SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT The ancient Easter Island was a sub-tropical forest complete with the resources suitable for building homes and canoes which are necessary in the construction of such statues. With the vegetation of the island, the people there had fuel and the resources to create a society that was fully complete with centralized government and priests. The people were able to make a civilization that made use of their trees. However, the pollen analysis shows that pretty soon, the tree population of the island was rapidly declining. Deforestation had set in. Over harvesting became the result of that result and ultimately there was denudation. Eventually, all of the living things in the island were severely reduced. The forests lost their animal pollinators with the disappearance of the birds.
Today, only one of the original 22 species still nests on Easter Island. This is what is happening on a larger scale in many other rainforests especially the Amazon (Butler, Rhett).
It is a fact that one of the major issues confronting the world today is the environmental impact of deforestation. It is also a fact that for a very long time, people have depended on forests to supply their primary needs food and shelter, for instance and up until the present time, the forests are still considered as an important resource. Until now, the business sector and environmental groups continue to debate the issues revolving on deforestation. Most affected perhaps, are the tropical rainforests regions where the environmental risks are considerably higher and where forest products are a major economic resource (Wikipedia).
The Term Paper on Rain Forest Tribes Environment People
... most beneficial ways to use their forest resources, the people would be fortified to resist ... to limit deforestation of the rain forest: through forest conservation. The conservation of forest trees involves ... to conservationist Raymond Dasmann: To reduce environmental degradation and for humanity to save ... islands (Hornaday 29). Their methods may seem primitive, but the ways of the rain forest people ...
According to my researches, one of the best ways to solve the deforestation is to develop a new conservation policy.
This move would be based on the principle of sustainable use and development of rainforests. What is this principle of sustainable development? It should be noted that rainforests are like sponges: they capture, store and recycle rain. In the Amazon Basin, at least, half of the rain that falls has been recycled from the forest. As the trees are destroyed, the rain is no longer absorbed by the forest canopy. Instead, it lands directly on the soil, causing flooding and washing away soil. When there are no trees to absorb and release rainwater, the soil becomes dry. The shallow soil, no longer fertilized by falling debris from the trees above, becomes barren.
It is a sad fact that in a process called desertification, once rich and alive rainforests end up as parched deserts. Thus, there should be new policies aimed to keep forests as functional ecological systems while providing multiple economic benefits. However, until today, native Amazonians still face violent encroachment by illegal loggers seeking mahogany. Thus, some of the other measures that could be adopted are the following: -End Subsidies. This move targeted for saw mills and road construction will make logging of tropical rainforests more accurately reflect the true costs of harvesting. -Use reduced impact logging.
This will include: 1) cutting climbers and lianas well prior to felling; 2) directional tree felling to inflict the smallest impact on the surrounding forest; 3) establishing stream buffer zones and watershed protection areas; 4) using improved technologies to reduce damage to the soil cause by log extraction; 5) careful planning to prevent excess roads which give access to transient settlers; 6) reducing wood waste for cut areas (anywhere from 25-50% of the wood from a given cleared patch is wasted); 7) limiting the gradient of roads to prevent excess erosion (Amazon Conservation: How to Save the Amazon Rainforest).
The Essay on The Monteverde Rain Forest: A World Amongst The Clouds
Nestled atop Costa Rica’s continental divide, the Monteverde rainforest Proudly calls the town of Monteverde Its home. High above the coastal towns dotted Along the famous Costa Rican seaside, Monteverde sits at an altitude of 4,662 Ft. above sea level. Major Abiotic Factors Because of the high altitude, this particular rain forest is known as a Cloud Forest. A Cloud Forest is categorized as a ...
Loss of forest covers, especially in the tropical rainforest regions, also causes changes in the global climate as a result of an imbalance in the solar heating of the earths surface. Tropical rainforests generally provide a cooling effect to the rest of the world by absorbing the heat of the sun hitting the surface of the earth. This protects the soil from the heat of the sun, thus controlling overall temperature. Rainforests also help cool the earth through the process of evapotranspiration that forms clouds and results in normal precipitation. The loss of Amazons rainforests also causes heavier rainfall and stronger storms in various parts of the world. Since the world climate and weather are generally dependent on the sun heating the surface of the earth, the reduction of rainforest canopies naturally causes major changes in the usual weather patterns. First, with the absence of vegetative covers, the sun directly heats the soil, which reflects solar radiation back to the atmosphere, but with the presence of greenhouse gases, the heat is simply trapped in the atmosphere.
The warming also increases the water-holding capacity of the atmosphere. Thomas R, Karl explains that the increased availability of water vapor in the atmosphere also leads to a significant increase in the energy available to drive storms and associated weather fronts, therefore affecting rainfall rates, precipitation amounts, storm intensity, and related runoff.(Karl, Tomas).
Forming sound policies for the preservation of tropical rainforests in Brazil, while maintaining economic sustainability is a complex task. Considering that the world today continually depends on the logging industry to run other businesses and to supply the needs of modern day life, the policies involving rainforest preservation and resuscitation have to be feasible and not just idealistic. Even if governments enact laws that will totally prohibit logging activities, loggers will still find ways, even if illegal, to conduct their forestry activities. One of the previous measures to closing off forests and converting them into parks and reserves only resulted in the emergence of so called paper parks that appeared as conservation initiatives on the part of government policymakers, but in reality they are utilized for commercial activities like logging, oil extracting, cattle ranching, and mining as a source of revenue for impoverished or corrupt government.(Butler).
The Essay on Impact of Government Policies
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess sociological views of the impact of government policies and laws on family life (24 marks) Social policies are laws made by the state to bring a change to society. As stated in item 2B different political policies have different ideologies and agendas that they will try and reinforce through the family. One example of a social policy is The Family ...
Janet Raloff looked to the analysis done by Robert Repetto of the World Resources Institute to provide some resolutions to the issue of forest degradation and its economics. Repetto believes that in order for the conservation movements to be effective, there needs to be a change in misdirected government policies. Repetto asserts that the problems in the policies lie in the aspects of land tenure problems, government settlement policies, [and] concession allocation policies for timber exploitation. (Raloff).
In most third world countries where large areas of rainforests are located, wood products are mainly a means for them to keep up with global trade and reduce foreign debts. Repetto believes that one of the problems is that governments in developing countries continue to sell timber at a very low price, resulting in encouraged timber booms, profiteering and unsustainable exploitation of forest resources.
(Raloff).
Another important factor in solving the issues of continued deforestation is the cooperation of local communities, which surround rainforests and rely on slash and burn activities to meet their immediate needs.1 Even with government restrictions on rainforest areas, forest degradation will still most likely to occur if the local communities are not made aware of the environmental impact and the long-term economic disadvantages that logging activities will bring. Massive reforestation projects also need to be enforced to replace lost forests. The problem with this is that sometimes, it is too late for reforestation, as young replacement trees could not withstand the strong storms and winds. In ideal and actual rainforest scenarios, mature trees, with stronger roots and larger canopies, protect those young trees. Even with the drawbacks, governments need to pursue reforestation programs as they are significant measures in resolving the current problems of the environment. Our actions today will spell the difference in the future.
The Research paper on Policy Sub Governments In The United States Political System
Policy Sub governments in the United States Political System United States is a democratic country with the deep-set democratic beliefs in the freedom and prosperity of their land. The political system of the Unites States of America is a very complex system of interacting branches of management, which enable this country to be one of the most significant countries in the world, with not only ...
a. In summation, this paper recognizes that there is an urgent need to look into the causes of the deforestation in Brazil and seek measures to solve them. If Brazil is to progress, it must contribute more to the search for truths and values and to their dissemination than to the mere surface remedy of critical areas. Brazils deforestation problem is not an easy one to solve. It needs the help from all sectors of its society before a glint of hope is seen. But that is better than not doing any recourse at all.
b. There are some areas that need further research. The responses of man to his environment cannot be described merely in terms of immediate direct effects, but must be regarded as dynamic processes, conditioned by the adaptive powers of the organisms, and often resulting in long-range cumulative alterations. An area that may need further research is the need to look for other means of preserving the forests utilizing local and cheap sources. This would need some creative minds of experts to dwell on this area but it is worth looking into. There is also a need to look into financial institutions about its policies for lending money to developing countries.
Some questions that need to be further explored: Are projects screened for their environmental impact? Is financing given only to those projects that do not harm the environment? Can forums be formed as venues to discuss issues with people or professional associations whose work may in some way be related to the rainforests. How can we encourage professional associations to develop a code of conduct with respect to rainforest products? Mans future rests heavily on the collective utilization of his intelligence; on his seeking verifiable truths; on his developing curiosity, satisfying motives, and the desire for understanding and on his skill in reaching sound judgments. The continuing disappearance of the wild lands is a sad fact. But it is never too late. Authorities need to take measures of preserving these hotbeds of biodiversity because that is also like preserving a part of us. REFERENCES Amazon Conservation: How to Save the Amazon Rainforest.17 May 2006. http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_cons ervation.html#protect Butler, R.
The Research paper on Deforestation in Amazon
Deforestation in the Amazon There are a lot of ecosystems in the world and the forest ecosystem plays an important role in the biosphere. According to the book named Fate of the Forest written by Hecht and Cockburn, all the plant communities, which consist of the whole forest ecosystem, account for about 9.4% of the surface of the Earth and 30% of the total land area. The Amazon rainforest, with ...
Tropical Rainforests: Saving What Remains Accessed 17 May 2006. http://www.mongabay.com/1001.htm. Butler, Rhett. Easter Island Mystery revealed using mathematical model. Accessed 17 May 2006. http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0901-easter_island.h tml Karl, T. R.
Global Warming and the Earths Water Cycle: What Do the Changes Mean and Why Be Concerned? U.S. Global Change Research Program Seminar. Accessed 17 May 2006. http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/seminars/971105DD.htm l Raloff, J. Unraveling the economics of deforestation, many government policies unintentionally promote costly environmental damage. Science News. Accessed 17 May 2006. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is _n23_v133/ ai_6435654.
Deforestation. Wikipedia. Accessed 17 May 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation..