“The Earth’s Rainforests:
Do They Have a Future?”
Math 315
Group Research Paper
Frank Leighton
Jackie Hodge
Vickie Zolezzi
July 10, 2007
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Tropical rainforests make up approximately 2,000 hectacres of the world’s surface. Of
these areas 14-16 million hectares are being destroyed annually for logging, farming, human
growth and other land uses (Roper,1999) “Since 1950, over half of the world’s tropical
forests have been lost – an area equal to the size of a football field is destroyed every second
of every day” (Planet Facts). The causes of this destruction are many and the effects of the
destruction are making an enormous impact on our world. Government programs and
environmental campaigns are making progress toward protecting our tropical rainforests. The
question we must ask is whether or not enough is being done to preserve these natural
resources for our children and grandchildren?
There are two major means by which the tropical rainforests of the world are being
destroyed: acts of nature and those of man.
Many of the areas where tropical rainforest exist have been influenced by nature, either
via damaging weather conditions or some other natural phenomenon. The monsoons of
Southeast Asia, drought conditions in Africa and South America, forest fires in Borneo and
volcanic activity in Zaire and Cameroon continue to pose threats to tropical rainforests
(Butler/mongabay.com, 2000).
In each of these cases, the forest land and many of its animals have been destroyed but
this natural “selection” process has had only minimal overall sustained long-term effects. The
major threat to the tropical rainforests has been through the actions of man, predominately in
three major areas: the logging industry, land usage expansion for agriculture and pastureland,
and growing human inhabitance.
Fifty percent of the entire world’s wood supply is found in tropical rainforests (Burton,
1996, p. 68). There are many hardwood trees, such as mahogany, teak, and rosewood, which
are indigenous to these areas, growing in great abundance like those found in the Amazon
region of South America (Raintree, 1996; Banks, 1990, p. 30-31). Worldwide demand has
turned this hardwood industry into a very lucrative business, reported to be exceeding $8
billion a year (Mastrantonio & Francis, 2000). Much of this wood is used in furniture making
but other products include lumber, paper, mulch, charcoal, and shipping products (Raintree,
1996). In many areas, the harvesting of the wood has been via stripping and clear cutting
procedures, an even more damaging venture as it leaves acres of land completely barren,
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unusable and vulnerable to erosion (Raintree, 1996; Mastrantonio & Francis, 2000;
Butler/mongabay.com, 2000). In addition to the logging industry itself, many roads, most
low-cost dirt roads with little drainage or erosion control, have been literally cut through the
tropical rainforests to transport the bulldozers and other large equipment required for clearing
the timber and the immense logging trucks necessary to haul out the massive trees (Banks,
1990, p. 31-32; Butler/mongabay.com, 2000; Butler/kids.mongabay.com, 2000).
Another major contributing factor to the depletion of the tropical rainforests is that more
of its land is being cleared for pastureland and commercial agriculture. Brazil has become
one of the major leaders in the western world for exportation of beef, much to the United
States and European market. In 2004, Brazil was named the world’s leader in cattle
production (almost 205 million head per Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute)
(People's Daily Online, 2005), this figure being over twice the number reported in the United
States for that same year (95-96 million) (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2005).
With basic annual grazing requirements ranging from 2 to 6.75 acres per cow (Yahoo!, 2006;
Fry & Gunnink, 1999; Russell, Maxwell, & Peterson, 1999), Brazil’s need for such land has
exceeded over 400 million acres for its cattle industry alone, with much land now being used
for what has become known as Brazil’s “largely export driven” industry at the expense of
clearing large areas in the Amazon rainforest regions (Butler/mongabay.com, 2000). In
addition, competition exists for these same forestlands as land is sought for commercial
planting and harvesting of crops such as cocoa, sugar, and palm oil (Mastrantonio & Francis,
2000) in addition to the rising interests in soybeans farming (Butler/mongabay.com, 2000).
From 1850 to 1950, the world’s population more than doubled, growing from 1.2
billion to 2.5 billion people (Burton, 1996, p. 5). By 1995, this figure had grown to 5.7
billion. Today, we live in a world of about 6.6 billion people (United States Census Bureau,
n.d.), with it anticipated that the global figure will exceed 11 billion by 2050 (Burton, 1996,
p. 5). Because of such growth, both land to live and prosper, and the ability to provide basic
needs for local people, have forced movement into previously unoccupied or sparsely
populated regions such as the tropical rainforests of Africa (Butler/mongabay.com, 2000;
Lindsey, 2007). For some, colonization and urbanization has meant clearing of more land for
housing and roads, but for others, like the forest dwelling tribes of Brazil, it has been a
process of driving the native inhabitants either out of their homelands, further inward into the
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tropical rainforests, or by government relocation (Raintree, 1996; Banks, 1990, p. 26-29;
Lindsey, 2007). With many poverty stricken and/or minimally educated people in such areas,
the land has been stressed and fallen the victim to locals’ croplands, pastures, or scavenged
for firewood in attempts for survival (Butler/kids.mongabay.com, 2000). The improper
farming and grazing techniques commonly employed quickly exhaust the land, leaving the
soil useless and barren within a year or so, making further expansion for more fertile land
needed (Raintree, 1996; Lindsey, 2007; Butler/mongabay.com, 2000).
Although the causes behind the decline in our natural tropical rainforests are many,
the consequences of the losses are even greater. The impact from the loss of the rainforests
has not just a regional impact, but a global one. Deforestation from logging and human
encroachment has caused a loss of more than 50% of natural forests in areas around the
equator, and almost 90% in some areas such as Brazil, Madagascar, and the Philippines
(Hosansky, p.2). The decimation of these forests has had its impact environmentally,
socially and culturally.
Deforestation has had a tremendous impact on the environment of the world. Global
warming has become a subject of great concern for many scientists. Deforestation contributes
to approximately 25% of the world’s carbon emissions (Roper, 1999). As trees are cut
down, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. This increase in carbon dioxide affects
the climate by disrupting the normal weather patterns, contributing to less rain fall, and
hotter, drier conditions (Roper, 1999, consequences). During the water cycle, trees release a
certain amount of moisture into the air forming rain clouds. Without this release of moisture
there would be fewer rain clouds, less rainfall and as a result: drought conditions. (A Place
out of time— mongabay.com). These hotter, drier conditions contribute to desertification in
many areas. (Roper, 1999, consequences, p. 2-3). Desertification is the gradual change in
climate from a wetter, cooler environment to more desert like conditions. Change in
temperatures and rainfall in turn affect the natural vegetation and biodiversity of the
environment.
Trees also act as natural sponges for rainwater from tropical storms. By soaking in
water, the trees regulate the amount of rainfall that reaches the ground. The trees also keep
the soil intact with their roots, preventing runoff and erosion When these natural regulators
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are cut down, rainfall is immediately released, often causing flooding and mudslides to towns
and villages near rivers and streams.(A Place out of time—mongabay.com).
As deforestation takes place to clear lands for agriculture, the destruction of the soil
continues. In most tropical areas, the soil is not suitable for long term farming. As a result,
more and more land is cleared away to provide additional land for families, continuing a
cycle of soil exhaustion (Roper, 1999).
Another consequence of deforestation is the extinction of millions of plants and
animal species. Nearly 70% of the world’s plants and animals live in the tropical rainforests
(Roper, 1999, Importance of, 2.1) Millions of species are decimated each year, many that
are unknown because they have not been documented or studied. The loss of these species
has tragic consequences for the world. As we lose valuable links in ecosystems, we lose
valuable resources for medical, environmental and agricultural research.
Not only is the world losing a valuable resource, so are the indigenous people of the
rainforests. Over 500 million people live near or in the tropical rainforests; some 150 million
of these are native peoples who depend upon the forests for their way of life. The forest is an
integral part of their religious traditions as well as their economic livelihood. (Roper, 1999,
Importance of, 2.1)
These people depend upon the forest for food, shelter, medicine and
natural products to feed their families. Once the forests are gone, so are the ways of life for
these people.
As we lose tropical rainforests to human growth and deforestation, the impacts are
felt not just regionally but across the world. Efforts are being made by environmental
groups, individuals and governments across the globe to protect these natural resources, but
is there enough being done?
The question is not so much what can be done to reverse the fortunes of the
rainforests, but if enough can be done in time to save them at all. “Misty-eyed idealism alone
will not save Earth’s dwindling tropical rainforests. But a five-year, $3 million study in
Panama indicates rainforests can be protected if the pharmaceutical industry establishes
Third World laboratories and hires local researchers to look for new medicines extracted
from plants that evolved defenses against insects (Science Daily, 2003). The prospect is
intriguing, both for the drug companies, the host nations and their rainforests. “Trying to
save rainforests via ‘bioprospecting’ for potential new medicines is based on the idea that
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developing nations will work to conserve their rainforests if nondestructive industries such as
bioprospecting, ecotourism and watershed protection provide greater economic benefits than
logging and ranching (Science Daily, 2003). This is challenging, since host nations must be
shown that benefits will be guaranteed, even if royalties are not immediately forthcoming.
The benefits, however, can be immediate and lasting “in the form of training, employment,
technology transfer and infrastructure development (Science Daily, 2003). Bioprospecting
has already proven to be a successful and lucrative endeavor “during years of earlier work in
Africa, Southeast Asia and Panama, ‘and therefore should be applicable to tropical forests
worldwide (Science Daily, 2003) If developed nations like the United States and other G-8
members were to support this type of work, both philosophically and financially, the future
of the global rainforests might look a little less bleak.
While governments and businesses argue their respective points, there is much that can
be done on the part of each individual, especially for those of us who reside in developed,
consumer-based societies. The suggestions that follow apply to people of all ages who care
about the future of our planet and the role they play in its stewardship: “re-use the paper we
have; recycle the paper you cannot re-use; buy recycled paper products; avoid using rare
tropical woods or wood from old growth trees; use recycled wood where possible; use
composite materials instead of wood; buy wood products certified by the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC); volunteer for tree planting projects; bring your own (cloth) shopping bag;
clean with cloth instead of paper towels; and buy fair trade products (to provide an economic
alternative to people living in or near rainforests) (Steering Committee of the NCNC Earth
Stewards, 2006).
While the suggestions made above can be effectively employed by individuals, an even
greater impact can be made when people band together for a common cause. A prime
example is the Rainforest Action Network, launching “a nationwide boycott of Burger King,
which was importing cheap beef from tropical rainforest countries. Two years later Burger
King canceled thirty-five million dollars worth of beef contracts and agreed to stop importing
beef from the rainforests (World Prout Assembly, 2005). RAN’s work continued with a
global consumer boycott of Mitsubishi, a company which eventually committed “to
unprecedented environmental reviews of their business activities (World Prout Assembly,
2005). Perhaps one of RAN’s more visible and successful efforts came with Home Depot.
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“As a result of a two-year campaign led by RAN . . . [Home Depot] agreed to phase out the
sale and use of wood from the endangered forests (World Prout Assembly, 2005). The
power of RAN and its informed, dedicated membership shows that people can make a
difference, both in the stewardship of our planet and in holding businesses accountable for
their actions.
There are so many more things people can do to help in the effort to save and reclaim
both the rainforests and our planet. An excellent resource for suggestions can be found at
http://globalwarmingsb.org. As in any grassroots effort, an informed, concerned public is the
tipping point for action. However the point is made and the actions taken, it is ironic that so
complex an issue can be summed up so succinctly on a child’s link to RAN: “A rainforest
cannot be replaced. Once it is destroyed, it is gone forever. Once the web of
interdependence has been broken, plants and animals have no way to rebuild their complex
communities. Rainforests have been evolving for 70 to 100 million years. They contain
plants and animals that live nowhere else on earth. When a rainforest is destroyed, so are the
plants and animals that have lived there for millions of years. Once they are destroyed, they
will only be memories of our past (Silber, Kelman, 2003).
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