. Females and males can be identified by the number of abdominal segments they have. Females have six and males have eight. Mantids are also one of the only insects that can turn their heads.

Habitat Praying mantids can be found throughout the world in tropical areas and sunnier areas in temperate zones, including North America and southern Europe. There are many species of mantids, but most are tropical, belonging to the Mantidae family.

Diet As a mantid grows, its diet frequently changes. They will eat insects, such as beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers, and other mantids, spiders, and small vertebrates that include small frogs, lizards, mice, and hummingbirds.

Threats Though their ability to camouflage helps protect them, praying mantids have many predators, including birds and bats. Some mantid species have developed an ability to hear the high-pitched sonar that bats use to navigate in order to be able to avoid these predators. 66

MAMMALS

Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) Anatomy

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The Amazon River dolphin averages about 6.5 feet in length. They come in all shades of pink, from a dull gray-pink, to rosy colored pink, to a bright pink like that of the flamingo. This color variation is due to the clarity of the water in which the dolphin lives; the darker the water, the pinker the dolphin will be. The sun's rays cause the dolphins to lose their pink pigmentation. Murky water helps to protect the dolphin's bright hue. These animals are also known to flush to a bright pink when excited. There are several anatomical differences between the Amazon River dolphin and other types of dolphins. For one, Amazon River dolphins are able to turn their necks from side to side while most species of dolphin cannot. This trait coupled with their ability to paddle forward with one flipper while paddling backward with the other helps them maneuver when the river floods. These dolphins will actually swim up over the flooded land and their flexibility helps them to navigate around trees. Additional characteristics that set these dolphins apart from other species are molar-like teeth that allow them to chew their prey and bristle-like hairs at the ends of their snouts that help them search for food on the muddy river bottoms.

Habitat The Amazon River dolphin can be found in the Amazon River system as well as the Orinoco River system. These river systems flow throughout South America, specifically in the countries of Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana and Peru.

Diet Amazon River dolphins feast on over 50 types of fish as well as crustaceans found on the river bottom and the occasional turtle.

Threats Human activity is the main threat to the Amazon River dolphin. Although these dolphins have long been respected and unharmed because of the local belief that they have magical powers, these beliefs are changing. Some humans see them as competition and kill them so they will not have to share the river’s fish. The dolphins often become tangled in the nets of fishermen and die. Additionally, the building of hydroelectric dams in South American rivers, pollution, the loss of habitat and decrease in food sources, all threaten this unique species of dolphin.

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Amazonian Tapir (Tapirus terestris) Anatomy

Amazonian tapirs (also known as lowland or Brazilian tapirs) are one of the largest mammals found in South America. Weighing in at anywhere between 350 to 600 pounds, adult tapirs have rather corpulent bodies. Unusual in appearance, tapirs have thick necks, stumpy tails, and large ears. Short trunks, used for lifting food into their mouths, are also characteristic of the tapir. They are a tan to dark brown color, and have a ridge with a fringe of hair running along the backs of their necks. Baby tapirs are born with spotted and striped coats for camouflage; this will darken as the tapir ages. The 3-4 toes on each foot are spread out to help them navigate on soft, muddy ground. Tapirs have a sharp sense of smell and hearing that are useful in evading predators.

Habitat The Amazonian tapir is found in South America, from northern Colombia to northern Argentina and southern Brazil on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains. Tapirs are generally most active at night, although they are often active during the day. Known for their reclusive, solitary lifestyles, tapirs are difficult to see in the wild. Although they appear to be sedentary, tapirs are able to cover great distances in the forest. Adaptable to different habitats, tapirs may be found in swamp and hillside areas, savannah, and in cloud forests and rainforests. Preferring moist areas, they are often found near waterways where they can feed, rest and bathe.

Diet Amazonian tapirs are considered browsing herbivores, feeding on herbaceous vegetation and fruits (with a particular affinity for bananas). As they swim well and can walk on pond bottoms, they will also feed on aquatic plants.

Threats Being such a large mammal means also being a great source of protein for people. Tapirs are widely hunted by indigenous people in the forest. Although they are rather large, tapirs are quite defenseless, and it is believed that pumas, jaguars and alligators may prey on small tapirs. Low reproductive rates and habitat loss, due to 69

deforestation, have also diminished populations. Amazonian tapirs are considered a highly vulnerable species.

Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra) Anatomy

Howler monkeys are among the largest primates in the Neotropics. They can grow to be 22 to 36 inches tall when standing. And, their tails are about the same size in length as their bodies. Male howlers are black, while females are brown. They have prehensile tails that they can use to grab onto branches. They make loud vocalizations to mark their territory, thus earning their name. Their howls, which resemble a strong wind blowing through a tunnel, have been heard over two miles away by researchers. While most individuals do not live for more than 15 years in the wild, it is possible for howlers to reach over 20 years in age.

Habitat Howler monkeys are found only in the rainforests of the Americas. They live in tall rainforest trees in groups of between 4 and 19 members. They travel from tree to tree in search of food -- walking from limb to limb, rather than jumping. While not particularly perky primates, they are most active during the day (diurnal), sleeping high in rainforest trees at night.

Diet Howlers are strict vegetarians, eating only flowers, fruits and leaves. In Belize, special community managed protected areas have been established to keep people from over-harvesting the fruit and flowers that the howlers need to survive.

Threats 70

Howlers have both natural and human-induced threats to their existence. The black howler monkey, known as the "baboon" in Belize, is endangered throughout much of its range due to hunting and habitat destruction. As forests are cleared, howlers, who need several acres of forest per troop to survive, are becoming increasingly rare. Throughout the region in which they are found, howlers are hunted both for food and for sport. Some experts believe that howlers could become extinct within the next 35 years.

Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus) Anatomy

This cat-sized mammal, typically weighing 8 - 9 pounds, has a round head, a short snout, small eyes, long legs, tiny ears and a stubby tail. Sloths have long, coarse fur that is light brown in color, but often appears green due to the blue-green algae that grow there. Instead of toes, their front and hind feet have three curved claws that allow them to easily hook onto tree branches and hang upside-down. Sloths can rotate their heads nearly 90 degrees, and their mouths are shaped so they look like they are always smiling. Males are distinguishable from females because they usually have a bright yellow or orange patch of fur located between their shoulders.

Habitat The three-toed sloth is an arboreal animal, inhabiting the tropical forests of Central and South America. Their algae-covered fur helps camouflage the sloth in its forest environment. Sloths spend nearly all of their time in trees, descending to the ground only once a week to defecate.

Diet 71

Sloths are herbivores (plant eaters), feeding on a low-energy diet of leaves, twigs and fruit. Because of their slow movement and metabolism, it can take up to a month for a sloth to digest a single meal.

Threats Sloths are among the slowest-moving animals on Earth; they can swim but are virtually unable to walk. This makes them an easy target for jaguars, eagles and people that hunt sloths for their meat. The brown-throated three-toed sloth population is threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and human encroachment. In addition, their restricted diet prevents them from thriving in captivity.

Capuchin Monkey (Cebus capucinus) Anatomy

Agile and lean, capuchin monkeys weigh only 3 - 9 pounds (1.36 - 4.9 kilograms). The fur of the capuchin monkey varies, but is most commonly seen with cream or light tan coloring around the face, neck and shoulders. The rest of its coat is dark brown. The hair is shorter and darker on the capuchin's back than on other parts of its body. The face of this cute monkey will range from white to pink in color. The tail is long, covered in hair and is partially able to wrap around branches.

Habitat 72

The exact range of the capuchin monkey is not known, although it is assumed that they inhabit a large range in Brazil and other parts of Latin America. Capuchin monkeys usually live in large groups (10 - 35 individuals) within the forest, although they can easily adapt to places colonized by humans. Each group is wideranging, as members must search for the best areas to feed. They communicate with each other using various calls. Capuchins can jump up to nine feet (three meters), and they use this mode of transport to get from one tree to another. To mark their territories, capuchin monkeys leave a scent by soaking their hands and feet in urine. Remaining hidden among forest vegetation for most of the day, capuchin monkeys sleep on tree branches and descend to the ground only to find drinking water.

Diet A typical diet for capuchin monkeys includes fruit, insects, leaves and small birds. They are particularly good at catching frogs and cracking nuts, and it is suspected that they may also feed on small mammals.

Threats Capuchin monkeys are very clever and easy to train. Because of this, they are used to help people who are quadriplegics in many developed countries. They have also become popular pets and attractions for street entertainment, and are hunted for meat by local people. As they have a high reproductive rate and flexibility of habitat, loss of the forest does not negatively impact the capuchin monkey populations as much as other species. Natural predators include jaguars and birds of prey.

Honduran White Bat (Ectophylla alba)

With an average length of 3.7 - 4.7 cm, Honduran white bats are tiny for a bat. True to their name, they have a fluffy white coat. Their ears, face, nose and parts of their legs and wings are bright orange. Almost no hair grows on their black wings. 73

Since their nose protrudes from their face in a triangular shape, scientists call members of their family "leaf-nosed bats." There is a thin, black membrane covering their skull that might provide the bats with protection from ultraviolet radiation -- a natural form of sunscreen!

Habitat Honduran white bats live only in the lowland rainforests of eastern Honduras, northern Nicaragua, eastern Costa Rica and western Panama. They live in rainforests that have heliconia plants. By cutting along the veins of heliconia leaves, these bats force the leaves to collapse into upside-down V-shaped "tents" that might shelter only one bat, or as many as twelve bats. When they roost, they hang close together upside down in the center of the leaf. The tents help protect them during the daytime from rain, the hot sun and predators. In fact, the bats choose leaves that are six feet off the ground -- high enough to be out of the reach of terrestrial predators. Also, the stems of heliconia plants are not very strong, so any predator brushing against the leaf causes the bats' tent to shake. This alerts the bats to danger and they fly quickly away. Why do Honduran white bats have bright white coats? Why are they not green like the leaves they hide inside? When the sun shines through the leaves of their tent, it makes the bats' white coat appear green, making them hard to spot! However, their tent is not home sweet home for long. The bats rarely return to the same tent for more than a day.

Diet During the day, Honduran white bats roost under their tents. At night, they emerge to search for food. However, these creatures are not looking to suck your blood -they only eat fruit or vegetation.

Threats Since Honduran white bats live mainly under heliconia leaves, rainforest destruction is a serious threat. For this species to survive, rainforests in the Central American lowlands that have heliconia must remain standing. Natural predators may include opossums, snakes and other carnivorous animals.

Jaguar (Panther onca)

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Jaguars can reach up to six feet in length -- from their nose to the tip of their tail -and stand up to three feet tall at the shoulder. The average male jaguar weighs about 120 pounds, but some individuals can weigh as much as 300 pounds. At birth most jaguars weigh only two pounds. Jaguars are most famous for their beautiful spotted coats. The spots are broken rosettes, rather than true spots like a leopard. These allow the jaguar to hide amongst the grasses, bushes and trees that dominate its habitat. The rare all-black (melanistic) jaguar is what we commonly refer to as a black panther.

Habitat Jaguars are found in rainforests, seasonally flooded forests, grasslands, woodlands and dry deciduous forests throughout their range. Jaguars spend much of their time on the ground. They use their padded paws to move silently through the forest floor. Although not quite as agile as a leopard, jaguars are capable of climbing trees to hunt or to rest.

Diet Jaguars are mostly nocturnal hunters. They use their excellent vision and sharp teeth to ambush prey and crush their skulls. Jaguars are known to eat more than 85 species of prey, including armadillos, peccaries, capybara, tapir, deer, squirrels, birds and even snails. Not confined to hunting on land, jaguars are adept at snatching fish, turtles and young caiman from the water. They are even able to hunt monkeys and other tree-dwellers who occasionally wander to lower branches. Unfortunately, jaguars compete with humans for most of their prey. In many regions they are shot on sight because of fear, concern for livestock or competition for prey.

Threats Unlike many other species, the jaguar faces no natural threat from rival cats or other predators -- with the exception of humans. At the height of their decline in the 1960s and 1970s, more than 15,000 jaguars were killed each year for their beautiful fur. While trade in jaguar fur has been reduced by consumer awareness campaigns, they continue to face pressure from hunters. In addition, the loss of habitat is increasing the frequency of contact between people and jaguars. There are believed to be 15,000 jaguars alive in the wild today. If jaguars are to exist in the future, scientists believe it will be through a combination of special protected areas and increased community awareness.

Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) Anatomy

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Dressed in a suit of armor, the head, body, legs and tail of the nine-banded armadillo are protected by a large number of bony plates. Armadillos spend most of their time in burrows under the ground. Accordingly, their sense of smell far outpowers their vision and hearing. About the size of a domestic cat, these creatures have elongated, pointed noses and long, sticky tongues used for catching insects. Their short, strong legs have sharp claws that come in handy when digging burrows.

Habitat Found from South and Central America to Oklahoma, the armadillo tends to live in forests near swampy areas. These adaptive creatures can live anywhere that is warm and has plenty of food. They prefer forests, rainforests, tropical forests, savannas and grasslands where the soil is good for digging burrows.

Diet Armadillos' favorite foods are insects. Their special tongue allows them to consume up to 40,000 ants in one meal! They also enjoy feeding on small animals, bird eggs, roots, fruits and even rotting animal flesh (called "carrion").

Threats Even with their suit of armor, bears, coyotes, wild cats, foxes and dogs feed on armadillos. But cars continue to pose the biggest threat, and many are killed crossing the road each year. Loss of habitat is forcing increasing interactions between people and armadillos, further threatening the survival of these curiouslooking creatures.

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West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) Anatomy

Manatees, slow and gentle giants of the ocean, can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and grow to about 10 feet in length. They have small heads and rotund bodies. Manatees are very solitary animals that spend their entire lives submerged, feeding on marine grasses. When they surface to breathe, only their bristly nostrils poke above the surface of the water.

Habitat West Indian manatees live in the waters surrounding the southern United States, the Caribbean Islands, eastern Central America and off of the northeast coast of Brazil. They can be found in both fresh and marine waters, muddy or clear. They seem to prefer water between three and seven feet deep. They will not go in water over 20 feet deep or where the current is more than three miles per hour.

Diet These creatures are the only marine mammals that are strictly herbivorous. They eat a wide variety of plants, preferring mostly sea-grass leaves. They have a tendency to stay away from the more bitter tasting plants. They have even been known to dig with their flippers to get roots. As far as water goes, no one is sure if they need to drink fresh water to survive, but some manatees have been seen drinking from hoses to quench their thirst!

Threats Tragically, the main cause of the depletion of manatee populations is human activity. Manatees are slow moving underwater animals. With the increase in boating activity there has been an increase in manatee death and injury from boat propellers. The boaters do not see the manatees underwater and the manatees cannot swim away quickly enough. They can also get caught in the nets of fishermen. There are some that hunt the manatee for its meat. The friendly nature of the creature, which often results in them approaching divers or swimmers, also makes them an easy target for hunters.

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PLANTS

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Banana (Musa acuminata)

Contrary to popular belief, banana plants are not trees but giant herbs, which reach their full height of between 10 and 20 feet after only a year. Every banana blossom develops into a fruit, which is ripe enough for consumption after about three or four months. After producing fruit, the plants' stems die off, and are replaced by new growth. The number of bananas produced by each plant varies. However, ten or more bananas growing together forms a "hand." Banana stems have on average 150 "fingers" and weigh nearly 100 pounds. The trunks of banana plants are not woody but composed of sheets of overlapping leaves wrapped tightly around one another, a design feature that enables them to conserve water. Because banana plants are approximately 93 percent water, even moderate winds can knock them down and destroy entire plantations. Powerful storms devastated banana crops throughout Honduras when Hurricane Mitch swept through the country on October 26, 1998.

Habitat Bananas are indigenous to the tropical portions of India, Southeast Asia and northern Australia, and were brought to South America by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. Today, banana plants grow in the humid, tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia where there are high temperatures and rainfall. Modern agricultural technologies also enable people to cultivate banana plants in non-tropical regions such as California in the United States.

Significance to Humans Grown in every humid, tropical region on Earth, bananas are the fourth largest fruit crop in the entire world and the most popular fruit in the United States. In Central and South America, bananas are vital to the economy. Most bananas sold 79

in the United States originated there. Banana leaves are used worldwide as cooking materials, plates, umbrellas, seat pads for benches, fishing lines, clothing fabric and soles for inexpensive shoes. But, for much of its history, the banana industry was notorious for environmentally destructive and socially irresponsible farming practices. As companies attempted to keep production high and costs low, they tended to cultivate only single crops in their plantations. The lack of biodiversity made the plants susceptible to disease, which farm managers controlled using frequent applications of pesticides that would leak into drinking water, pollute irrigation canals and endanger the health of workers, their families and communities.

Coffee (Coffea spp.)

Though it can grow up to 30 feet tall in the wild, the coffee plant is considered to be a bush or shrub. It may grow with a single stem, but often it develops multiple stems by branching at the base. The coffee plant is an evergreen, with a light gray bark and five-inch leaves that are dark green and glossy. Coffee flowers are small, white and fragrant, helping to attract pollinating insects. When the flowers fall off the plant, berries begin to develop in their place, ripening from a dark green to a bright crimson. Two small green coffee beans, surrounded by skin and pulp, are found inside of the berry. It takes 6 - 8 years of growth for a plant to be in full fruit production. Coffee plants can live to be 100 years old.

Habitat Coffee is a shade-loving plant that thrives in areas of high altitude, where there is a wet and dry season. Originating in Ethiopia and Sudan, today more than two-thirds of the world’s coffee is grown in Latin America.

Significance to Humans 80

Coffee is the second most valuable commodity today in international commerce after oil; $2 billion worth is traded every year. In every country in the world, people are drinking coffee. The two economically important species of coffee are C. Arabica and C. Robusta. Coffee was traditionally grown in the shade of trees. However, in the 1970s, coffee farmers began planting dwarf shrubs that produced higher yields and required no shade, resulting in the clearing of the shade trees. But the dwarf shrubs require fertilizers, pesticides and constant care. In addition, many species of migratory birds suffer as their winter tropical habitat is converted from forests to full-sun coffee farms.

Did You Know? Legend has it that the energizing effects of coffee were first discovered by a goat. Thousands of years ago in what is now Ethiopia, an Abyssinian herder noticed that, after his goats ate the bright red berries of the coffee plant, the animals became quite energetic. He showed his discovery to some monks at a nearby monastery, who then brewed the berries into a beverage to keep them awake during evening prayers. Thus, the first cups of coffee were born. From Ethiopia, coffee spread across Arabia, and eventually found its way into cups around the world.

Orchid (Orchidaceae)

Popular around the globe for their beauty and variety, orchids are the largest family of plants in the entire world. There are 25,000 - 30,000 different species of orchid, at least 10,000 of which can be found in the tropics. Orchid species can differ greatly from one another, with extreme variations in size, weight and color. While some orchids may only be the size of a nickel when in bloom, others may weigh up to one ton with petals as long as 30 inches, and sprays of small flowers 12 - 14 feet long. Orchid blossoms appear in almost every imaginable color except for true black. In general, the floral arrangement of all orchid species is the same, with each orchid flower having six parts. The outer three flower parts are green "sepals," and the inner three flower parts are beautifully colored "petals." Some orchids live underground (subterranean), some grow on rocks (lithophytes), and some grow in 81

the soil, but most are epiphytes, which means they grow on other plants and trees. Orchids tend to obtain their nourishment from the air, rain or moisture in the soil. While some are self-pollinating, most rely on specific insects or birds for pollination. Another unique fact about the orchid is that the plant compensates for its lack of a true water-retentive root system by working with a certain type of fungi called mycorrhizae fungi during some portion of their life cycle. During this period, the fungi grow partly inside orchid roots, helping the plant to absorb water and minerals. The orchid "repays" the fungi by producing some nutrients during photosynthesis that help the fungi to survive. This kind of relationship, where two organisms help one another, is called a symbiotic relationship.

Habitat Orchids are extremely adaptable, and grow in almost all climates except for frigid and arid extremes. Orchid groups are both pantropical, able to grow in different tropical countries, and endemic, only found in specific countries or habitats. Most orchid species grow in tropical forests, but others can be found in semi-desert regions, near the seashore and in the tundra. The majority of neotropical orchid species can be found in southern Central America, northwest South America, and countries that lie along the Andes Mountains.

Did You Know? Because most orchids depend on a single species of bird, bee or other insect for pollination, if that species is eliminated, the particular orchid that depends on that species becomes threatened by extinction. Thus, habitat fragmentation and rainforest destruction may eventually prove devastating to the great number of orchid species in existence today.

Kapok Tree (Ceiba pentandra)

A giant in the rainforests, the kapok tree can reach up to 200 feet in height, sometimes growing as much as 13 feet per year. Due to its extreme height, the 82

kapok, or ceiba tree, towers over the other rainforest vegetation. The trunk can expand to nine or 10 feet in diameter. In the nooks and grooves of this huge plant live a diverse number of species including frogs, birds and bromeliads. The kapok tree is deciduous, shedding all of its leaves during the dry season. As its seeds are easily blown into open areas, kapok trees are some of the first to colonize open areas in the forest. The white and pink flowers of the kapok tree emit a foul odor that attracts bats. As the flying mammals move from flower to flower feasting on the nectar, they transfer pollen on their fur, thus facilitating pollination. The kapok tree does a great job at spreading its seeds, producing anywhere between 500 and 4,000 fruits at one time, with each fruit containing 200 seeds. When these fruit burst open, silky fibers spread the many seeds all over the forest.

Habitat The kapok tree is found throughout the Neotropics, from southern Mexico to the southern Amazon and even to parts of West Africa. Because the unopened fruit won't sink when submerged in water, many believe the fruit of the kapok tree floated its way from Latin America to Africa.

Significance to Humans The majestic kapok tree has many uses for humans. Its wood is lightweight and porous; good for making carvings, coffins and dugout canoes. The silky fibers that disperse the seeds are too small for weaving but make great stuffing for bedding and life preservers. Soaps can be made from the oils in the seeds. Other parts of the giant tree are used as medicines.

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CASE STUDY: AMAZON RAIN FOREST

The Amazon rainforest is the biggest forest in the world and is also the last big space covered with tropical plants and animals. The Amazon forest territory is a tropical rainforest that is located in the north side of the South American continent and is shared by 9 countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana and Guiana. Travel through the forest can be difficult, and a guide or a river tour are the best options to see the natural wonders of the rain forest.

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The largest part of is located in Brazil (60%) and covers almost half of that country. The space covered with the forest is 5.5 million square kilometers (3.4 million square miles ). When the Old World explorers reached the Americas they were all looking for gold, silver and gems. The Portuguese explorers that colonized Brazil believed that somewhere in that huge forest they would find the "Eldorado", an entire city made of gold that has an almost intangible value. This hoax came along with the myth that the Eldorado was guarded by the women warrior race of the Amazons. All this heat, rain and humidity make these forests a very rich ecosystem or habitat for many organisms. A rainforest has trees, like any other forest, but they are very different from the temperate forest you are used to seeing in colder places like in US, Europe and parts of Asia. There are 120 foot trees, thousands of different species of plants, and all sort of rainforest animals including the red eyed tree frog, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals. The rainforest canopy is home to thousands of animal species.. Amazonia is a huge and very complex place where nature created a unique set of biological and geological cycles, hardly seen in other places, and where mankind developed different cultures, languages, and art. The mysteries and awe around the Amazon jungle is something we should know and need to protect. There are several programs where on can buy an acre to save the land from harm. Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested areas. The main sources of deforestation in the Amazon are human 85

settlement and development of the land. Prior to the early 1960s, access to the forest's interior was highly restricted, and the forest remained basically intact. Farms established during the 1960s was based on crop cultivation and the slash and burn method. However, the colonists were unable to manage their fields and the crops because of the loss of soil fertility and weed invasion. The soils in the Amazon are productive for just a short period of time, so farmers are constantly moving to new areas and clearing more land. These farming practices led to deforestation and caused extensive environmental damage. Between 1991 and 2000, the total area of forest lost in the Amazon rose from 415,000 to 587,000 km², with most of the lost forest becoming pasture for cattle. Seventy percent of formerly forested land in the Amazon, and 91% of land deforested since 1970, is used for livestock pasture In addition, Brazil is currently the second-largest global producer of soybeans after the United States. The needs of soy farmers have been used to validate many of the controversial transportation projects that are currently developing in the Amazon. The first two highways successfully opened up the rain forest and led to increased settlement and deforestation. The mean annual deforestation rate from 2000 to 2005 (22,392 km² per year) was 18% higher than in the previous five years (19,018 km² per year) At the current rate, in two decades the Amazon Rainforest will be reduced by 40%

Conservation and climate change Environmentalists are concerned about the loss of biodiversity which will result from destruction of the forest, and also about the release of the carbon contained within the vegetation, which could accelerate global warming. Amazonian evergreen forests account for about 10% of the world's terrestrial primary productivity and 10% of the carbon stores in ecosystems — of the order of 1.1 x 1011 metric tonnes of carbon. Amazonian forests are estimated to have accumulated 0.62 ± 0.37 tons of carbon per hectare per year between 1975 and 1996. One computer model of future climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions shows that the Amazon rainforest could become unsustainable under conditions of severely reduced rainfall and increased temperatures, leading to an almost complete loss of rainforest cover in the basin by 2100. However, simulations of Amazon basin climate change across many different models are not consistent in their estimation of any rainfall response, ranging from weak increases to strong decreases. The result indicates that the rainforest could be threatened though the 21st century by climate change in addition to deforestation

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Anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases broken down by sector for the year 2000 . n 1989, environmentalist C.M. Peters and two colleagues stated there is economic as well as biological incentive to protecting the rainforest. One hectare in the Peruvian Amazon has been calculated to have a value of $6820 if intact forest is sustainably harvested for fruits, latex, and timber; $1000 if clear-cut for commercial timber (not sustainably harvested); or $148 if used as cattle pasture As indigenous territories continue to be destroyed by deforestation and ecocide, such as in the Peruvian Amazon indigenous peoples' rainforest communities continue to disappear, while others, like the Urarina continue to struggle to fight for their cultural survival and the fate of their forested territories. Meanwhile, the relationship between nonhuman primates in the subsistence and symbolism of indigenous lowland South American peoples has gained increased attention, as has ethno-biology and community-based conservation efforts. 87

From 2002 to 2006, the conserved land in the Amazon Rainforest has almost tripled and deforestation rates have dropped up to 60%. About 1,000,000 square kilometres (250,000,000 acres) have been put onto some sort of conservation, which adds up to a current amount of 1,730,000 square kilometres (430,000,000 acres)

Remote sensing The use of remotely sensed data is dramatically improving conservationists' knowledge of the Amazon Basin. Given the objectivity and lowered costs of satellite-based land cover analysis, it appears likely that remote sensing technology will be an integral part of assessing the extent and damage of deforestation in the basin. Furthermore, remote sensing is the best and perhaps only possible way to study the Amazon on a largescale. The use of remote sensing for the conservation of the Amazon is also being used by the indigenous tribes of the basin to protect their tribal lands from commercial interests. Using handheld GPS devices and programs like Google Earth, members of the Trio Tribe, who live in the rainforests of southern Suriname, map out their ancestral lands to help strengthen their territorial claims. Currently, most tribes in the Amazon do not have clearly defined boundaries, which make their territories easy targets for commercial poaching of natural resources. Through the use of cheap mapping technology, the Trio Tribe hopes to protect its ancestral land. In order to accurately map the biomass of the Amazon and subsequent carbon related emissions, the classification of tree growth stages within different parts of the forest is crucial. In 2006 Tatiana Kuplich organized the trees of the Amazon into four categories: (1) mature forest, (2) regenerating forest [less than three years], (3) regenerating forest [between three and five years of regrowth], and (4) regenerating forest [eleven to eighteen years of continued development The researcher used a combination of Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and Thematic Mapper (TM) to accurately place the different portions of the Amazon into one of the four classifications.

Impact of Amazon drought In 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in 100 years, and there were indications that 2006 could have been a second successive year of drought A 23 July 2006 article in the UK newspaper The Independent reported Woods Hole Research Center results showing that the forest in its present form could survive only three years of drought. Scientists at the Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research argue in the article that this drought response, coupled with the effects of deforestation on regional climate, are pushing the rainforest towards a "tipping point" where it would irreversibly start to die. It concludes 88

that the forest is on the brink of being turned into savanna or desert, with catastrophic consequences for the world's climate.

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CONCLUSION

An area of a rainforest the size of a football field is being destroyed each second. Giant bamboo plants can grow up to 9 in a day. The trees of a tropical rainforest are so densely packed that rain falling on the canopy can take as long as 10 minutes to reach the ground. 90

In the moist rainforests of South America, sloths move so slowly that algae are able to grow in their fur. Some rainforest monkeys are omnivores, eating both animals and plants. More than 2,000 different species of butterflies are found in the rainforests of South America. The forests of Central Africa are home to more than 8,000 different species of plants. Flying animals of Asian rainforests include frogs, squirrels and snakes.

80% of the flowers in the Australian rainforests are not found anywhere else in the world.

Bats are essential for the pollination of many tropical foodstuffs such as bananas and mangoes.

1 out of 4 ingredients in our medicine is from rainforest plants. About 2,000 trees per minute are cut down in the rainforests. let's do everything we can to save them..

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